#springtime salutations

[koii-loops]

I am trying so hard to ignore Julie’s crash out…

I didn’t know where to put my beloved Frank so he’s somewhere…

Bai!

[squidling2005]

[insertcleverblogname87]

Okay so I have deciphered the Buggle page, if you brighten the image you can see the words in the ink splotches and based off of deductive reasoning I finished what the page likely would’ve said, of course there are some problems such as the text not spacially fitting with the rest of the page, likely more would’ve been said but I believe it would’ve been along the lines of what I deduced. The only part I can’t figure out is that middle text word, which of course seems the most important, and of course I can’t figure it out, it could be recycle but it doesn’t match, the r would be far too thin compared to the other r’s on this page, it can’t be h because the bottom part would also be too thin compared to the other h’s, and same with n, so idk what it’s supposed to be, there are no other words in the English dictionary that match.

[des2dream]

Welcome Home's New Update Starred Julie and.....🌺

Warning: There will be spoilers!

I think Springtime Salutations is the darkest update out of them all so far! I think it may also my favorite update. It used to be Homewarming, but this one....THIS ONE!!!...it took the cake. I love Julie & Frank's relationship, Julie's family is interesting, I enjoyed the news/weather forecast/podcast featuring the whole cast, I loved the storybooks, Wally's phone call gave me chills, & WTF do you mean Julie was putting up a FRONT this WHOLE TIME with that joyful attitude?!!! Are all the characters like this? Are they trapped? Do they not wanna leave? Are they afraid that if they don't live up to their quirks, routines, & personalities, they'll get booted out of Welcome Home?! WHAT THE FLUFF IS GOING ON HERE?!!!

(And yes, I am a fan of Welcome Home! It's a great project!)💛🍎💙

[ether3alesther]

Oh Julie, the woman that you are...

[lilysaus]

a couple of screenshots from the new update that i forgot to post lol

warning! spoilers ahead!

freaking obsessed with this storybook

wally is so miniscule 😭😭😭

also, poor frank bro, they sounded so uncomfortable at the end there, someone get them OUTTA THERE man

[my-pfp-is-my-current-intrest]

I've been trying to pin a flower to every welcome home member but I'm having a hard time. Here's what I have so far:

Wally: None (Probably for a reason)

Barnaby: Either Daisies or Dogsbane

Eddie: Lavender

Frank: Roses?

Julie: Dandelion?

Sally: Tulips

Poppy: Poppies

Howdy: Campanula (Bellflowers)

[arikihalloween]

SpringTime Salutations everyone !!

Today I bring you a Julie in her SweetBriar outfit I drew in honor of the update !

There's more to come !! New ocs, new ships, new AUs

I'll also be taking doodle requests if you have scenarios or neighbors you wanna see in my style ! (OCs are welcome too)

[paper-starz]

A very big analysis on the new Welcome Home update

HELLLOOOOO EVERYONEEEE I havent done one of these in a while, but omg the newest update was everything I ever hoped for and more!! So today, we'll be talking about EVERYTHING (+ lil theories here and there)

BIG BIG SPOILERS AHEAD

Julie Joyful, Insecurity, Pressure, and Toxic Positivity

This update really gave us some interesting insight to the star of this update, Julie.

Julie is a rainbow monster, and a very happy one as her name would imply. And yet, she's not really like the rest of her family. She looks different from them for instance.

Her brother Jonesy states that rainbow monsters 'stick with one color', which means that they only stick to one color and don't really wear other colors. Even Julie's bio states how different in appearance Julie is from her siblings.

Recent evidence has revealed that Julie’s family consisted of a "band" of rainbow monsters that were a monochromatic color palette rather than a full rainbow like Julie herself.

Sure, Julie does have pink in her color pallete, she also has an array of other colors! Her hair isn’t a shade of pink, it’s yellow. Her legs aren’t a shade of pink either, it’s blue and green.

Franny also states that while horns come in different shapes and sizes, the bigger the better obviously. Julie's horns however are very small compared to the rest of the rainbow monsters.

