#file under: faces: bruno

[knotfodder]

name: Bruno Brownhound nicknames: pup (by some) dob. age: April 13, 1998 (25) gender: Male pronouns: (he/him/his) secondary gender: Omega occupation: greenhouse worker species: werewolf fc: Tom Holland

+goof-ball, cuddly, clever, optimist+ -clumsy, stubborn, sensitive, hot head-

[cornetnspinet]

✧˖° take me home

giorno is a fifteen-year-old the gang doesn't know much about. bruno realises that after he's helped him become a mafia boss.

post-canon, everybody lives au english isn't my first language. i haven't watched vento aureo in its entirety in a minute. yes I started writing this and realised that fugo probably shouldn't be there yet but whatever this isn't very serious.

the soft sound of quiet chatter and cutlery make for background noise at libeccio. giorno sips his cup of tea, thinking, as bucciarati places a plain manila folder on the table in front of him.

“those will be the first things you should go over, i believe. you’ll have more to go through later, but i still advise you rest the most you can for now.” the capo says as he takes a seat at the table.

it’s only a few days after diavolo’s death, and while giorno is now Pasionne’s don, they still need to formalise his status to the rest of the mafia.

giorno opens the file to skim through it, making note of how thick it is for a first summary. contact names from all over italy, including other capos’, important locations, passione’s legitimate businesses, territorial control, a brief rundown on the drug trade. he has a lot to learn about the organisation he runs, he realises.

“you should probably look at it more closely at your desk at home-” bucciarati says before giorno can read the papers too thoroughly. after a brief pause, he adds, “are you still in boarding school, by the way?”

giorno looks up at bucciarati. he did go back to his dorm when they came back to napoli, it being where he keeps all of his belongings and all. but now, given the job that he had, he wasn’t sure he’d even stay in school at all. “i am. but i’m planning on moving out.”

giorno doesn’t think his answer through though, because in reality he’s not sure where he’ll go immediately.

thankfully, bucciarati already knows what the younger boy is thinking about.

“if you need a place to stay, you could always come to my house.” the capo kindly tells him.

giorno learned bucciarati lived in vomerro with narancia, and now trish. fugo had an apartment next door, which had been signed in bucciarati’s name, since he wasn’t old enough to have it under his own.

“i uh, i might do that, if you don’t mind.”

“will your parents agree to it?”

“yes.” giorno answers a bit too quickly. there was no way he was going back to live with his mother. it’s a silly thing to ask, he thinks, he’s the head of the neapolitan mafia. but bucciarati is bucciarati and giorno knows he means well.

bucciarati stares at him, his blue eyes scanning his face. then he tells him warmly, “that’s fine with me. you should be able to come whenever you want. i’ll turn another room into a study for passione business, so you can keep your room for school and whatnot.”

giorno blinks, “i was thinking of maybe dropping out, actually.”

the older man frowns and sighs, leaning back in his chair, “i know this is a lot to take in, and that is why i’m telling you to go easy on yourself, but you should stay in school, giogio.”

giorno looks at him, dumbfounded. “i just became the boss of passione, bucciarati.”

“and you are still only fifteen-”

“i’ll be sixteen next week.”

bucciarati makes a quick mental note of that, “-and now that we have taken over passione, we have time to do the things we planned on doing. taking down the drug trade is not going to be done in a day, and you won’t be doing it alone. you will have time for school, giorno.” his voice is gentle but firm, and that reminds giorno that bucciarati is older than him. it reminds him that he, himself, is not an adult yet.

giorno stays silent, sensing bucciarati would not let this go. his hand absentmindedly toys with one of the corners of the manila folder on the table. he thinks for a minute as he watches bruno refill his cup of tea. strangely, he feels a little like a child, and he has not experienced that in a while. probably something to do with his upbringing. he tries not to think about it too hard.

“alright. i’ll think about it.” giorno finally says.

“please do.” bruno responds. he takes a sip of his drink. “when is your birthday, exactly?”

a few days later, giorno is standing in bucciarati’s kitchen, carefully taking a few slices of bread off the grill. it’s starting to be late in the afternoon. he’s appreciating the orange hues coming through the big windows. he’s been going over some mafia trade reports all day and it’s made him blue.

the whole gang is here, their chatter can be heard coming from the sunroom behind him. after moving in, giorno realised the rest of the team regularly came over, whether it was for work or just to spend time together.

he told himself he had never lived in a house this full before when he arrived, spending his first dinner there with bucciarati, narancia, trish and fugo. but now that abbacchio and mista came almost every day as well, he’s even more surprised. even when living at his boarding school he’d often eat alone and spend time on his own.

giorno leaves the kitchen with his plate of fettunta in hand, joining the rest of the gang in the sunroom. he’s been eating fettunta almost every day, which is something he was always used to having as a kid, with it being very easy to make. but since he started living with bucciarati, he realised expensive olive oil made a real difference. he’s emptied an embarrassing amount of it from the bottle in very few days.

