I've mentioned a few things in the past, I wonder how many I'll remember?
1. Pelican Town exists in a pocket dimension which is mostly insulated from the "outside world" by means of need. If you don't need to go there, you drive right by or never even consider that it exists. But when you need to move there for whatever reason (escape, spiritual renewal, you're a washed-up magician, etc.), the magic of Stardew Valley allows you entry. These "barriers" are lowered on some days for Festivals but not for others. Pelican Town will never kick you out but will let you in when you most need it. Some leave when they are healed from whatever it is that ailed them.
2. The Slimes in town run a Hairdressing Salon in the back corner of the Secret Woods. No not that corner... nooo-- keep looking, <sigh> not that one either. Look, you have brown hair, you don't need it but many people are happy customers. Abby, the Wizard, Emily, Caroline, Haley, even Farmer Bobbi from Bobbi, I Suppose. Sit in the chair and the slimes sit on your head and slowly they half-melt into your hair, transferring color and warmth, cooing softly all the while. It's slightly disconcerting but works so well that the happy customers put up with it.
3. Emily is not Haley's sister. I've seen it come up a lot over the past year or so that Emily is a mermaid and it's an idea that I've had in the back of my mind for a long time. She was born a little different from the rest of her mermaid pod but I haven't landed on how that difference is made evident, whether physical or emotional. In any case, at a young age she was separated from her sisters and parents by members of the community with good intentions but ignorant of what really makes a family. She makes it to an adoption agency and is adopted by a young couple who have a daughter but can't have more kids and want young Haley to grow up with a little sister. To better socialize her. It didn't work out perfectly. Emily knows at some level that she doesn't seem to fit her family very well as she is in tune with nature and the Earth and less so with modern life. Until she meets a new farmer lady who may notice those things as well...
4. Elliott grew up in Pelican Town and moved away to go to College but is now back to seek his muse. Farmer Bobbi turned out not to be that muse and mostly exists as a fish-scented reminder that he needs to be somewhere else in town.
5. Many of the Valley bachelor/ettes grew up in Pelican Town as a matter of need (see #1) with Evelyn being their teacher and the current Museum being their schoolhouse before everyone graduated and Gunther requested to use the site. Hence why there's nothing there yet as the artifacts were all boxed up after the Community Center closed, making it easy for someone to whisk them away. Students from oldest to youngest: Harvey, Elliott, Sebastain, Haley, Penny, Emily, Maru, Alex, Sam, Abigail. Leah and Shane are the newest additions to the Town and didn't go to School there. Penny was the Teacher's assistant while she was still attending and continued after graduating, helping Evelyn with the remaining few. When a new half-generation showed up, Evelyn passed the torch to Penny but the school site was no longer available. Luckily the books are still there and Gunther was happy to see more faces at the Museum so he shares his space.
6. Morris is a good guy. I'll try to remember this, here goes: Morris is an optomistic, young entrepreneur who wants to help people live a better lifestyle and not havfe it cost an arm and a leg. Corporate doesn't like his pie-in-the-sky ideals but as he's the nephew of that guy in Marketing, they find a spot in the middle of nowhere for him to try and fail to establish a Joja presence there. Morris is allowed access to Pelican Town for his need (see #1 again). He starts with a simple outdoor stall and slowly builds a positive rapport with some of the townspeople and expands his store over the years, but corporate keeps pressuring him to sell more of their jojajunk. He's able to resist for a while with actual good products but as his store is doing well from a profit perspective, corp wants him to sell more, and specifically more joja-branded stuffs. He's forced to but tried to push them to the back of the store but over time, his hands are increasingly tied by corporate as they own the franchise license and some less good things happen when he loses the store presence (to Pierre in the Community Center cutscene) but not in the way it plays out in-game. Instead I see corporate goons intrude on the CC scene and simply tell Morris that since his sales are slumping (never mind it's because of the trash products he's forced to hawk), he needs to close the store and they're selling the land. Morris is crushed but Mayor Lewis, being privy to the machinations of politics and corporations, knows much of what's transpired and consoles Morris, saying he's got a mayor buddy 3 towns over who needs help with their General Store. An opportunity for Morris to start again, this time without a CorpOverlord.
There's more but hungry so must eat.
