A BROKEN MAN.

[joyuos]

#JOYUOS is an independent dual muse rp blog for BRAD ARMSTRONG & RANDO of austin jorgensen's LISA series, the painful & the joyful. est. 3/2026. crossover & oc interaction highly encouraged.

RULES | ABOUT BRAD (DOSSIER) | ABOUT RANDO (DOSSIER) | TAGS | PLAYLISTS (BRAD / RANDO) | VERSES | PROMO | PERMA SC.

[joyuos]

some lil tidbits about joy mutant brad:

cannot speak in full sentences, but is capable of one or two words at a time. they're difficult to produce and sound distorted given the way his body bloats; think somewhat of nemesis from the ressie series, where speech is difficult and limited to one or two words.

somewhat understands what is happening around him, but not wholly. the human consciousness is reduced to something more animalistic; he has thoughts that come through more like animals thoughts or our understanding of them, a lot of instinct with some individual thought and personality.

unable to stand, given the bloated mass is centered around his torso and not his legs. his legs act like propellers and aid in scooting his body forward.

completely non hostile when under the influence of the trumpet, and will not attack anyone, not just buddy. the trumpet can similarly be used--the way yado used it--to incite brad to attack instead, which joy mutant brad would do so happily at buddy's direction, and without discrimination.

sustains off raw meat for the most part. if buddy kills someone near her home she drags him home for brad to dispose of and sustain himself off.

this is... probably his happiest? he's content. his daughter is safe. and in her way, she loves him now that he cant hurt her.

[joyuos]

also, as a tiny unimportant update, i'm still undecided on brad's fc, but i've landed on clay matthews the third (yes the football player) for dustin, just in his younger years / 2017 ish.

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Visit Original Link

Black Sabbath - War Pigs

[joyuos]

in verse where dustin is attended to immediately post maiming, his facial scarification and overall health is dramatically improved; i have to believe his lack of nose tip and the scarring on his mouth persist because he was not attended to quickly enough. irl facial mutilation survivors, whether by gunshot, animal, acid, burning, or a natal disfigurement, can achieve "normal" looking faces if the damage isn't too far, and im not of the opinion that bernard was capable of methodically flaying off dustin's face at like. what. 12 years old? it was a sudden and heated attack that transpired out of rage, bernard wouldve been swinging the buzz saw at him rather than carefully torturing him. the swing hacked off part of his nose and sliced through his mouth and jaw; dustin is just lucky it didnt blind him. i digress; aside from visible running scars and some slightly off center features, in verses where he's rescued from this or attended to quicker, his face has the time to recover/look more "normal" over time, especially if the flash doesnt happen as he'd have more opportunities for reconstructive and corrective surgeries.

[joyuos]

olivier richters is my general body claim for dustin, whom stands at 7 foot 2, and around 330 lbs. (for my european friends, that is around 218 cm and 150kg). and dustin i think is maybe up to 30 lbs heavier. he's known as "the dutch giant" and pretty exact, dustin just has a little more muscle and fat.

brad in the current day is built like an older wrestler as evidenced by dialogue heard throughout the game, but he's short as fuck. brad is no taller than 5'5 in my mind, maybe even 5'4, and around 200 lbs, with a very healthy layer of abdominal fat over hard corded muscle. think something like this image of sika anoa'i. strong, but definitely has a belly.

[joyuos]

some hc's about dustin's early life:

born to a norwegian immigrant father and an american mother native to olathe. strongly resembles his father--big, blonde, long jaw, big nose pre maiming--but has his mothers sad, gloomy eyes. unfortunately, dustin doesn't know or remember his parents in the slightest: they died before he was old enough to form anything more than instinct, and thus possesses no memories of them. (he, very vaguely, remembers his infancy bedroom. the swim of colors.)

both parents were killed in a house fire. dustin was the only survivor, prioritized by the firefighters by his mother as his father had already succumbed to smoke and fume inhalation. his mother was killed by a collapsing beam that fighters couldn't move as it was completely in flames, and she didn't make it; dustin was saved with minimal damage.

dustin was then sent to an orphanage where he would thread in and out of the foster system. had one family before brad, was 'repossessed' by CPS after it became obvious that foster family was capitalizing on the presence of children to receive more child care money.

this is also when whatever "genetics" / genetic mutation that causes olathian people to have strange abilities (in dustin's case, fireballs/fire manipulation, same as brad) began to surface, which only further ostracized dustin as he would accidentally set things on fire. he never wanted to, he was very gentle and found no thrill in doing so, but it still happened.