“i don’t know why i have to do this much,” narancia whines, “my english teacher hates me already anyway.”

the boy is half-slumped on the table in the centre of the room, his homework in front of him. he went back to school recently, and fugo has been helping him catch up a little bit.

“you’re trying, that’s what matters,” fugo tries to politely encourage him, despite the annoyance present in his voice. it’s true that narancia has been complaining about school every time the subject was brought up.

giorno sits next to mista, who passes him the water pitcher absentmindedly after he asks for it.

“you’re always listening to english music narancia, you must know some,” mista says.

“well, i don’t know what they’re saying, dumbass, that’s why i’m learning english,” narancia responds, before fugo urges him to focus.

bucciarati passes behind narancia to take his seat at the table, and as he does so, he takes a look over his shoulder. giorno knows the capo is proud of the younger boy for going back to school. he learned recently that bucciarati never got to finish his education. it made more sense why he asked him to keep attending.

abbacchio is also there, reading, barely paying attention. he doesn’t speak much when he comes over, and if giorno didn’t know of his bond with bucciarati and the gang, he would have wondered why he stayed.

trish is in her room. she doesn’t leave it much, and no one blames her. she’s still readjusting to a life she doesn’t know much about yet.

the landline rings through the house, disturbing the comfortable atmosphere. bucciarati gets up and makes a beeline for it, and picks it up from its spot in the open living room. from the corner of his eye, giorno sees the capo frown.

“who is this? oh!” the man’s face relaxes. “i’ll put him on the phone.” he turns to the sunroom, “giogio, it’s for you.”

giorno gets up and bucciarati hands him the phone, mouthing ‘it’s your mother’. giorno’s shoulders tense, and he hopes bucciarati doesn’t notice. the man returns to the table in the next room to give them some space.

he holds the phone to his ear. “hello?”

“haruno,” it’s undoubtedly his mother speaking, “i’ve heard you left boarding school?” her voice is curious, and maybe a little hesitant.

giorno is surprised she cares enough to call. “i’m not a full-time boarder anymore, but i still attend classes. how did you get this number?”

“the administration said it was the new contact you gave them. what are you doing now anyways? are you working?”

giorno sighs, realising his mother would be wondering about whether he’s making money. “i am.”

“well, how is it going? what are you doing?” she continues, suddenly more interested.

“i’m running a business and it’s going well. did you want to know anything else?” his voice is cold. he just wants the conversation to end quickly.

“well, i was just checking on you-”

“okay, now you have. goodbye.” he says and hangs up before she can ask anything else.

he sets the phone down, letting out a breath he was unconsciously holding in. he’s suddenly aware of how silent the house has become. he turns to the sunroom and finds everybody staring at him.

“what?” giorno asks, wondering if his demeanour on the phone was a bit too strange.

“dude, you speak chinese?”

“it’s japanese , narancia,” fugo corrects right away.

oh. he must have switched without noticing. he hadn’t spoken it in a while, but he still used it with his mother during the very rare instances where they’d have a conversation together.

“i do. i’m half japanese.”

even abbacchio’s mouth slightly falls open at that. obviously, the whole gang can tell giorno has some east asian features, but with his blonde hair and deep knowledge of napoli and its mafia, they weren’t expecting to actually hear him speak japanese.

“wait, where were you born?” mista asks, now very curious.

giorno walks back to his seat at the table, “i was born in japan. moved here when i was five.” he answers plainly.

“wait, that’s so cool!” narancia exclaims, his worksheet now forgotten.

“that’s very impressive. though i’m guessing you don’t have the occasion to speak it much in italy,” fugo says, smiling.

“no. i also don’t really know how to read or write in it.”

bucciarati, dumbfounded at first, now looked content and amazed. “it could still be very useful for the future. knowing multiple languages is always an asset, especially in the mafia,” the last part is more or less a hint for narancia to take his english class more seriously.

however, the younger boy doesn’t really pick up on that. “wait, i know some spanish!” he says energetically instead.

“you do?” mista asks, perplexed.

then, with the most concentration he can muster, narancia slowly says “Que et bombin! ”

mista blinks, unimpressed. “that’s not spanish.”

“one of my friends was spanish and used to say it all the time!”

“well, it’s not-”

“okay, narancia, you should focus on your english homework,” bucciarati intervenes. he turns to giorno, who is now quietly biting into a slice of bread, before fugo starts asking him questions about japan.

bucciarati takes a minute to really look at him. he can acknowledge giorno is smart and undoubtedly strong, he has seen him save him and the rest of the team more than once in the short time they have known each other. but he also recognises there aren’t many things he knows about him.

he has noticed giorno didn’t bring much from his old dorm when he moved in. a couple of books and some clothes. he wondered if he had any hobbies. the other day, narancia made him and trish listen to a couple of CDs he owns. between narancia’s rap music and trish’s taste for all saints and other pop groups, giorno admitted enjoying british rock when it came on the radio. it’s as much as he’s learned about him.

of course giorno is his boss, and he will respect him as such. but he has just seen him talk to his mother on the phone. he is still going to school. he is a sixteen-year-old.

almost. his birthday is tomorrow. a couple of wrapped jeff beck albums are sitting in a drawer in bucciarati’s room. bruno knows enough about giogio for now.

