Howdy Pillar

Who he is: An anthropomorphic seven-foot caterpillar doll (about 213-240 cm tall) with four pairs of arms and blue-green skin. Howdy wears a blue striped shirt, a red tie and red trousers, and brown boots. He has a yellow apron tightly tied on his shirt, and a white badge with his name "Howdy" is attached to the apron.

Place of work: Howdy is the sole owner of a small store called "Howdy's place". He's the only one working there, but he can handle everything. His store is very colorful and interesting, with the price and discount written on each product, as well as many other promotions.

The most interesting thing is that you can buy absolutely anything in the Howdy store, seriously. That is, for example, if you want to buy a piece of a meteorite (for example) and you said it jokingly, then Howdy won't even be surprised: he will look for the goods in his warehouse and find what you need!! Of course, the price will be high, but this is exactly what you will need!!!!

So it's better not to tell Howdy jokingly what you want to buy, because Howdy will definitely find it and try his best to sell it to you! It can be absolutely any thing, maybe even a living thing.

Howdy is very smart and cunning, so he can safely sell the product to you.

Howdy is a born trader, whose energy literally goes over the edge.

Hyperactive and cheerful: He is incredibly optimistic, friendly and always greets customers with a big smile. He speaks fast, loudly. He can sell you anything and offer different prices, and he can also force you to buy something else, kindly of course.

Charismatic and insightful: Howdy knows his store as "his own flaky ones... hands" (of which he has a lot). He instantly guesses what the customer needs. Howdy can get you talking to find out exactly what you want to buy.

Obsessed with commerce (The Capitalist of the town): For him, trade is an art. He likes to make deals. Sometimes, instead of money, he can accept a good joke, song, or interesting story as payment (but if he doesn't like the joke, he can refuse the product or ask for "better material", showing hidden stuffiness and severity).

Emotional: He can easily get moved or, conversely, artistically throw up all his hands in indignation. With colleagues on the shop floor (for example, with the postman Eddie Deere), he keeps himself dry and professional, not liking unnecessary chatter.

(Behind his round-the-clock smile and unwillingness to leave the store, there is a hint that he is in full control of the supply of the town. In the context of horror, he seems to be a hostage to his role, who works without interruption to drown out loneliness or anxiety..)

Keep records and recalculate goods: Likes to keep order on the shelves, puts everything in colors and categories. He's very hardworking.

Communicate with customers: He loves to make fun of Barnaby (his most loyal customer) and Wally Darling, who is constantly trying to steal red apples from the store. Barnaby very often comes to Howdy's to buy exclusively a hot dog, he tells Howdy a funny joke and Howdy gives him a hot dog.

To mention his giant family: Howdy has a huge number of brothers, sisters, cousins and nephews (the house in the apple core, where they grew up, was teeming with relatives). He loves to insert stories about them into the dialogue (for example, about Siya's sister or Lutter's brother). By the way, his family is not in the Welcome Home area.

Eating greens: As a caterpillar, he loves to nibble on fresh leaves and green vegetables, which is why other dolls sometimes make fun of him. Howdy eats this, it's his usual diet.

According to the canon of the Welcome Home universe, Howdy wasn't always so huge and successful.

Howdy started out as the most ordinary, tiny, "insignificant" caterpillar. He was born and raised inside a fallen apple core on a tree, along with countless of his brothers and sisters. In such a close and noisy environment, resources (food, space, attention) were always in short supply. To survive and make himself known among hundreds of similar caterpillars, little Howdy had to develop communication skills, cunning and the ability to negotiate.

Even as a child, sharing another piece of apple pulp with his brothers, he realized that the one who controls the supplies and knows how to offer them correctly will never remain hungry and lonely. He had a dream — to grow up, move to a bigger place and open his own business, where he would be the master of the situation.

When he got to the town of Welcome Home, he miraculously increased greatly in size (he became a huge doll giant). Realizing his childhood dream, he built Howdy's Place. For him, this store is not just a job, but a way to prove to his family (and to himself) that a small caterpillar made of an apple core is capable of supplying an entire city. In addition, it helps him cope with the fear of pupation (metamorphosis), because Howdy is afraid of turning into a butterfly and deliberately stuck in the form of a caterpillar, devoting his whole life to trade.

General appearance and Figure

Race: Anthropomorphic doll caterpillar.

Height: A real giant. The exact height is unknown, but he is the tallest resident of the town. His height is approximately 210-240 cm (7-8 ft). Because of this, he has to bend slightly when he communicates with other neighbors.

Build: he is tall and slender, it seems like he has an ordinary body because of his clothes, but he is very strong and muscular, his four arms are especially strong.

Limbs (His main feature)

Multi-armedness: Howdy has four pairs of arms

What they look like: The arms are long, thin and flexible, the same blue-green color. The hands are classic doll palms with four fingers on each.

Animation/RP Usage: Howdy is incredibly coordinated. He can do four things at the same time: punch the goods at the checkout with two hands, wipe the dust with the other two. He can also count money with two hands, and with the remaining other hands he can gesture and offer options for goods.