(so yes, technically both brad and dustin (and a variety of other chars we see in game who throw fireballs or seemingly have psychic abilities) are mutants.)

spent most of his time outside of school just wandering around olathe. as evidenced by his dialogue in joyful, he loved to play in creeks and fields, and i think he probably did so mostly alone before he began hanging around the armstrong dojo. dustin was bullied as a kid both for his abnormal size and his shy, gentle disposition.

befriended the other students at the dojo, even bernard. thus, when bernie snapped and attacked him with the saw, he was confused and hurt, not just afraid. why would he do that? he thought they were friends.

absolutely heart broken when brad simply walked out on him. i have to assume dustin either sought medical attention himself after that, another adult took him, or brad did come back after collecting himself, but if it was the last option i dont think brad was super compassionate about it. just quietly taking him to a hospital and not asking anything because he deduced in his mind why it happened already, and hating himself, but being unable to express it.

has wanted nothing more than a stable life and happiness. now that he isn't sure he can have it himself, considering the state of his family, he is determined to give it to everyone else by creating a stable olathe. maybe it will never be what it was given the flash seems to have damaged infrastructure and nature, but he is sure it can be safe again.

[joyuos]

a variety of headcanons.

dustin.

orphaned at a very young age, to the point i believe he failed to make a strong connection with them beyond the inherent infant-parent bond. as a result, dustin has never perceived himself as having parents or any parental figure until he was taken in by brad, making him far more susceptible to seeing him rapidly as a father over a master. he was in the olathian foster system (i have to imagine this system wasn't very good at what it was supposed to do, considering lisa, brad, sticky, rick, cheeks, were all either heavily abused or bullied) and aged out. i don't think brad ever formally adopted dustin as his son, as it's implied he gave himself the last name of armstrong once he saw brad as his father.

like buddy, tried to refer to brad as dad on more than one occasion and tried to hug him (probably tried to hold his hand as well). like buddy, was "swiftly punished"; this was never abusive, brad never swatted or disparaged his children, and i refuse to believe he was ever malicious; for dustin, it was more closely the admonishment of a master to the student, as that was an easier and more comfortable relationship for brad to maintain with him, but i digress. brad always disavowed the use of father or dad because it was poisoned in his mind by marty, because it made him feel sick, because he wouldnt emulate his father and thus wouldn't be 'dad'. dustin never understood this, because brad never divulged him any information about marty. he probably doesnt even know his name or that he exists.

given his gentle and bashful nature paired with an abnormally large size (dustin was big at a young age, always), he was an easy target for bullying. i think bernard was somewhere in between for dustin, both a bully of his and a friend, picking on him to manipulate him but also reaching out to spend time with him in the dojo. it's lisa's death that sent bernard into full tilt psychosis, and to this day, dustin still doesnt understand what he did wrong.

might have a touch of acromegaly, given his size and facial structure. he was pretty big for a child when brad met him, and his jaw is a bit big/long and his nose, pre maiming, was a bit big and blunt.

brad:

i actually don't think brad looks a lot like marty. i think they have the same dark little eyes, as that's an armstrong family thing, and dark hair, but brad otherwise i think looks more like mrs. armstrong. still, when he looks in the mirror he can see his father, and it destroys him.

used martial arts training as a form of emotional grounding and meditation. it is the closest thing he'll get to therapy, especially under learned discipline. he believes it is very beneficial and the reason he is still alive and never offed himself over his trauma like his sister did. he found something, even if it was minute, to guide him; karate felt good, he loved teaching, and he felt free and at ease. in another world, maybe he would have continued his training post flash as another dojo master but with legitimate tactics, if he hadn't found buddy, or if dustin hadn't suffered his maiming in his dojo. the spilled blood made him feel horror and guilt he could never describe.

the imagery brad has in his head of lisa, as the indignant and spiteful teen he'd failed, who hates him for his perceived failure, isn't what lisa was actually like. while i do believe she wasn't a good person and was a developing sociopath given her penchant for animal abuse and mutilation, i don't think she would have actually blamed brad. i think this is something brad carries in him forever because it's his own failure, or something he perceives as one. he didn't think to take his baby sister with him when he left. he was just desperate to escape marty, and in doing so, he damned her. thats what he sees it as.