[0ffthel1ne]

Info post!

Howdy, I'm Offtheline! (another nickname is CatKot, so u can call me Kot for short or idk, call me whatever u like)

Kind of an artist, a little bit of a writer. If u wanna use my art for a pfp I'll be honoured(‼️) but credits would be much appreciated!

I'm not on very good terms with English so . . .  '͡•_'͡•'

Also I'm new to tumblr so I might not know a lot of things (I'm scared to interact with people help)

I'm multifandom! All my fandoms I could remember are under the cut if you're interested (and I'm very inconsistent so please don't follow if you're only expecting smth particular🙏)

I also have my own OC's and probably will post smth with them too sometimes!

Btw I have a telegram channel in case you speak russian and are interested👀 : @.OffTheLineee (I'm actually more active there but I didn't tell you this.)

Tags to organize my blog (?) :

#my art

#sketches

#doodles

#cat!!

#reblogs

#important stuff

My fandoms:

* -- ik that one!

☆ -- kinda active fandom?

★ -- OOHHH THIS!!! LOVE IT!!

□ -- still haven't completed it :(

★ Undertale [+AU]

□ Deltarune

□ Undertale Yellow

★ Underworld Office

□ Charlie in Underworld

★ Gravity Falls

★ Spooky Month

★ ENA

★ ENA Dream BBQ

* Sky: Children of the Light

☆ Five Nights At Freddy's

* The Walten Files

* Bendy And The Ink Machine

* Baldi's Basics

★ The Stanley Parable

* Doki Doki Literature Club

* Sally Face

□ Solar Opposites

* Little Misfortune

* Tiny Bunny

★ Stardew Valley

☆ Metal Family

* Дух моей общаги

★ Detroit: Become Human

* Atomic Heart

* Helltaker

* Awaria

* Hotel Hazbin

* Helluva Boss

* Unicorn Wars

★ The Amazing Digital Circus

★ The Darly Boxman Show

★ Just Shapes and Beats

* Minecraft Story Mode

★ БЕСИТ!

* И.Н.М.Т.

★ Wander Over Yonder

★ Villainous

* MazM: Jekyll and Hyde

★ Mouthwashing

* Палитра Смерти

★ Homicipher

* Identity V

□ Dead Cells

□ Ultrakill

□★ The Property of Hate

★ Dialtown: Phone Dating Sim

* Coffee Talk

★ Spider-Man: ITSV, ATSV

* Sherlock [2010]

□ House M.D.

* Fight Club

* Squid Game

My kin list

(I wont explain any of these):

Will Wood [i can add real people here yes?]

Asriel Dreemurr;

Grillby [Undertale]

Ralsei;

K_K [Deltarune]

Paper Jam Dipper [Gravity Falls]

Kevin;

Robert [Spooky Month]

Ena [ENA]

Coral Glasses [ENA Dream BBQ]

Yuri [DDLC]

Gizmo [Sally Face]

Terry [Solar Opposites]

Harvey [Stardew Valley]

Душнов Олегсей/Олежа [ДМО]

Stolas [Helluva Boss]

Ragatha [TADC]

Mimlimim [Darly Boxman Show]

Док/Дима(?) [БЕСИТ!]

Bruno Madrigal [Encanto]

Dr. Flug [Villainous]

Seer/Eli Clark [Identity V]

Tinker;

Magnus [TPoH]

Randy Jade;

Oliver Swift;

Tango [Dialtown]

Johnathon Ohnn/Spot [Spider-Man: ATSV]

James Evan Wilson [House M.D.]

[kayssweetdreams]

A "Perfect" Vacation Ch 45

The next evening, The island was preparing for another publicity stunt, only this time, It wasn't the equivalent of a hostile takeover. The Flora Tropica had been arranged so that the beauty of the flower could be admired by everyone. The various employees that worked for Ka Lā (and had been unfortunately been tested on by her) were also around to enjoy the festivities.

Thea smiled as she reappeared on stage, this time, a real smile on her face as she stepped out in front of the crowd "I'd like to dedicate this song to my closest friends and family. Including My dearest friend, Ka Lā, without her...I'm not sure any of us would be here today. As well as my family, that I love more than life itself." She said, her eyes gazing at Ka Lā and the rest of the Bruno family, happy to see Thea ready to sing.

The woman then nodded to the band as they began play for her. Thea then began to sing her heart out for her crowd, the infectious music enough to make everyone begin to dance to the beat. Jett was seen bobbing his head to the music, as Phil and Lila had dragged him over to dance with them, Iben and John. Jett smiled as he began dancing, while Skarlett, Ivy, Piper, Maxie and Lizz joined them.