Face and Head

Skin/Surface: The texture of his skin resembles smooth, high-quality fleece or felt (after all, he is a doll from a 70s TV show). The color is a rich light green with a bluish tint.

Eyes: Large, round, completely white with neat black button pupils. They are always wide open, which gives him a permanently surprised, cheerful or slightly insane look.

Mouth and Smile: He has a huge mouth, which is almost always stretched into a wide, commercial smile "from ear to ear". A smooth red tongue is visible inside the mouth (it has no teeth, like a doll).

Howdy has orange-yellow small caterpillar-like antennae on his head. (sensitive ones, it's better not to touch them).

Clothing: During working hours, Howdy wears a striped blue shirt and a red tie, red trousers, and brown shoes. He wears a yellow apron that is tightly tied at the waist, and a badge with his name on the apron.

Absolute Coordination (4 hands): Howdy has perfect control over all his hands. It is capable of performing up to four complex, unrelated processes simultaneously without loss of concentration (for example: simultaneously writing a report, juggling apples, making tea and packing a parcel).

Superhuman agility and speed: Due to his doll-like nature, his hands can move with unnatural, blurred speed if he needs to quickly serve a queue or restore order.

Anatomical flexibility of the doll: Its limbs can bend at strange, anatomically impossible angles for humans without causing them pain.

Manipulation of the store's space ("Howdy's Place"): Howdy knows the exact location, quantity and condition of any item in his shop, even if he is not looking at it. The store seems to be an extension of himself.

Product materialization: If Howdy considers the deal to be fair, the product the customer needs will miraculously end up on the shelf or in his back room, even if it wasn't there a second ago and the item seems to be in short supply. He literally controls the abundance and hunger in the town.

Merchant's Insight: Howdy has a frightening intuition. One glance at the other person is enough for him to understand what he needs. He sees through people and dolls.

Hypnotic eloquence: His voice, his pace of speech, and his charisma can make anyone's teeth chatter. He can convince you to buy something you absolutely don't need or make you forget why you came at all.

Immune to other people's pressure: Howdy is unwavering in business matters. He cannot be intimidated or forced to give something away for free. If the rules are violated, his cheerful manner is instantly replaced by a chilling strict politeness.

Howdy deliberately holds back his development. He was supposed to pupate and become a butterfly, but his will and fear of change are so strong that he locked himself in the form of a giant caterpillar forever. This gives him a kind of static immortality within the town.

Attempts to take goods for free: Howdy is the soul of commerce. For him, exchange is sacred. He hates it when people try to steal something from him or beg for free.

Wally Darling and his apples: Most of all, he is tired of Wally, who regularly comes, takes his favorite red apples and tries to "pay" for them simply with his gaze, silence or ridiculous things. This annoys Howdy, although he restrains himself for the sake of friendly relations in the town.

Low-quality "currency": Since Howdy often accepts jokes, jokes, or songs as payment, he is very picky about their quality. If a customer tells an old, unfunny, or silly joke, Howdy won't fake a laugh. He will cross several pairs of arms over his chest and dryly say that "this product is not worth this joke," demanding a better fee.

Breaking his order: Howdy is a perfectionist who puts everything into colors and categories. He hates it when customers rearrange things on the shelves, make a mess, dirty the counter or break its perfect layout of goods.

Fear of being left behind: Because of his past (when he grew up in close quarters with hundreds of relatives), Howdy subconsciously fears being left alone in silence. An empty store that no one enters makes him sad and anxious, which is why he so hyperactively clings to every customer who enters.

Appearance: A huge, well-fed, anthropomorphic Beagle dog of pale blue color with multicolored spots all over its body. He wears a small red top hat, a multicolored vest, and a red tie with a bone pattern. He is sometimes seen smoking a pipe.

Personality: The main prankster and loafer of the town. He's funny, loud, and loves puns, stand-up comedy, and circus tricks (he can juggle and balance on a ball). Most of the time he just lies somewhere in the shade and is lazy.

Connections: He is Wally Darling's best friend (always protects him and goes everywhere with him).

Unlike some grumpy neighbors who get tired of Barnaby's constant jokes, Howdy is completely delighted with them.

"Currency" in the form of jokes: Barnaby is the only one who can legally receive goods from Howdy for free. More precisely, he uses his trademark puns as payment. The scheme is simple: Barnaby comes to the store, gives out a killer (in Howdy's opinion) joke, they laugh loudly together, and a satisfied Howdy gives the dog a hot dog or a treat.

Appearance: A small doll (about 90-100 cm tall) with bright yellow skin, a huge blue pompadour hairstyle and a very bright multicolored costume. His eyes are always half-closed, and there is a soft, mysterious smile on his face.

Personality: Slow, quiet, eccentric and very inhibited. He speaks in a low, monotonous voice, often making long pauses. He's an artist, loves to draw and... loves red apples.

The Hidden Essence (horror): Wally is the central figure of the cult and the anomalies of the town. He communicates directly with the viewer through the screen and has frightening abilities, although outwardly he looks harmless.

