god's littlest phreak

1. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and the Unstable Behaviour of Julie Joyful

There are many instances in which Julie explicitly shows a lack of self-worth or self-esteem. The prime example is the storybook Primrella, where, on the very last page, Julie refuses to refer to herself as Primrose and instead sticks to the name her abusive sisters gave her.

FRANK

Are - are you sure it’s not something else? Maybe... Maybe like Primrose? Remember?

JULIE: Nope! I’m all in on the soot! Prim-rella it is!

SALLY: [under her breath] My writing... My eloquence… [sighs] Foiled again…

In the early pages, too, Julie was seen being delighted in handling all the chores, implying that she has been exposed to harsh conditions and is even used to being mistreated.

SALLY: Prim-rella, shine my slippers!

EDDIE: Prim-rella, shine my hats!

POPPY: Prim-rella, shine whatever this is!

JULIE: [wailing as many items are shoved into her arms] WO-OA-OAH! [happily] You got it sis!

SALLY: [laughing nervously before whispering sharply] No, no! Your character, Julie! Anguish! Loss! Despair!

JULIE: Oh, yeah! [repeating the line more sadly] Boohoo! Waaaah! You got it!

Lastly, during the first transformation, Julie compliments the ragged dress.

JULIE: Mr Fox, Mouse, I’ve never been happier! Stains have never looked more stylish! Just wait until my sisters see me now!

But says nothing much in the second transformation. Instead, it was Howdy who was giving all the compliments.

HOWDY: Prim-rella’s subjectively beautiful dress turned into a drop-dead, show-stopping, head-turning gown made’a pure magic! [Glitter sound] She even had the most beautiful pair of Mary Janes you've ever seen! [Hopeful melody plays.]

You could argue that in this part, Julie does not want to conform to gender norms and bring up her genderfluid identity (has not been revealed yet). It's not a bad assumption, but I think her struggle with gender identity ties more to her not wanting to join the band.

I also want to address the people who belittle her demeanour, claiming that Julie was only insecure because of her siblings' fame.

There's a reason for every action and for every behaviour. Nobody is born just insecure, just like how no child is evil. The upbringing is always a factor in these characteristics.

For one does not choose to be self-destructive out of the blue. Events, actions, and words shape us, whether we notice it or not.

2. Proof and Explanation of the Abuse in the Joyful Family

Let's begin with the pieces of media that are on the website itself:

a. The insistence on being the carbon copy of the Joyful siblings (excluding Julie), and how it is the only right way.

a.1.

FRANNY: Disoriented and frantic?

JONESY: Are you jonesing for the good?

BEA: Just please remember to be,

ALL: Like the entire joyful family would!

a.2.

FRANNY: There’s more to it than that, Julie! Rainbow Monsters have special horns that grow in sunshine and shed when it's cold. Rainbow monster horns come in all different shapes and colors, but the bigger the better, obviously.

a.3.

JONESY: Did you say color? I’m in the know on that one, sis! Rainbow monsters come in all hues, toos! From our heads to our roots, from our leaves to our nose! We stick to one color, so that together we’re totally kaleidoscopic!

a.4.

BEA: Yes… But we don’t do this all alone, Jonesy… Rainbow monsters live together in groups called a band… And a band of monsters are only as melodious as their harmony together!

a.5.

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!

Notice how Julie doesn't own any of these characteristics, including not wanting to be a part of their band?

Julie stands out like a sore thumb for obvious reasons, and her siblings are aware of this.

Which is why they are trying so hard to convince her to come back, solely so she will embrace the norm and be purified, despite being physically unable to do so.

It's basically the equivalent of telling a person with no legs to walk.

(No, not crawling, but to legitimately walk.)

The argument that the Joyful siblings are oblivious to the great effect their words have on Julie is very weak. Their whole gimmick is to follow their appearance and image. They would be very dense not to notice the loud difference between them and Julie.

The tauntings are (clearly) not accidental.

b. The First in Hierarchy; Franny

Occasionally, Franny shows a sort of hostility towards Julie, in which she often scolds her.

FRANNY: Missing things again, Julie!