Lora meanwhile, had been talking with Sana and Yuri, of which she thought it was super brave (and VERY satisfying to see Prim get what she deserved.) And helping her snap out of the drug's effects...again. She smiled as she gave a crazed look to...let's just say something REALLY painful to Prim should she try doing it again, as Aria was talking to the maestros to see if Prim really WAS locked away this time.

Balan snapped his fingers as a comically large telescope appeared. He adjusted it so it could clearly see Timeville Asylum. Lo and Behold, the now docile headmistress was locked away in maximum security. Ensuring that this time NO ONE could get her out. Balan smiled "Good news Aria dear. Prim will never be coming here. She is now permanently locked away. Never to see the light of day." He said, giving Aria the telescope so that she could see out into the distance.

Kaylo meanwhile, was looking down at the crowd, her mind still thinking about what had happened. Right before she was fully under Prim's drug, she could faintly remember hearing the old hag talking to someone, but her mind kept fading in and out, which made it hard to understand the voice, or what they were talking about. "Hey Kaylo? You OK?" She heard Mei ask, as she and the others had found looking over a balcony.

"Um...Yeah. I'm OK." She lied, making Trisha Jane see right through her "Kaylo, you're lying right now. Your hair frizzes up when you think too hard." She pointed out. Kaylo sighed. "OK. Fine. There was something that I didn't tell anyone else...I don't think Prim was working alone." She said. "We know that though, there's no way she could have Whipped up that drug on her own." Rebecca pointed out. "No...I mean, I might have actually heard and SEEN who was working with her...but I was under the drug, so everything was blurry and hard to hear." She said.

This got everyone's attention. "Was there anything you heard clearly?" Emma asked. "One thing...And I could be wrong, but it sounded like something called 'Project X' or something." She said. "Project...X?" Leo asked, the name itself sounding like a bad thing. "Yep...But that's about it." Kaylo said, frowning at the idea that this wasn't something to be messed with.

"Well...whatever it is, we'll face it together." Mei says, a determined look on her face. The others joined her determination as they decided to join back with the party. Kaylo joined them...but she couldn't shake the feeling that there were going up against something BIG...

Meanwhile, Somewhere Far Away From the Island...

A figure sits down in a chair, a small USB file that read "Backup Security Cameras" in their hands. They plugged it in as the security feed from the island was seen, this footage not tampered by Maxie or Jett. They scrolled through the footage as they saw the inhabitants gathering the various ingredients, and how they hijacked the false performance, with the antidote.

However, what caught their eyes the most was the very strange boat named the "S.S. Wonder" sitting out in the sea, along with the two strange figures that accompanied the group of the undrugged children, and that Montgomery woman. Their eyes lit up as they saw what the maestros could do. Removing their sunglasses again, they symbols in their eyes were seen to be glowing.

"Well Well...After years of searching. I finally found it." They said, before grazing what looked to be some kind of mural detailing the two figures, shaking hands with a pink haired woman holding a book. "Project X will be completed. Now that I have actual proof." They said, a glowing red ball of magic seen forming in their hands...

The End!(?)

Mei and the Hualing Family, Phil, John and Lila belong to @sundove88

Rebecca and the Reynolds belong to @thehypercutstudios/@thehyperrequiem

Trisha Jane and the Postrados belong to @lovelyteng

Aria belongs to @shadowqueen402

Lora Jade belongs to @alex-frostwalker

Jett, Skarlett, Lizz, Ivy, Piper and Maxie belong to @jettthespeeddemon

[blowflyfag]

the Wrestler: Volume 25, 2009

Q & A 

MISSY HYATTT

(Part 2)

“If I didn’t need money, I’d work in this business for free”

WHO WAS WRESTLING’S original diva? There are credible arguments to be made for Miss Elizabeth, Baby Doll, Sunshine, Tammy Sytch, Sable or any number of pioneering women. But, there is one lady in particular who would make any short list: Missy Hyatt.

What has been the key to Hyatt’s success? Her uncanny ability to reinvent herself. Hyatt started out as the self-centered, pampered brat that everyone loved to hate, with every woman wanting to rub her face in the mud and every man wanting to turn her across his knee for a good spanking. She evoked strong emotions during her stints in World Class Championship Wrestling and the Universal Wrestling Federation in the mid-1980s, and often outshined her male counterparts, including “Hollywood” John Tatum and “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert.

Yet  Vince MCMahon wanted her to give up her naughty ways and join WWF as an affluent hist of the “Missy Manor” interview segment. It turned out that “Missy’‘s Manor” was no “Piper’s Pit,” and the WWF and Hyatt parted ways in a matter of weeks. 