[joyuos]

CHARACTER STATS FRAMEWORK.

STATS.

FULL NAME:   dustin armstrong.

NICKNAME(S):  dusty. rando.

AGE:  unclear. implied to be the same age as lisa, bernard, etcetera, so likely late 20s to early 30s. i do not see him older than 32, but i don't see him younger than 25 either. (i always just assumed bernie is balding young.)

BIRTHDAY:  unclear, sometime pre-flash. implied to be born around the same time as lisa and bernard. i believe despite his size that he was the youngest of the three of them.

SPECIES:   human.

NATIONALITY:  olathian? which is presumably somewhere in america.

GENDER:  male. i am painfully undecided if cis or not, but he firmly presents as male. (doesnt mind things like dresses or makeup being put on him though, especially if it were by buddy's hand).

PREFERRED PRONOUN(S):  he/him/his.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:  biromantic. slight preference for men.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  bisexual. slight preference for women.

RELIGION:  agnostic.

OCCUPATION: pre-flash, dustin was too young to work, but trained as a student at the armstrong dojo and typically featured as his star pupil. post flash, dustin rose to a seat of militant power as olathe's most stable and uniting warlord, capable of dishing out immense punishment if need be.

FC: to be edited at a later date, as i haven't landed on one definitively yet.

RELATIONSHIPS.

PARENTS:    bradley armstrong, failed adoptive father.

SIBLINGS:  buddy, adoptive sister.

FAMILY:   clint moss, kinda.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S):   none.

CHILDREN:  no biological children.

CLOSEST FRIENDS:  clint moss. a good majority of his immediately party. some of the other warlords, especially those that are dedicated toward order and peace as opposed to steel fisted violence such as mr. beautiful.

RIVALS:  doesn't really have any. i suppose the other warlords, though its one sided; if they chose to get along with him, he'd happily make a peaceful bond with them. if they resisted, he also has no problem employing force to ensure safety.

ENEMIES:  those that stand against a future civilized and happy olathe. bernard, though he doesn't actually hate him at all. his father.

PHYSICAL TRAITS.

EYE COLOR(S): misty blue.

HAIR COLOR(S):  a sort of strawberry blond.

HEIGHT:  around seven feet tall.

BODY BUILD:   thick, muscular, dense, herculean, and rippling. dustin is built like the biggest of body builders. imagine the most picturesque body builder you can, and add another 50% body mass; dustin is huge, corded, and very muscular with very little body fat to be seen. he doesnt even have much of a tapered waist; he's built like a wall.

NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS:  his size and demeanor are by far his most notable physical traits: rando towers. otherwise, it would be his unmasked face and the acts of mutilation.

PHOBIAS AND DISEASES.

PHOBIA(S):  the sound of a buzz saw.

MENTAL DISORDER(S):  ptsd.

WHEN AND HOW WAS THIS DIAGNOSED?  probably not ever officially. 

PHYSICAL DISEASE(S):  no physical diseases. face was mutilated in an attack as a child that has left dustin with permanent physical disfigurement, namely the absence of the tip of the nose, gashed lips (considering he can enunciate clearly they're still intact, but i portray him with several clefts and something of a cheshire smile), scarred skin, and watery eyes.

PERSONALITY.

USUAL MOOD/EXPRESSION:  removed of his helm, dustin looks painfully sad.

MORAL ALIGNMENT:  lawful, fluctuates between good and neutral depending on what side of the fence you land on.

JUNG:  TBA.

ENNEAGRAM:   TBA.

FOUR TEMPERAMENTS:  TBA.

TOP TROPES:    anti villain (to the point of being a hero protaganist). tba

PROMINENT TRAITS:   quiet, shy, gentle, kind, pleasant, merciful, thoughtful, tactful. intelligent, deep thinking, motivated. extremely soft. zero desire to participate in violence, but exceptional at performing at. will put his foot down when necessary, but always seeks the diplomatic route first.