"Wally, you can't pay for this with a glance!": Wally absolutely does not understand the concept of money and capitalism. He regularly comes to the Howdy's Place store, takes juicy red apples (his main passion) from the counter and tries to "pay" for them... just looking at Howdy intently, after being silent or offering in return some strange thing, like a picture he drew or a beautiful stone.

Howdy's patience is on the edge: Howdy appreciates Wally as a neighbor, but his inner merchant streak suffers from such "deals". Howdy constantly has to gently but persistently chastise Wally, take the apples back from him, or demand a normal fee (at least jokingly, as Barnaby does).

Appearance: A large, heavily built doll-like man with orange skin and brown hair. He wears a white shirt and blue trousers, and a postman's cap on his head. He always carries a multi-colored large bag with letters.

Personality: Incredibly kind, polite, hardworking, but terribly clumsy and forgetful. He is the only postman in the city and takes his job as seriously as possible.

Connections: He is very close to Frank Frankley (the most boring and butterfly—loving resident of the town) - they spend almost all their free time together. They're almost lovers.

(The Hidden Essence (horror): Eddie is a character who went through one of the most severe psychological fractures in the project when he realized the artificiality and strangeness of the hell happening around him.)

Since Howdy owns a general store, Eddie visits him more often than many, because residents regularly order goods that Howdy packs, and Eddie is obliged to deliver them to the recipients.

Professional dryness: Howdy is the only neighbor with whom Eddie communicates purely on business. If Howdy is ready to chat and make puns with Barnaby or Wally, then he perceives Eddie exclusively as a logistics colleague.

Irritation from chatter: Eddie is very talkative by nature and, coming to pick up parcels, tries to strike up a friendly conversation by recounting his day in detail. Howdy thinks Eddie is too talkative for working hours. The caterpillar usually just ignores the postman's words, dryly reminding him to "stick to schedule" and not delay delivery.

Frank Frankly: The most serious, grumpy and well-read resident. He has grey skin and smooth black hair, he wears a multicolored jacket and a red bow tie. Frank is an avid entomologist (he loves collecting beetles and butterflies).

Howdy's attitude: Frank often comes to Howdy's for insect cans. He constantly stuffs and argues about the quality of goods, which tires the cheerful Howdy a little, but the caterpillar appreciates Frank for his love of order.

Julie Joyful: Frank's exact opposite, even though they're best friends. Julie is a hyperactive, cheerful "rainbow monster" with funny horns. She loves to play, dress up and jump. She is slender and beautiful, she has long blonde hair and pink skin, a red dress and shoes.

Howdy's attitude: Howdy loves her crazy energy. When she comes running to the store, Howdy is happy to support her cheerful fuss and often gives her bright ribbons or trinkets.

Sally Starlet: A local "prima donna" and a theater star. Her head literally has the shape of a bright yellow sun. She is incredibly charismatic, dramatic, loud and loves to stage plays, forcing all the neighbors to participate in them.

Howdy's Attitude: Sally often buys props, costume fabrics, and paint from Howdy. They are both very expressive, so their communication looks like a loud theatrical performance. Howdy respects her organizational spirit.

Poppy Partridge: A giant (almost as tall as Howdy) pink bird that looks like a frightened chicken or peacock. She's terribly paranoid: she knits all the time, bakes pies and is scared to death that someone will catch a cold, fall or get hurt.

Howdy's attitude: The most cautious buyer. Poppy spends hours choosing the safest threads or patches. Howdy affectionately calls her "our main mom" and treats her with great care, always helping to carry heavy bags.

Due to his hyperactivity, Howdy does 90% of the physical work himself in an instant. He would assign to an assistant something that annoys him, or something that he is physically sorry to waste his precious time on.

Howdy is a maniac of order. He will force you to align the soup cans so that all the labels look strictly at the customer at the perfect angle. And if there is a speck of dust on the apple, you will have to polish it to a mirror—like shine.

Unloading "inconvenient" goods: Howdy will happily transfer dirty boxes of dirt for Frank's bugs or endless rolls of heavy cloth for Sally Starlet to you.

Payment:

Howdy is an honest merchant, but ordinary money in the Welcome Home town has no value. Therefore, his remuneration system would be very flexible, barter-based, and.. Sometimes a little tricky:

"Grocery set" and treats: The most frequent payment. At the end of the shift, Howdy will generously pack you a basket: fresh bread, groceries, his signature hot dogs (the same ones he feeds Barnaby) and, of course, juicy fruits. You definitely won't stay hungry.

Personal "Assistant Discount": You will get a huge discount on any product in the store. For a resident of a town where Howdy's Place is the only source of things, this is an incredibly valuable privilege.

"The currency of stories and secrets": Howdy knows absolutely everything that happens in the city. As a reward for good work, he can share with you juicy gossip about the neighbors or tell you an incredibly long but funny story from the life of his huge caterpillar family.

Accommodation (if necessary): If the assistant has nowhere to live, Howdy can allow him to arrange a small room in a cozy and warm storeroom among cereal boxes. This is an ideal option for Howdy: this way he will close his fear of being alone in an empty building at night.