So what’s a girl to do? Hyatt returned to Jim Crockett Promotions, where television producer Dusty Rhodes made her backstage interviewer and an occasional color commentator. She was one of the hottest stars of WCW during the early years of Ted Turner’s ownership, managingThe Steiner Brothers and The Nasty Boys, hosting a highly successful 900-line, and appearing on countless pieces of merchandise. Hyatt ended up suing WCW for what she considered her rightful share of the proceeds and all of it landed in court, where she also filed a sexual harassment claim. 

With nowhere left to go, Hyatt accepted Paul Heyman’s offer to appear in ECW, where she flourished as a sultry sex siren, whose conniving ways seemed to be a natural extension of the spoiled Southern Belle she had portrayed a decade earlier. 

Her out-of-the-ring exploits have embroiled her in controversy. In her 2001 tell-all autobiography, Miss Hyatt: First Lady of Wrestling, she detailed her relationships with John Tatum, Eddie Gilbert, Road Warrior Hawk, Jake Roverts, and Wonder Years star Jason Hervey, among others. Today, Hyatt lives in New York City with her two Jack Russell terriers, Milo and Jake. For fans who want to keep Missy Hyatt under minute-by-minute surveillance, her pay website–missyhyatt247.com–offers a webcam that constantly streams video from her apartment. Hyatt’s house website is missyhyatt.net.

“Missy has revealed so many intimate details about her life in her autobiography and on her websites that I felt as if I already knew her,” said Senior Writer Harry Burkett, who spoke with the self-proclaimed “First Lady Of Wrestling” for 90 minutes. “Her real personality is quite different from the ‘vamp’ persona she tries to project. She has a very sweet ‘girl next door’ quality.”

Q: Despite the fact that you began your career 23 years ago, you’ve never stayed very far from the wrestling business. You still make appearances on the indy circuit. What are you up to these days?

A: I still have my websites, missyhyatt.net and missyhyatt247.com, and, yes, I still work the independents and do autograph sessions. I'm really proud of the work I've done with Women Superstars Uncensored over the past year or so. I do color commentary for WSU DVDs and I also host some “Missy’s Manor” interview segments. 

Q: What is your typical day like? 

A: I work with Jack Russell terriers for an organization called Russell Rescue, not to be confused with Dawn Marie’s Wrestlers Rescue [laughs]. She takes in unwanted and abused wrestlers, and I take in unwanted or abused Jack Russells, so I'm sort of a foster mom. I recently took in a dog named Bruno, who had heartworm, and I kept him until that problem was cleared up and he could go to another family. 

I do behavioral assessments on the dogs when they come to my home. Do they go after someone who’s knocking on the door? Is there anything that seems to upset them? So I document all of that behavioral stuff on the paperwork. I also do home checks to make sure that prospective homes have the proper fencing, things like that. Jack Russells are very smart, but they also have so much energy that some people can’t keep up with them. 

[It was then-boyfriend John Tatum who got Missy Hyatt into the wrestling business back in the mid-’80s. Tatum felt he needed a beautiful blonde valet–and the rest is wrestling history.]

Q: The question is, are you able to keep up with them? 

A: My dogs end up adopting my personality, which means they become lazy and sleep in late. Dory Funk Jr. said that he grew up with a bunch of Russells, which are really handy if you have a working ranch with horses and stables. 

Q: That sounds like enough to keep you busy. DO you have time to watch the current wrestling product, such as WWE and TNA?

A: Yes, there’s a lot that I like about WWE and TNA. When I watch Raw or Smackdown, I just think how I'd like to work a big crowd like that. Back in the NWA and WCW in the late-’80s and early-’90s, we did pay-per-views every couple of months and drew decent crowds, but it was nothing compared to what WWE draws on a nearly nightly basis. I just think, Wow. I’d love to see myself on that big TItanTron. 

I have a dream, and it sounds really corny, but I've always wanted to work one WrestleMania dressed as The Gobbledy Gooker. I’d want Kane to give me a tombstone piledriver and then rip off my turkey costume. Of course, I'd still have the beak and big feet, wearing a fur-kinki, and I'd cluck around the ring and get back inside my egg. Some people dream about dollars or fame, but I've had a much simpler aspiration: to be The Gobbledygooker at WrestleMania!

Q: Maybe you weren’t The Gobbledygooker, but you certainly came a long way. How did you break into the wrestling business?

A: I became involved through my boyfriend: John Tatum. He had been wrestling in Georgia and then went to work for the Crocketts for a while. He met Tully Blanchard and Baby Doll while he was there, and that’s when John decided he had to get him a blonde girl who looked like Baby Doll. So, when he went to Texas, he took me along. [World Class referee] David Manning convinced me that I would make a good valet, and David and another referee, Rick Hazzard helped me with that.

Q: What were you doing when John met you? A: I was working as a cocktail waitress at a bar, the Hyatt Hotel–as a matter of fact–in downtown Atlanta. I also worked at the pool bar during the summer there. 

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: Tallahassee, Florida.