Not to mention that she seems to forget or miss valuable information about rainbow monsters and Franny has to keep correcting her over and over again.

"There's more than that, Julie!" and "Missing things again, Julie."

And unlike her siblings, she lives away from them, which is unusual for a rainbow monster, where they normally live in a band.

She also doesn't seem to have an instrument, as stated in the Springtime Salutations book, "Julie, however, is her own instrument."

Speaking of the book, she also woke up too early for springtime.

And while her siblings were kind enough to bring Spring early this time, that doesn't mean that Julie wasn't affected at all by this. She knows how different she is from the rest of her siblings, and she's insecure about this fact.

This all culminates with the black flower, the one flower that she cannot bloom.

Rainbow monsters have a responsibility during Springtime. Franny melts away the snow with the morning dew, Jonesy makes the grass grow, Bea makes the sun shine, and Julie makes the flowers bloom. That is Julie's job, her one job of the entire year.

If she can't do that properly, then she would be proving to her siblings that she is a faulty rainbow monster that cannot do things by herself, that she cannot function properly away from her familial support. Which is the reason why she's so adamant on not rejoining the band, despite her siblings best efforts to sway her.

FRANNY: (With a commanding tone.) Back to us- Julie, when are you going to finally join our band? JONESY: Yeah, sis- What’s a rainbow monster band without its dynamite drummer? BEA: (Wistfully said.) Just think of it, sister dear… A colorful quartet pushing the seasons! JULIE: (Nervous and hesitant) That sounds… (Pretends to be losing signal) Oop- Oh no! The sounds! We’re breaking up!- (Whispering harshly.) Hang up the phone, Frank! Hang up!

And that's not to mention that she feels insecure not only towards her siblings as a rainbow monster, but also in the neighborhood.

She states that while she gets along well with everyone in the neighborhood, she's not particularly close with anyone besides Frank. Barnaby and Howdy tease her which probably makes her feel even more insecure, particularly in her ability to make others laugh, which again, brings JOY to people.

While she likes Poppy, Sally, Eddie, and Wally, again, she's not particularly close with either of them. Frank seems to be her only form of support in the neighborhood.

And yet, this particular scene is interesting, because according to Julie in The Julie Guide to being Joyful, her relationship with Howdy and Barnaby in particular are different.

She seems like she's lying to Wally and perhaps to herself that she has a great relationship with EVERYONE in the neighborhood, she's Julie Joyful! She's happy all the time and everyone loves her.

And yet, Wally seems to call her out on this. Both in the storybook and in the /regardforgetfulnesssilence link.

"Did all that really happen, Julie?" He says, as if he knows that Julie is lying but wants her to tell the story again. Reword the story so that she's telling the truth, but she doesn't want to. It's easier for her to live in a lie.

Which is another reason why she doesn't want to go back to her siblings. She would have to leave, not the neighborhood, but Frank. Her only form of actual support.

(Said inside her head. It sounds like static. ) If I can’t make a flower bloom, if I can’t bring Springtime around- What would I do? Will I have to leave? Will I have to go back? I’d just-

While I do believe her siblings love her and Julie does love them back, again, they make her feel insecure as a rainbow monster. Her older siblings always manage to get their job right, they have monochromatic colors, their horns are bigger, and unlike her, they never wake up too early for springtime.

JULIE: Hi, Wally! And hello to my sweet saccharine siblings! FRANNY: Is that our youngest sister here? JONESY: She’s our sweetest too- BEA: Don’t forget our most colorful! Julie, what could YOU need help with? You’re one of us!

Ironic how Bea says this line. Julie doesn't feel like one of them. She doesn't feel like a rainbow monster. Her one job of the entire year is to make the flowers bloom and if she can't do that, then what use is she?

This is why she is so terrified of that flower. That one flower that she cannot bloom. Its a crack in the joyous facade that she created. Sure, its just one flower, but what if its two next Spring? 10 after that? Whole fields of wilting flowers, dead flowers? Because of one mistake of waking too early and bringing in Spring when the time just wasn't right?