MISC.

SKILLS:  highly skilled martial artist. influential warlord with an entire army at his disposal. likely a decent marksman as well.

HOBBIES:  TBT.

ELEMENT:  warm sun.

ANIMAL:  a very big dog, made to guard like a pyraneese. (consider a livestock guardian, bloodied among it's sheep.)

KNOWN LANGUAGES: english. japanese and chinese terms that apply to martial arts.

STATS.

COMPASSION:  8/10.

EMPATHY:  8/10.

CREATIVITY:  6/10.

MENTAL FLEXIBILITY:  6/10 .

PASSION / MOTIVATION:  10/10.

EDUCATION:  5/10.

STAMINA:  10/10.

PHYSICAL STRENGTH:  10/10.

BATTLE SKILL:  10/10.

INITIATIVE:  10/10.

RESTRAINT:  8/10.

AGILITY:  7/10.

STRATEGY:   7/10.

TEAMWORK:  6/10.

[joyuos]

gonna work on writing up bios and dusty's dossier; please feel free to like this for a starter. if i'm unsure what to do, i'll approach. fwiw: i'm going to have a fully modernized verse in addition to canon verses for ease of interaction!

[joyuos]

some important extra blog stuff so you guys are all aware:

there'll be no in game icons used of brad or rando for obvious reasons, there's only so many times i could possibly use the same expression for either of them, and even though i'm an artist, i have no interest in drawing my own. i may use faceclaim icons if i settle on one for either of them. (still debating brad's, i have a trio of wrestlers in my mind im struggling to land on; either sika anoa'i, bruiser brody, or el sevilla. if i can find content, i will make fc icons; if not, they'll be there for reference. i havent the slightest idea about rando yet. for now, though, i will be totally iconless.

(also, if i do write brad as biracial, it'd be his mother, mrs. armstrong, who wasn't white, not marty. marty's the epitome of evil white pedophile.)

while brad is a cut and dry parental abuse survivor, i also believe he is a sexual abuse survivor (the latter being solely experienced by brad until lisa was 'old enough' to abuse, which wouldve been around the age brad was when mrs. armstrong died) at marty's hands, as evidenced by the bloody bile room with the thrusting marty head and bloody bed, and the fact its insinuated he was assaulted and abused for allowing lisa to dress him in mrs armstrongs clothing and makeup. that was the last time, as brad left the household as soon as possible after that. yes, he knew it was happening to lisa to, and he didn't do anything. he was terrified and he certainly hadnt thought to, and he will never forgive himself. (even if The actual lisa may feel differently. i know austin has called her 'the worst person' but he also went back on that statement as a hurried thing he'd said callously, so.) i'm never gonna write marty actually assaulting brad in any sexual way, but please do be aware its a huge part of his history too. this is part of why brad would be unable to forgive marty, especially whilst under the long standing influence of joy.

i wont downplay the fact brad isn't a good father, but i wont pretend he's a bad one either. he is trying his best with buddy. he loves her, ultimately, and even people sickened by him and poisoned with rage like buzzo see that in the end. brad loves his child and will do anything for her.

[joyuos]

NO. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. i've been dead for thirty five years. today is the day i live. #JOYUOS is an independent dual muse rp blog for BRAD ARMSTRONG & RANDO of austin jorgensen's LISA series, the painful & the joyful. est. 3/2026. crossover & oc interaction highly encouraged.

[joyuos]

i am of the opinion dusty is not bald by skin removal but rather by choice as the rest of his body is so scarred the skin on his face and head hurts badly enough he typically shaves bald instead

[joyuos]

theres only a tiny handful of you here right now so it's very insignificant right now but im turning this blog into a dual muse blog, not just for brad but for brad and rando, and am going to update my rules to reflect that.