Q: Had John been in the wrestling business very long when you met him?

A: No, no. He was from Pensacola, Florida, and he’d been in the business for only about six months, if that. He worked in Georgia and then the Caroolinas for about 10 months. Then we went to Texas in ‘85.

[Although Missy Hyatt and Sunshine were in-ring rivals in World Class Championship Wrestling (above), they were good friends outside the ring (right). Hyatt says Sunshine was a patient mentor during her early days. 

“When I first started working, I was really nervous and scared. The first big thing I did was a catfight with Sunshine where we pulled hair and rolled around the thing, and I couldn't help laughing. When we got in the back, Sunshine yelled at me, “You can't laugh out there!”]

Q: Had John always been a wrestling fan, or did he fall into it some other way?

A: John and Michael Hayes are cousins. Michael is from Pensacola, too. As for me, I fell in love with wrestling when I was 17. I was over at my parents’ house, and I was upstairs with my dad, who was flipping channels. I saw Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts putting a baby bonnet on Terry Gordy’s head and a pacifier in his mouth, and they were all running around the ring. It was Georgia Championship Wrestling. I was amazed by what I was watching. What was this? I thought it was the coolest thing. I knew I didn't want to wrestle, but it seemed like a real hoot and something I wanted to do. 

Q: Wow, that must have been when The Freebirds were feuding amongst each other. What was the first challenge you had to face as a valet in Texas?

A: Trying to figure out what my name would be! My last name is “Hiatt” with an “i,” so I changed it to “Hyatt” with a “y.” Also, my first name is Melissa, but my parents called me “Missy” and John caught on to that. That’s how I became “Missy Hyatt.”

When I first started working, I was really nervous and scared. The first big thing I did was a catfight with Sunshine where we pulled hair and rolled around the ring, and I couldn't help laughing. When we got in the back, Sunshine yelled at me, “You can't laugh out there!” But I was having so much fun. During my career, I've been paid a lot of money for what I love to do. If I didn't need money, I'd work in this business for free. 

Q: I suppose World Class was ahead of its time as far as divas are concerned.

A: Let me tell you, we sure were! Looking back on it, I'm surprised that I got paid the same as the guys. They didn't just look at me as a female, but someone who helped draw people to the shows. My pay depended on where I was on the card and how many people were there. So I was paid extremely well, even though I was a woman. I think of all the people who helped me–Fritz Von Erich, David Manning, Bronco Lubich–and realize it was a great time. If Texas had been the only place where I had worked, and John and I had gone back to Florida right afterward, i’d still consider it the highlight of my life. 

[Was it Hyatt and Hot Stuff International or vice versa? Either way, Hyatt and Eddie Gilbert made an effective and entertaining team in the Ultimate Wrestling Federation.]

Q: Did it occur to you that women could add a whole new dimension to wrestling?

A: Sex and violence sell in movies and on TV, so why not wrestling? Even ultimate fighting has the octagon babes and boxing has the ring card girls in their little outfits.

Q: Your catfights with Sunshine must have gotten a huge response, considering the audience was definitely male-dominated at the time.

A: Because we did the same buildings each week, we had to come up with something new each week. For over a year, I'd do bad stuff to her on TV and then she’d beat my fanny all week at the house shows. I’d lie, or come up with a new way to insult her, and she’d be ready to tear into me again. It was so easy–and so fun to get a reaction. We nearly started a riot in Abilene, Texas.

Q: What was the road schedule like for World Class?

A: We did TV tapings every Friday night in Dallas and then we’d run a show on Monday night in Fort Worth. Every three weeks, we’d go to the outskirts, such as Lubbock, Amarillo, and El Paso. For the most part, though, most of the shows were in smaller towns within a couple hours of Dallas-Fort Worth. Football was really big in Texas, so there were plenty of large high school stadiums where we drew a lot of people–usually within 60 miles of Dallas.

Wrestlers and divas are so much like movie stars now because there’s so much glamor. The outfits are so fancy and everybody’s so polished. That’s a big difference between now and the territorial days. Even WCW was much glitzier toward the end of my time there.

Q: Was Sunshine helpful when you first went to World Class?

A: She was the best. She taught me everything. And, trust me, I was a handful. You may remember that World Class had a two-hour show on Christian network for a while. 

Q: Yes, the Christian Broadcasting Network.

A: That’s  right. [World Classbooker] Ken Mantell gave me a line to use against Sunshine. It went something like, “Sunshine’s butt is so big that when she has to haul ass, she’s got to make 10 trips.” I said it verbatim. When I got backstage, poor Ken looked like he was having a heart attack, red in the face with his blood pressure going up. He told me that I shouldn't have said the word “ass.” I said, “Yeah, but you told me to say that.” I was so young at the time. I was surprised that CBN didn’t even bleep it out. 

[“Sex and violence sell in movies and on TV, so why not wrestling? Even ultimate fighting has the octagon babes and boxing has the ring card girls in their little outfits.”]