Then she would have to leave Home, and leave Frank. And its no surprise that she holds Frank in such a high admiration. He's the smartest neighbor in Home and he's her only true friend. She's especially terrified of disappointing him in particular.

Because while I do think Julie sees Frank as her best friend, I believe that because of the Sweet Briar book, Julie sees Frank as some sort of prince in shining armor coming in to save her.

Note that she doesn't view Frank in a romantic light, when the scene came for Frank to awaken princess Julie from her slumber with a kiss, Julie just jumps from her bed and the kiss just never happens.

Frank is her only person in the neighborhood that actually supports her and her only true friend, thus, Julie sees Frank as someone that's saving her. Keeping her away from the dangers of leaving with her siblings and going away, thus losing Frank (and her support), and perhaps even away from the responsibility of being a rainbow monster.

"I'm doing the best that I can, but it's nice to let someone else lead."

As mentioned before, if Julie joins the band, she'll be the drummer. However, Julie is her own instrument, she marches along to the beat of her own drum lol.

The drummer's role in a band is to provide the rhythmic foundation of the group, providing a steady beat and tempo. A drummer's role is pretty strict, if they mess up (like if they come in too early or if they become off-tempo), that messes up the entire song.

Julie already knows that she's not that great of a rainbow monster, she messes up constantly, forgets facts that a rainbow monster should know, wakes up too early for Spring, and can only make MOST of the flowers bloom. If she goes back to her siblings, joins their band, and becomes their drummer, then she's not only risking messing up her job of making the flowers bloom, but also the rest of her siblings' job. What if she misses just one beat? Would that jeopardize everything? What would her siblings say if she messes up and makes them mess up too?

What will happen to Springtime? Will the grass and flowers die? Will the sun never shine? Will the rain never come to wash away the snow? Will she trap the entire neighborhood in an endless winter?

It's a risk that Julie just doesn't want to take. This is why she starts getting more and more aggressive towards the black flower, because it's jeopardizing her stay at the neighborhood, and threatening her to leave everything behind.

Which leads us to the ending of /tearsremembranceinstability, Julie gets more and more agitated towards the flower. Flat out threatening it when it's not going to be blooming anytime soon.

"You won't be around for much longer--" "I'll never see you again, no one will, no one will ever know you were here--" THOSE SOUND LIKE THREATS!

Which leads me to believe that Julie did something awful to that flower. Either she forced that flower to bloom, or she killed it.

What ever she did to that flower, Frank witnessed it. And Julie knows what Frank saw.

But then, something strange happens.

This weird little bug flies in at the end and stares at us, the viewer.

And we have seen this bug before! On the miscellaneous section!

Opening the image under a new tab reveals that this toy is called a 'buggle'.

While it is a cute little toy, it seems out of place for this thing to just pop out. It feels random.

But ah! It is NOT random dear viewer!

Taken from the awayfrompryingeyes.net site.

'Buggle' sounds like a mix of the word 'bug' and 'beagle'. AND CAN YOU GUESS WHICH NEIGHBORS HAVE A CONNECTION TO THE WORDS BUG AND BEAGLE????

Frank, Barnaby, and Howdy! Three neighbors that have had an impact on Julie's insecurities.

Both Howdy and Barnaby make Julie's insecurities worse. They constantly tease her, with Barnaby in particular saying that he doesn't find Julie's jokes all that funny and Howdy saying that she better get some new material.

Frank on the other hand alleviates those insecurities, making him a huge source of comfort, but to the point that she's terrified of disappointing him.

The buggle seems to be a manifestation of Julie's insecurities and anxieties, manifesting itself during Julie's lowest point.

Which concludes to this. What will the next update be about?

Because our guy W definitely has some ideas...

Perhaps the buggle is foreshadowing, either the next update will be focusing on either Frank, Barnaby, or Howdy!

But i suppose only time will tell.

[koii-loops]

Welcome home~ I mean welcome in‼️

SPRINGTTGGGGGHGHTTHG

[janebonbon]

A Nagging Welcome Home Theory

With everyone else posting their theories, I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring. However, I'd like to point out something that I don't think many others have noticed, or publicly commented on.

