// okay okay, here are some stardew verse thoughts
this is basically an AU of my headcanon version of his pre-war history
(which, to summarize: he's raised by a single dad, is a hooligan for a while, makes some irish mob connections, does a variety of jobs ranging from nightclub bouncer to babysitting an irish mob boss' daughter and etc -- up until his dad dies when edward's around 30. this is what makes him re-evaluate what he wants out of life, and decides he wants stability. he starts using his various connections and ends up "highly recommended" to jack cabot... aaand the rest is history)
farmer grandpa is his paternal grandfather (edward's mom walked when he was real little so any connection to her or her family is just like, gone) -- that part might end up getting stapled onto his regular verse tbh
edward spent some childhood/teenage summers on grandpa's farm, in part as a way to keep him out of trouble, in part to spend time with family, and also to learn more skills. his dad's a plumber, and if his grandpa is a farmer and as all-round skilled like the stardew farmer is required to be? sure, edward took some roofing jobs occasionally, but he could've learned that FROM his grandpa. along with so much other handiwork, crafting, blah blah blah
his grandpa would die when he's in his late teens/early twenties, then around a decade later his dad passes. instead of getting work with the cabots, edward grabs the first reliable job at hand: joja. cue the rest of the game opening as per normal
this does mean the farm's been left without maintenance for over a decade, so the farmhouse is probably in A State. lewis and robin really did him a solid with all the work they'd need to put in to get it habitable again -- but honestly, edward would WANT to work on it, too. it's his house, it's his grandpa's house, he knows how to do it, he's the one moving in, it's his fault it's been left alone all this time?
i haven't decided what his farming style will be... he might be a generic all-rounder lol. that's so disappointing for me but i think it genuinely fits him?
he cooks a lot though. maybe he's an artisan farmer. and a tree farmer/lumberjack. yeah that works, i can do that
as an alternate verse where edward isn't a farmer, and instead taking up a NPC kind of slot... hmmm
he honestly might do a lot of plumbing and heating work? nobody else in town does it, so like... easy place for him to slot right in
his story will still be more or less the same, but he'll have been in the valley for a while already -- we're talking years, so NPC edward would be closer to his 40s whereas farmer edward would be in his mid-30s
god help me, i actually want to sit down and make a bunch of portraits for him 😭 i have all those adrien brody reference images i could put to use for once...