[joyuos]

some more hc stuff:

marty's abusive behavior did not begin (as evidenced by joyful) until mrs. armstrong's death. it's unclear how brad and lisa's mother died, but it's obvious she died shortly after lisa was born, and that served as a catalyst. obviously marty has the capacity for goodness considering he seemed to be decent before her death and he treats buddy well, but brad remembers so little of it that only the abuse seeps through. nothing else.

mrs. armstrong died when lisa was still in infancy, so it's likely lisa has zero memories of her. brad's are limited.

marty's abuse started verbal, then introduced physical, then sexual in that order. the sexual abuse also involved emasculation and feminization, as part of marty's abuse clearly entails masculinity and misogyny. he wasn't just beaten for letting lisa put their mother's makeup and old clothing on him, but very likely abused alongside her.

it is suggested that brad may have been forced to engage in lisa's abuse as well. i have no definitive thoughts about this beyond that it would break and haunt brad for the rest of his life, and the only thing that kept him from killing himself as well was this deep, bleeding desire to finally live. not just be alive, but live. to experience life without pain for one single moment was to be buddy's father. he's been coasting through his life fluctuating between bouts of tremendous pain and absolute numbness.

absolutely adores and loves buddy, but it would be a lie to suggest his initial care and adoption of her wasn't selfish, or that his actions as her father were always kind to her psyche. he failed lisa, he failed dusty (since dusty clearly wasn't with him / they'd separated by then), this is his last chance.

doesn't realize that lisa is a bad person at all. she's sanctified in brad's mind due to her abuse and suicide. did not see her as buzzo did and is unaware of her budding psychopathic behavior (such as torturing animals). to him, lisa is his sister that he failed to the point she killed herself. if he hadn't failed her, if he'd gotten her out of the house too, maybe things would've been a hell of a lot different.

i dont think brad's ever been hugged in his entire life until he meets his party members (see: terry, specifically). he does say that he wants to know what it feels like, so.. i think the only people who have ever actually held him are terry, buddy (since. even though shes very childish i think shes not quite vindictive enough to not hug him), and lisa. dusty tried, and as brad mentioned, he was 'swiftly punished'.

brad was not physically abusive in any way toward either of his kids, but he clearly was incredibly harsh on dusty at times. part of that is due to 1. seeing himself in him (strong but incredibly shy and awkward), and 2. the teacher student relationship. if he allowed dusty to see the soft parts of him then dusty would become more and more attached and he couldn't take care of him. for brad, the distance is due to this feeling that he is going to fail and destroy this child too, so better not to get near him if possible. (but he still did, he still loved dusty, he took care of him until he was grown).

[joyuos]

some important hcs

brad is likely in his 50s to 60s. given his dialogue at the end of painful, where he claims he's "been dead for 35 years", i've taken that to mean he's claiming he died alongside lisa. if i take it that way... lisa was likely around the age that buddy is meant to be when she killed herself, and since austin claims buddy is 18 (i think this is for legal purposes as she doesnt look it but lets just roll with that), lisa was probably slightly younger than that, as if she was an adult she could've found a way to leave. it's suggested brad has already left the house when lisa commits suicide, so i would guess she was between 13 and 16. i would say brad is five to eight years older than lisa, thus making him between 18 and 24 when lisa killed herself, which thus would make him around 55 to 60 if he's referring to lisa's death as the catalyst of his too. i'm not super interested in giving him an exact age, but there you go.

marty sexually abused both of his children; the bile and blood room in the resort with the thrusting marty head kind of suggests that to me, especially given the definitive edition flashback scene where marty forces brad to drink and abuses him after catching him wearing his mother's makeup. its very likely brad and lisa experienced a similar scope of abuse, the difference was that lisa was also inundated with misogyny too. brad was permitted to leave the house, lisa wasn't.

^ marty's sexual abuse is also why brad cannot forgive him, why he's made uncomfortable by discussions of sex, and why his brothel services are limited to petting and foreplay imo.

low but quiet voice. brad's voice is one that clearly resonated through dojo halls once. now he speaks at a moderate low volume, and rarely raises his voice. his sound in my mind is similar to logan cunningham as hades.

[joyuos]

CHARACTER STATS FRAMEWORK.

STATS.

FULL NAME:   bradley edwin armstrong.

NICKNAME(S):  brad. nobody. failure.

AGE:  unclear. likely 50s, maybe 60.

BIRTHDAY:  unclear, sometime pre-flash.

SPECIES:   human.

NATIONALITY:  olathian?