This fucking thing. I have seen many comment on it, but not quite make the same connections. Like many of the other bugs in Home, I think it pulls a main motif from other neighbors. I think this thing- this Buggle as it is called in the file name, is a stand-in or representation of some kind for Barnaby.

Okay, okay, stay with me. The three points that stick with me about this thing. One, it's a dog toy. That seems extremely deliberate to me. Why not make it a plush toy? Why a dog toy if it wasn't important to connect to another dog? Secondly, most of the words are ripped out, but one stands out. "Grow-a-pal". Call it far-fetched, but this gives points to the Barnaby association. We all know that Barnaby is a very big dog; and not to mention, he's Wally's best pal. It made me remember this trivia fact listed on this dedicated wiki page.

And last but not least, the Buggle seems to have very dog-like mannerisms. If you've seen any dog stomp something down it seems strikingly similar to what the Buggle is doing. Much like dogs after digging...

"BUT JANEY!", I hear you cry. "What the hell does that have to do with ANYTHING!?!" To that, I say, a hell of a lot! But just keep the fact that Barnaby and the Buggle's tie together in mind.

Julie mentions that the flower that won't bloom is far away from Sally's stage. I wonder if we'd be able to find this possible flowerbud in the neighborhood?

However, there's no sign of this black flower. I have seen some theories that the footsteps behind Julie's house must lead to that flower. However... I believe that's incorrect. I believe it's a red herring. It feels too close to Sally's stage; which is right next door to Julie's house. Perhaps it's the path Julie and Frank took to meet her siblings instead. However... if you do look around.. There is something... Strange.

There seems to be a very suspicious looking pile of disturbed dirt nearby Barnaby's house. The flower overtop of the mound almost makes it feel like a grave. Tying this fact to the fact the Buggle is connected to the black flower's destruction in some way... I can't help but wonder if Barnaby was involved with burying this secret.

It's not the first connection we've seen between Barnaby and digging either. If you look back in the news posts, in the Homewarming update, the WHRP leaves off with a bit of an... Odd joke.

Considering that Homewarming was the big update before Springtime Salutations, it feels like a deliberate crumb that was left for the future. Not to mention it's barely a joke, and more of a fact.

I'm more and more sure of the fact that Barnaby is a helper to covering up things that could get the neighborhood in 'trouble'. Note again that Wally uses "we" when describing what is going on in the neighborhood. I think this 'we' at least includes Barnaby as well, considering how close Wally and Barnaby are. Wally mentions him twice in the same recording.

I am particularly suspicious about Wally mentioning the phrase 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours.' A phrase that shows a reciprocal help. Which could mean either doing something unpleasant, or something someone is unable to do. I think Julie fits both of those boxes. I think Barnaby buried the flower for Julie.

Additionally, Due to Wally and Julie both mentioning 'trouble', and WHRP looking more and more suspicious for silencing Wally; I'm even more suspicious of the fact the unbloomed flower looks quite a lot like Marlo's logo.

Lastly, I think the box image posted on awayfrompryingeyes is the Buggle. I believe even the name of "Buggle" is a pun of "Bug" and "Beagle".

I am not sure of what to make of this beyond these facts and connections I've made, but I believe the next update may center around Barnaby.

Tell me what you think of these connections as well! Maybe I've missed something myself. Na razie!

[gachagon]

This newest update for Welcome Home is big, and not only that I think it's patently split into two. So because of that I'm going to talk about each side of the update. First, I want to talk about the open side, the things found on the website that pertain to Julie and other strange things I noticed.

The newest Looky-Loo storybooks with Julie and the others are really cute, but I noticed they all seemed to have a theme of Julie being asleep. I know she was hibernating at first during winter, but I feel like there's a deeper meaning here. The Looky-loo story books are always kind of strange because they are obviously just stories being put on by the characters, but there's always some underlying message to the story being told.

Sleeping Beauty is an interesting story to pick for Julie since the last Looky-Loo story before this one was already about her being asleep. I think the two stories are about Julie's agency in the show and world of Welcome Home as a whole.