Q: Well, the word “ass” was used in the Bible.

A: That’s true. I felt sorry for Ken because he had to deal with these girls all of a sudden. But Sunshine and I were good friends. I’d have friends over at my apartment, and Sunshine would have to sneak through a window. Back in the kayfabe days, I couldn’t party with the babyfaces, you know.

Q: Was there anybody else you looked up to? Or were you and Sunshine the only women around at that time?

A: There was Baby Doll with the Crocketts, and Miss Elizabeth had just started in the WWF. Here’s one funny story: George Scott, who worked for Vince McMahon, had heard about Baby Doll at about the same time I sent pictures to the WWF. He contacted World Class, thinking I was Baby Doll. That’s why David Manning and Fritz Von Erich wanted to keep John and me there. I’m glad John and I had that run in World Class, because I think we were great working together. 

[While working in the UWF, Hyatt often interacted with a young Jim Ross. According to Missy, nobody can match Good Ol’ J.R. on the microphone.]

Q: I thought so, too. How did you meet Eddie Gilbert?

A: I met him when we went to the UWF.

Q: When you first met him, did you think you’d ever marry the guy?

A: No! It was another case of life imitating art. That time was wild. We did the Hot Stuff & Hyatt International angle, and Ken Mantell was there … it was such a blur because we were traveling so much. I enjoyed that time very much. 

Q: You mentioned that life imitates art. As we know, you left John and eventually married Eddie. Leading into that, John and Eddie were vying for your affections on UWF TV, with Eddie outsmarting John each week. The vignettes from that time were very funny. I remember a limousine pulling up to take you and John to lunch, and somehow Eddie elbowed his way into the limo so he could sit beside you. It was really funny stuff. 

A: I remember that! Jim Ross was interviewing John, who was waiting for me to arrive in the limo. Eddie came out, noticed there was a TV in the limo, and squeezed himself into the car between John and me. I think we left Jim Rossjust standing there. At that time, Eddie and I liked each other, so I guess it was happening and I didnt realize it. 

[Life  imitates art. To John Tatum’s chagrin, a UWF storyline romance between Hyatt and Gilbert evolved into an off-screen attraction and eventually marriage.]

Q: Wrestling is weird in that way, as far as life imitating art. It seems that every man and woman that are put together in a storyline end up as a couple in real life. 

A: It may be terrible to mention this, but look at what happened to Chris and Nancy Benoit. There was also Steve Austin and Jeannie Clarke, and Steve and Debra McMichael.

Q: So you would say that love triangle among you, John, and Eddie mirrored reality?

A: On TV, Eddie and I always said it was “strictly business.” But there was a lot of playing around and joking. Once when we were at the hotel in Tulsa, John had left with Jack [Victory], and Eddie got really drunk. Eddie came in from the pool, down the hallway, and passed out in my hotel room. I had to get Carl Fergie to get him out of there. The next day, I teased him all day. Something just sparked, I guess.

Q: You certainly demonstrated a sexual tension on TV. I remember that Eddie would refer to your group as “Hot Stuff & Hyatt International,” but you would always refer to it as “Hyatt & Hot Stuff International.”

A: Right. Bruce Prochard worked out of the Houston office at the time, and he had blue satin jackets made. Mine said “Hyatt & Hot Stuff” and Eddie’s said “Hot Stuff & Hyatt.” I don’t know what happened to that jacket, but I wish I still had it. It would bring back good memories.

Q: Eddie was often credited for having a great wrestling mind. Did you learn things from him that you didn’t learn from John or anyone else?

A: I learned more about wrestling as a business, from how it works to how to handle money. I learned what worked with a wrestling crowd and what did not. Eddie loved wrestling since he was a boy. His mom showed me how he would make up characters, book matches, lay out TV shows, and create whole storlines in his black-and-white composition books. He was really elaborate. He was the Anges Dixon of wrestling.

Q: No wonder the CWF seemed like All my Children! Seriously, though, I know Eddie wrote for some fanzines and magazines in the late-1970s.

A: And he took pictures! He showed me a tape of a match where he and Jim Cornette were at ringside taking pictures.

Q: Cornette, Paul Heyman, and even Tammy Stych got their start by taking pictures and sending them to our magazines. You never took pictures for us, but you sure posed for a lot. Tell me, how was the UWF different from World Class?

A: The traveling. I think they would sit there with a map of the United States and then throw darts to see how far they could make us drive. We’d be in Tulsa one night, and then have to drive to New Orleans, and then drive to Houston, and then to Memphi. It never made sense. We’d leave at 2:00 in the afternoon and not get back until 4:00 in the morning.

[“You could see how hot and intense the crowd was on UWF TV shows. It was like a fever. The craziness was contagious. To me, it was more exciting in those days.”

Q: I think the most common complaint I've heard about the UWF, or the Mid-South promotion that preceded it, was that it was  really big territory.

