Stardew Valley is more than just farming, foraging, and mining. It’s also about the people who inhabit Pelican Town. From the bachelors and bachelorettes that the player can sweep off their feet to the townies that add just a little bit of color to the everyday routine, Stardew Valley emphasizes how important village life is to the replayability of a cozy game. Although the NPC content is not vast by any means, the snippets that players uncover as they befriend their neighbors paint a lively portrait of the lives these characters lived before your arrival. And to everyone’s absolute delight, this also means the saucy secrets that stay true to small-town gossip.
Early in the game, when I was tasked with finding Mayor Lewis’ lucky purple shorts, I genuinely had no clue where to begin. It’s a cozy life-sim with the most wholesome vibes, so it had to be somewhere random—or so I thought. Not everything is as sweet or innocent as it seems in Pelican Town. Mayor Lewis had a reason to be so worried after all. And in true telenovela fashion, the Mayor’s purple shorts were in Marnie’s bedroom right behind her checkout counter.
I’ve put in around 105 hours in Stardew Valley. At the start of each new game, I put off perfecting my Stardew Valley farm layout for just one morning so I can head to Marnie’s and enjoy one of the game’s first laughs. But every time, after saying “good for them,” I’m reminded of the incredible power I have: I can do whatever I want with these shorts. It’s up to me whether I use that power for good or evil. And if you heed my words, you, too, can use that power.
Your Options: What to Do With Mayor Lewis’ Purple Shorts in Stardew Valley
So you’ve befriended Marnie and increased her friendship level to two hearts. With access to her room, you can walk right in and retrieve those cursed shorts you’ve been tasked to return with the utmost discretion. But most players don’t realize they can simply choose not to return them. Here’s what you can do with your newly found power:
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Return the Shorts: You’ve been given a quest, and you will be rewarded handsomely if you complete it. Returning the shorts to Lewis will gain you some gold and his gratitude. But on that note….
- Give the Shorts to Marnie: You can spin the quest on its head and give the shorts to Marnie. She’ll be startled before asking you to keep this a secret, confirming what you suspected all along. This won’t affect your friendship with her.
- Keep the Lucky Shorts at Home: Finders keepers. You can take the shorts back home and display them proudly on any corner or surface that can host them.
- Display Them at the Stardew Valley Fair: In what has to be one of Stardew Valley’s most iconic festivals, the Stardew Valley Fair grants players the opportunity to show off the best their farm has to offer. But instead of crops, fish, and forage, you can simply place the shorts on your grange display. You’ll be disqualified, but you’ll be paid 750 star tokens in hush money. It may be a good trade-off, given how hard winning first place can be during that grueling first year at the farm.
- Wear Mayor Lewis’ Lucky Shorts: Armed with a gold bar and Emily’s sewing machine, you can line the shorts with a gold trim. After giving them a new look, they become wearable. Marnie and Mayor Lewis will have unique interactions with you if you speak to them while wearing them.
- Add the Shorts to the Luau Soup: Adding Mayor Lewis’ shorts to the Luau’s communal potluck soup is possibly the most disastrous thing you could do. It’ll ruin the soup, erase any chances of gaining the community’s favor, send Mayor Lewis into a frenzy, and make the governor furious. While it’s among the worst things you can do in Stardew Valley, it’s also undoubtedly the funniest.
This is the Best Thing You Can Do With Mayor Lewis’ Shorts
Despite the fact that Stardew Valley’s fetch quests are usually linear, finding Mayor Lewis’ lucky shorts gives you incredible flexibility. With so many outcomes, it really comes down to what you want to get out of your playthrough. And whether that’s new swag or a moment to laugh, your playthrough is entirely your own.
I’m a min-maxxer when it comes to life-sims. There’s not a cozy game that doesn’t hate to see me coming the second I purchase it, because I just have to dissect everything. Whether that’s getting the most profit in Stardew Valley or picking the most unbeatable career in The Sims, I splay all my options before me and attempt to fit the best into my plan toward optimization. Strangely enough, Mayor Lewis’ shorts fall into this plan.
Returning the Shorts to Mayor Lewis: Right, Just, and Profitable
I know, I know. After griping about the questionable choices you have with the shorts, selecting the most virtuous option might seem out of left field. But before you boo me off my soapbox, I want to reemphasize that the circumstances around your playthrough make this choice the smartest one.
You receive the quest early in Spring of Year 1. Your grandfather’s farm is in the roughest shape possible, you barely know what to make of your time, and you are low on precious resources. The resource you are most lacking, notably, is gold. Completing the quest by returning the shorts will net you 750 gold and 1 friendship heart with Lewis—which is hard to come by so early in the game.
750 gold so early on in the game is too valuable to miss out on. You can splurge on high-profit seeds like cauliflower without batting an eye, and still have enough cash to buy your intended a gift they’ll love at the Stardrop Saloon or Pierre’s, so they’ll dance with you at the Flower Dance Festival. So, that’s why I will always opt to save Mayor Lewis’ dignity. My early-stage farm needs it. Yours might, too.
Stardew Valley
- Released
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February 26, 2016
- ESRB
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E for Everyone (Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco)
- Developer(s)
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ConcernedApe
- Publisher(s)
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ConcernedApe