When you really think about it, Julie just has to be happy and live up to the whole "joyful" title of her name. She doesn't really have an occupation or job like the other puppets do. It's here that we find out her "job" is to make the flowers bloom in spring time (and I will talk more about that soon...)

So Spring is kind of her thing, it's all for her in a way. It's probably the only time the narrative puts her directly in the spotlight. So, she has to do a good job during this one time of the year.

I've also noticed that Julie shrugs off any advances from her Brother and Sisters to join the band, and they even seem to wonder when she'll join up as the drummer for their band. It makes me think that Julie doesn't want to be the drummer for the band because she enjoys being apart of the neighborhood and living with her friends.

But if the narrative (this is what I'm calling the over-arching story that controls all of the characters but plot-wise and like...literally.) decided she had a purpose elsewhere, then she might just get shafted AS the drummer for their band instead of being her own lead or main character.

I think there's also something worth saying about the themes of each story and how they somewhat revolve around Julie and the other characters having to 'wait' for something to happen. Julie in Sleeping Briar has to wait for true loves kiss before she's back in the story again, and in Springtime Salutations everyone has to wait for the clock to ring before the Rainbow monsters bring in the new season.

I will talk more about the themes of patience, having to wait a long time, and other such things in a different post because that one will have heavier spoilers involved for the secret side of the website. For now, I will say this:

I think Julie in this update has been incredibly proactive in trying to stay a relevant part of the story. The past 2 updates have revolved around characters shunning the narrative and then being forced to either wake up (Eddie Dear) or being walled off without any further words (Poppy). It's as if Julie has already seen what can happen when you aren't as entertaining or productive in the story and the consequences for that.

[des2dream]

The artist/artists for the storybooks really outdid themselves this time! The way they draw the characters is so cute & now I WISH Welcome Home was a series back in the day so we can have these books! Sweet Briar is my favorite out the bunch! I'm dying at how nothing can get past Wally's massive cinnamon roll hair! Also, this image doubles for meme material next to the King Wally "This is fine" picture! Howdy's just looking at him like, "We might be cooked!" & Wally is still unfazed! Sometimes I wish I had Wally's energy.

[natinkart]

mini sketch of julie and frank based on a page of "springtime salutations" (reference under the cut)

this is such a lovely illustration aaaaaaa MY HEART ;-;

[sketchy-tour]

MY WELCOME HOME SPOILERS THOUGHTS AND STUFF!

ALL SPOILERS!!!!

AGAIN AUGH OKAY AGAIN WHERE'S MY MAN??? MY MAN ISN'T ON THE FRONT PAGE ANYMORE??? AND WITH WALLY'S EYES LOOKING AWAY ON HIS NEIGHBORHOOD ART??? AND HIS CATCHPHRASE AUDIO BEING PHONE RINGING?? ARE WE TRYING TO CALL HIM??? WHERE ARE YOU, SWEETHEART???

ANYWAY STORYBOOKS

Springtime Salutations!! THE VOICE SOUNDS LIKE SALLY TO ME!!! Which is fitting! The cough?? Sally?? You good??? Oh gee this update is making me so uneasy /pos I assume this isn't "Sally" but it's Sally's in universe VA. Oh gosh maybe the actors aren't okay. of course as ALWAYS THE ART IS SUCH A DELIGHT!!!

ALSO JONESY'S VOICE???? IS SO GOOD!!!!!!! AUGH THEY'RE ALL SO PRETTY!!!!

Sweet Briar Sally voice actress again hello!!!Though its ACTUALLY Sally I think! ALSO ITS THE WALLY KING STORY YIPPEEEEEE Not me getting actually a little emotional seeing Wally with a baby. ALSO DID THAT SOUND LIKE HOWDY JUST SLAPPING THE SHIT OUTTA BARNABY!? I love all the characters I love Howdy being unable to say "take the day off"

okay but this is the funniest ever. Howdy??? Did you draw that??? Wally losing his place in the script. His little voice. I'm gonna sob. I love him sm. Also Julie waking up before the kiss is so silly. She really said "AAAAND IM UP!!!"

