Disclaimer: I don't own Stardew Valley, but ConcernedApe and Chucklefish do. This game is seriously quite a gem. Past the grinding, it's well made and it's fun. Go get yourself a copy!
The Maelstrom of Stardew Valley
Pre-Story Author's Notes
Hello readers, I'm Yoshi3000. Before we get into the maelstrom of the story, I need to establish details to you about this AU, and how it works. First detail is a list of the changes to the main story, each one will have an explanation.
List of Major Story Changes
Minor Gamer Mechanics – There will elements of this, and each chapter will end with how much money was made, the farm's total earning, Taeko's gold, his stats, and his relationship. I will also be taking influence from another game, but that's a surprise for next chapter.
Leah and the Taeko (PC) have a history – Leah and Taeko would have gone to the high school together, but went separate ways after graduating. She'll serve as his close friend. (Making them a couple would be too easy, so I won't be doing that.)
The Wizard IS Abigail's true father – Yeah, it was hinted in the entire game. Here, I'm going to roll with it as a potential plotline.
Pam and Penny's Relationship – I won't spoil it, but this isn't going to end well.
Next on the table is ages and last names. I originally was just going to do the main characters, but I've decided to most of all the Villagers. Ages are one of the changes, but it's rather minor.
(These ages apply to Year 1, obviously.)
Character Ages
Taeko Kiba Maelstrom – 20 (A bit younger than in most fanfics, but I really did want to show how precocious he was, along with making it for the most part legal.)
Leah Gardenia – 20 (Clearly old enough to live on her own. Last name's a reference, so let's see who gets it.)
Penny Leanna – 19 (Penny have Irish roots. It's suits considering Penny's red hair. As for the last name, it's not her mother's, it's her father's. The last name itself is Irish. Try to translate it. As for her age, I didn't want to make her too young or too old. Considering she's a "teacher", I wanted to make her old enough to have a teaching degree or at least qualification for homeschooling.)
Haley Umbra – 18 (She's fresh out of high school. The age suits considering her immature attitude.)
Maru Grant – 17 (She's also fresh out of college as well. She's pretty much a genius child graduating early and so forth. Last name is from her father. The reason she is under 18, is to make sense of her 2-Star scene. I'll be doing that scene early.)
Emily Umbra – 21 (I'm going to assume she's the older sister, and I made her of legal drinking age because she does work with liquor as a barmaid.)
Alex Mullner – 18 (He's fresh out of high-school as well. A small detail is that most of the characters did go to school together with Pam being their bus driver to the city.)
Sam Knight – 18 (He's fresh out of high-school, and the ages suits his attitude and personality.)
Sebastian Shadows – 18 (Same deal as Alex, Haley, and Sam (they graduated last year, as Maru would be graduated by the start of the story). Unlike Robin, Sebastian keeps the last name of his birth father.
Harvey Ovid – 35 (Considering, Taeko's not romancing him, he's a tad older. He's as young as I could make him due the fact he's a doctor.)
Elliott von Holton – 25 (Not much to say, figured the age suits him.)
Shane Sanford – 21 (He's old enough to drink all that beer)
As for the rest of the characters, the age is up to you to interpret. Except for Jas and Vincent, they're about six by the start of the story. Why six? If you look in Penny's room, there's a book about how to teach 2nd graders.
Robin Oak-Grant – Just wanted to get the name for her out.
Demetrius Grant
Next is shipping, and I can say for the most part will follow canon. The ships on this list are one I'll doing a bit of focus on.
Lewis/Marnie
Alex/Haley ((A/N: Since they won't be romanced by our main character.))
PC/Abigail/Penny/Maru ((I should explain that. I wouldn't really call it a love square, but they are going to have some form of relationship with him. Mainly, it's going PC/Abigail. It'll be explained over time.))
Last, but not least, is the bash list. Yes, I'm going to kind of bash characters in this. I do like all of the characters in Stardew Valley (except for Morris), but some warrant a bit of dislike. Pierre was almost going to on this list, but…I changed my mind considering he's a bit of a woobie. Without further ado, the list:
Demetrius – I'm not going to lie, but I really don't like him. Considering the fact, he ignores his step-son and favorites Maru. Also doesn't help that he did send Maru to college, but fact out told Sebastain there was no money for him. Sebastian also has it in his head that Maru hates him, even though she admits that isn't the case and she does want to get closer, with the implication that Demetrius interfered in their relationship, something backed up by Demetrius threatening the player in Maru's two heart event to not get too close and ruin his daughter's dreams. And all this is canon as well, and it really doesn't help that the creators considered making Robin a marriage candidate. PC isn't really going to like him much.
Pam – Considering she does make Penny's life hard isn't helping. Penny's 4-heart even doesn't help much. Also, doesn't help she constantly drinks every night boozing and making a mess of things. Unlike game canon, her habits are going to have a bit sourer effect on Pam. Her drinking despite being a BUS DRIVER doesn't do any favors either. Shane's a drinker as well, but he's not driving.
Morris – It's easily obvious why, but I have more to say. Let's just say, he'll be more of a key to Taeko's past.
Other than that, you're ready to enter this fanfic. The gamer stuff will be explained next chapter. Our main character won't try to be friends with everyone. If anything, he might come off as a roughneck. So without further ado, I present the Maelstrom of Stardew!