hey kid, wanna hear some howdy/poppy headcanons from yours truly?
Howdy, like no one else, knows exactly how to calm Poppy down whenever she feels stressed or nervous. Somewhat, Poppy instantly feels safer whenever Howdy gives her a big ol' smile or a (quadruple!) thumbs up. Others think it's magic.
Poppy is a regular customer of Howdy's Place, much like Wally, Barnaby and others, except because she finds joy in baking, her visits always come to the point where Howdy has to force her out of his bodega because of how much time she spends there, picking out the perfect fruit or calculating how many eggs are needed for a perfect pie. It's not like Howdy doesn't like Poppy visiting him, it's that he worries she'll overthink her purchases and end up buying nothing, which is unacceptable! Poppy's baking is amazing!
Poppy's feathers are extremely soft and cozy when you give her a hug. Unfortunately, not all neighbors are as big as Poppy is, so they just end up "drowning" in feathers that end up all over the place. I imagine Barnaby is not much of a hugger guy (more of a high-five or a friendly elbow bump), so given Howdy's multiple arms, he's a perfect fit for hugging this big bird (no tm) who turns into a blushing mess (but you can never tell!).
Poppy smells like... poppies. Howdy's favorite flowers so happen to be poppies. Wonder why...
I feel like they'd have this relationship where it's very obvious they like each other but neither are willing to do anything about it. Howdy, due to his childhood dream, believes that a relationship shouldn't stand in the business' way (but like, in a healthy way) and Poppy is too confused on her own desires and feels like she'll ruin everything. Despite this, whenever given a chance, Howdy occasionally drops small hints for Poppy, and Poppy does the same, but significantly rarely.
Y'know this thing in romance novels where whenever a female character is in love, no one knows this except the girl, but if a male character is in love, everyone knows this except the girl? Yeah, that's them.
Everyone knows Howdy's likeness towards Poppy and try their best to advice and help him. Most of the advices are silly (Wally, Barnaby and Sally), some are good in theory, but fail in practice (Julie and Eddie) and others is Frank (walking encyclopedia).
One time, Poppy baked a chocolate cake in a shape of a heart with strawberry whipped cream and told Eddie to deliver it to Howdy's Place, but keep the sender's name anonymous. Something happened along the way, Barnaby thought the cake was on sale and ate it himself. That night, Poppy cried a river.