GENDER:  cisgender male (?) (possibly something of an egg given he willingly wears makeup and dresses at several points in game but doesnt bother to address this in any way further. also notes that the happiest he's ever been in his life was whilst his sister was putting makeup on him, so make of all this what you will, but as it will never be addressed we will just say male ish.)

PREFERRED PRONOUN(S):  he/him/his, but doesn't strongly care.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:  biromantic.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  bi-ace. drawn to all genders romantically and sensually, rare bouts of sexual attraction.

RELIGION:  probably atheistic.

OCCUPATION: pre-flash, brad was a dojo master and instructed classes. post-flash, he's nothing more than a father and a shell of a man.

FC: to be edited at a later date, as i haven't landed on one definitively yet.

RELATIONSHIPS.

PARENTS:   marty armstrong, father, deceased. mrs. armstrong, mother, deceased.

SIBLINGS:  lisa armstrong, sister, deceased.

FAMILY:   grandpa armstrong, grandfather, deceased; notable figure as he was whom taught brad karate.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER(S):   none.

CHILDREN:  no biological children. nancy "buddy" yado, adoptive daughter. dustin/dusty "rando" armstrong, adoptive son.

CLOSEST FRIENDS:  sticky, rick, and cheeks, all deceased. terry hintz, state indeterminate. most of the potential party members are brads friends as opposed to tenuous or begrudging allies.

RIVALS:  chris columbo. buzzo.

ENEMIES:  anyone in the way of retrieving his child. his father.

PHYSICAL TRAITS.

EYE COLOR(S): small and brown, but perpetually obscured by a heavy brow.

HAIR COLOR(S):  very dark brown, looks black.

HEIGHT:  5 ft. 5.

BODY BUILD:  shifts as he ages. begins athletic and muscular, densely built, with sparse fat; brad's arms are thick and tight to the skin, his chest plush and "juicy" to quote queen roger. these traits, and his general mass, do not change; as he ages, he gains a healthy layer of abdominal fat and some more pectoral fat, though his muscles have only decayed minutely.  yet again, to quote queen roger, older brad is built like an "ecw guy" (as in, a classic wrestler).

NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS:  perpetual stiff expression, heavy furrowed brow, scar crossing the right eye into the cheek, small scar nicking the crown of the scalp. brad is densely built, and quite short. according to queen roger, he is also without nipples.

PHOBIAS AND DISEASES.

PHOBIA(S):  the scent of alcohol, bile, and sweat combined can be enough to heavily trigger brad.  pretty much nothing else.

MENTAL DISORDER(S):  intense cptsd. substance abuse disorder.

WHEN AND HOW WAS THIS DIAGNOSED?  probably not ever officially. 

PHYSICAL DISEASE(S):  no physical diseases. may be physically disabled on a dependent choice.

PERSONALITY.

USUAL MOOD/EXPRESSION:  stern. quiet.

MORAL ALIGNMENT:  what i would call 'neutral selfish'.

JUNG:  TBA.

ENNEAGRAM:   TBA.

FOUR TEMPERAMENTS:  TBA.

TOP TROPES:    anti hero (to the point of bordering on villain protag), barefisted monk, determinator, beard of sorrow, papa wolf, body horror, my greatest failure, one man army, the stoic.

PROMINENT TRAITS:   quiet, shy, reticent, observant, stoic, straight forward, apathetic, neutral, fiery, stubborn. deeply emotional and loving, deep down; the mask of stoicism is to protect himself.

MISC.

SKILLS:  skilled martial artist.

HOBBIES:  TBT.

ELEMENT:  iron.

ANIMAL:  ox or a shire horse.

KNOWN LANGUAGES: english. some spanish. a tiny bit of catonese and japanese.

STATS.

COMPASSION:  2/10.

EMPATHY:  6/10.

CREATIVITY:  5/10.

MENTAL FLEXIBILITY:  4/10 .

PASSION / MOTIVATION:  10/10.

EDUCATION:  5/10.

STAMINA:  8/10.

PHYSICAL STRENGTH:  10/10.

BATTLE SKILL:  10/10.

INITIATIVE:  7/10.

RESTRAINT:  6/10.

AGILITY:  7/10.

STRATEGY:   7/10.

TEAMWORK:  5/10.