A: That’s for sure. But you also made a lot of friendships when you’re traveling together so much. I remember we’d all be in a can with One Man Gang driving–just a lot of camaraderie because we were working together every night. We were more like a family. 

Q: At the time, the WWF was expanding nation-wide. Frit Von Erich and Bill Watts certainly entertained the thought of challenging Vince McMahon. Did World Class or the UWF have a chance?

A: If either World Class or the UWF had gotten a better foothold on cable, maybe so. The UWF was the hottest wrestling show on TV at the time, in terms of pure action. THe show had enormous talent, in addition to Jim Ross as the announcer. And nobody can compare to Jim Ross as an announcer before or since. When we would tape shows in Tulsa, everything would break down at the end of the episode, so fans always wanted more. We didn’t give away main events in those days. 

Q: That’s what I hated about the UWF! Hacksaw Duggan wouldn’t tear into One Man Gang until one minute before the show went off the air. I would be screaming at the TV!

A: Yes, Jim Ross would be yelling, “We’ve got to go!” The whole idea was to get people to buy tickets. We didn’t have pay-per-view yet, so the TV show was like an ad to sell tickets to the arena. We would do the TV tapings in Tulsa every two weeks. We never had to give away tickets for free because the arena was always packed. You could see how hot and intense the crowd was on  UWF TV shows. It was like a fever. The craziness was contagious. To me, it was more exciting in those days. 

Q: I suppose that’s the price you pay when wrestling goes mainstream. Nowadays, you get more of a mainstream crowd, the same people who would come out to see the Harlem Globetrotters if they came to town. 

The UWF must have had wide syndications back then, because I remember the UWF running its TV show in my home state of Maryland. That was a long way from Tulsa. 

A: The UWF had really good syndication, but World Class was even more impressive. If I remember correctly, World Class had 223 stations–including stations in the Middle East–while the WWF had only 30 stations here in the United States.

Q: World Class even tried to run house shows in Massachusetts. 

A: As well as Georgia and California while it was expanding toward the end. You knew one of these companies was going to become a true national company, but you didn't know which one would get there first. 

Q: Who contacted you about going to the WWF?

A: Eddie and I just mailed in some pictures, and Vince called.

Q: Did he call for both of you?

A: Yes. It was a complicated time. There were rumors that Crockett was going to buy the UWF. We didn’t know whether Crockett was going to swallow up the UWF or keep it separate. Some said he would honor the UWF contracts and others said he wouldn't. Eddie sent out stuff to the WWF just as back-up. But I wanted to go to the WWF because I wanted to be a big star and get me a doll. It still hasn’t happened. 

[After a short stint with the WWF and some indy appearances, Hyatt made a move to WCW, where she made her name as a ring announcer (left), color commentator (above), and valet.]

Q: Did Eddie ever wrestle for the WWF in the late-’80s?

A: He had first gone to the WWF in ‘81, but he didn’t go in the late-’80s. He was helping Ken Mantell book for the UWF. When the buyout came, Crockett wanted Eddie to do all the booking for the UWF and Ken left. Eddie told Vince that he’d rather book for the UWF than just wrestle for the WWF. I was very pigheaded, though, and I wanted to go to the WWF and become a superstar. 

Q: I remember “Miss Manor.”

A: Oh, gosh. 

[monsterkissed]

📓

this one is cheating because i have definitely spoken about this At Length elsewhere but this askmeme is about fics that live in my head rent free bc i'm too lazy to kick them out onto the page so: VA bad end au/bruno corruption au, in which bruno does not do a traitorism and just delivers trish exactly where she's supposed to be and goes home and settles into his new role as passione's certified best boy and tries his best not to throw himself into the sea about it. and then he meets the boss's right hand man and everything gets much worse for everyone except me because i like it when bad things happen to my faves

so obvs we're dealing with some wanting for nails here, but my short version is that giorno didn't make it thru the baby face fight, which led to mista not surviving white album and bruno just mentally filing that under "this is why you should never hope for things to get better ever." and thru a total random coincidence stumbles on what turns out to be the underboss and, thru him, diavolo, both of whom have very little helpful advice to give on processing emotional trauma but a whole lot of unhelpful coping skills for ignoring pressing concerns and past trauma that they are more than willing to pass on! it would be entirely unilaterally manipulative if not for the fact that neither of them are socially adept enough to commit to that; doppio has no experience of actual irl relationships and gets easily overwhelmed by the concept and diavolo is pre-inclined to believe that anyone who is cool and good must also recognise that he is also cool and good.

which basically sets up two parallel Bad Ideas at once: on the pink side neither of them have any idea how to integrate outside parties in a way that is not just adding a vicarious step to how they already operate with each other. on bruno's side he begins to wonder whether he can change the gang the way he wants from the inside, by working with the people at the top of it. could he Fix Them? (he can't) (they will make him worse)

[knotfodder]

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