FRANNY:(Said accusingly) Because someone here doesn’t!

JONESY: Yeah, someone here doesn’t.

After collecting information about Franny, I realise the said information hints that Franny was the one who mostly initiates the abuse and is overall controlling.

First, the cards:

The first card seems to target Julie, as she is the one who holds the bouquet cards.

On the other hand, the second card says, "You're in charge. Steal a card from a fellow rainbow monster."

This most likely implies that Franny abuses her power as a leader, taking advantage of and grooming other rainbow monsters so they wouldn't question her ways.

Secondly, the storybook Springtime Salutations:

We all realise that the narrator shares the same voice as Franny herself, but I haven't seen anyone question why this has happened.

I believe this is a smart choice to subtly show Franny's need to assert control, even if the story itself centres around Julie.

At the end of the audio, the narrator (Franny) takes the wheel by interrupting in the middle of Julie's last dialogue. Once again, hastily stealing the spotlight for what was supposed to be her sister's.

Not to mention, the narrator compliments Franny merely throughout the book. The irony!

Thirdly, the Darling Broadcast:

FRANK: Why you-!

FRANNY: (With a commanding tone.) Back to us- Julie, when are you going to finally join our band?

See? Take note of that. What seems to be innocent at first glance is actually a pattern of hers. Franny truly cannot last without being the one in charge; it's really ingrained into her. Her ego has to be stroked.

Lastly, the prominent one is yet again, Primrella:

Unsuprisingly, the most abusive sister was Bluebell. The one that lead the family and forced/encourage the others to discriminate and abuse Primrella... I think you get it now.

c. The Second Abuser (The Insecure Fool); Jonesy

Shocking or not, I promise this has multitudes of reasons.

If I had to describe the relationship between Jonesy and Julie, I would say it's a trauma bond and a 'victim abuses another victim.'

(For those who don't have a full grip of what it is, trauma bond is when a victim forms an emotional bond with the perpetrator of the abuse.)

One of Julie's cards says, "Jump to the nearest green space!"

From my understanding, Julie had once found security in Jonesy. Perhaps Bea was too positive for her, or that he understood Julie's situation since both of them were in the shadows of the other two sisters.

This is until Jonesy ultimately takes advantage of Julie's feelings and participates in the abuse against her to fish out the approval from Franny.

Why do I say this? Well.

He actively backs up Franny's actions, even following the exact same action right after her.

Examples:

1.

FRANNY:(Said accusingly) Because someone here doesn’t!

JONESY: Yeah, someone here doesn’t.

2.

SALLY (FRANNY): Hmpf! Dressing like the rags used for polishing our shoes, I see!

JULIE: [happily] That’s right! Hand-made, too! By some friendly woodland critters!

EDDIE (JONESY): [laughs] Oh, sister, dear, don’t tell me you’ve stooped so low as to talkin’ to the rodents!

JULIE: They’re not rodents! One… is a mouse! And the other is a successful entrepreneur! He even made me this dress!

3.

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? 4.

5. Serendipitous means beneficial. "Close your eyes and pluck any flower card!" Jonsey gets benefits from the prejudice against his younger sister by blindly following the abuser.

Please keep in mind that I am not saying Jonesy does not care for Julie; I think deep down, he really does!

But a nice person who supports and continues the cycle of abuse is still in the wrong.

EDDIE (JONESY): An ugly little thing you pulled out of a bucket, more like! I wouldn’t even let you polish the family soot pile with a raggedy thing like that! [Catches himself being too in-character and quickly becomes apologetic] S-So fancy dress or not, this buggy’s too small for the likes of you! [quietly] ...I-If that’s alright...!

I'm unsure if this is Eddie getting too in character with Jonesy's abusive tendencies, or if it actually represents Jonesy.

Eh, most definitely the latter.

Similar to Julie, Jonesy suffers from the same lack of self-worth/insecurity. This could explain why he constantly relies on his elder(?) sisters for almost everything.

In terms of character design, the long hair that obscures his face can symbolise his loss of identity, not knowing who he actually is and had his feelings neglected.