The Julie Guide to Being Joyful Won't say much with this one other than the art is super cute like always! Wally learning emotions is so sweet. But uh-

I don't think my beloved is feeling very joyful....

The board game!!! The food section!! All so fun and silly!!! Rainbow monster cakes looking like sheep melts my heart! AND THE CRISPY SWEETS ART IS SO SWEET

We're all gonna make a rainbow monster right??? Thats gonna be a new thing right??? I hope its a thing ALSO THE SONG BY THE JOYFULS IS ACTUALLY A BANGER FR FR AUGH!!!!!! Also the fact the art of the record confirms rainbow monsters are furry IS SO GOOD IM SPINNING!!!!!

A Darling Broadcast As I said before he sounds WAY more energetic here to me. He just does. Something about this just has more cadence to me. He's still monotonous but its just...its different! But gosh his voice still just melts my heart regardless! Also man, Frank is CONSTANTLY called the grouchiest neighbor and yet he just isn't is he? I mean, sure, he is compared to everyone else I suppose. But when he's with Julie, hell when he's with Poppy too, hes so sweet and silly. And I love that about him. I love that Frank isn't just mean. I love him. My platonic bestie westie. Oh I should put him down as a platonic f/o fr. I adore he. ANYWAY- Speaking of f/os, if there isn't more self ships with the other joyfuls soon I will riot.

Secrets Oh god. Okay so Ringring was the first one I got to cause I heard the call audio on the toy phone for Wally was different. He keeps saying we. Oh Wally. Also augh one of the videos again mentions not being outside after dark. AND JULIE OH GOD WHATS HAPPENING WITH JULIE. JULIE BABY GIRL. I dunno if I got to all the links. I ALMOST FORGOT TO GO LOOK AT AWAY FROM PRYING EYES TOO!!!! W WAIT NO W DONT DRINK THE OLD ASS SODA WAIT STOP-

ANYWAY HI NOTHING GOOD IS HAPPENING!!! NOTHING AT ALL!!! God reading that W doesn't like his flash. Reading that he's living in the dark like this. I wanna know SO much more about him. I NEED TO. I need to know what exactly he is in the story. I have theories! I DO! Especially with all the voice acting swaps that's been happening. But I'll keep those to myself for the time being!!!!

[archer-kacey]

Few thoughts on the Spring Update for Welcome Home so far:

The eye of the Black Tulip looks similar to the pattern of the Marlo logo. The flower itself might be a hidden camera or eye, which also explains the odd ass angles of the previous secret videos as well.

Julie seems to be struggling with an internal crisis related to her role as a Rainbow Monster. In Springtime Salutations we see her wake up early for spring, and in the hidden videos she panicks when the Black Tulip won't bloom and doesn't get why it's taking so long. (This could be some kind of neurodivergency allegory but I'm not sure yet.)

As if that weren't enough, she can't even fulfill her role as "assigned love interest" for Frank, narrowly dodging a kissing situation in Sweet Briar (either because she KNOWS he's gay, or because she is subconsciously trying to suppress her own queerness but the mask is slipping, maybe a mix of both.)

Poppy and Sally (the "good friends who interact often") are looking at each other in the pixel separator, and Frank and Eddie are looking at each other as well. Hmmm.

Speaking of gay people, Eddie and Frank very subtly inform each other (and us) of their current romantic standings.

To me this reads as Eddie quietly confirming he's gay (lavender has a strong connection to the queer community) all while directly addressing Frank, and Frank returns with a much less subtle "alright, bet"

Eddie also gives advice that you just have to put yourself out there. I'm making the assumption Eddie is speaking from experience here, as he notes at the end of his spiel "there's not a pot too cracked that a flower won't fit!" ...something he wouldn't say about Frank, but might very well say about himself.

Idk what to put here uhhhh Franny can step on me

Frank has seen his best friend AND his lover crash out... AND he's the smartest neighbor... I think he's going to go looking for answers and find some things he shouldn't.