#monolog by the creator her self

[kyrasims91]

Take part in Ravenwood family day.

random script under the cut:

Aurelie: Hi,here a carrots for u,Mr.Crow.

Crow: (she think I'm a rabbit?)

Aurelie: Oi! who let the baby out??

Aurelie: Lawyer is too handsome! but I'm gonna skip.

Aurelie: Wow..with pink Stilettoes! (react to the lawyer shoes)

Aurelie: Pregnant ghost??

Ghost: u never see a pregnant ghost before?

occult save file by @/aneleya

[officialsollux]

erikar fic rec list

50 First Dates by Xagave

Eridan falls back into your life the same way he left it: abrupt and without warning. It hurts because you love him, and maybe that will never change. no archive warnings, E

Torrential Overflow by FindingZ

The game is over. Everyone is finally able to relax and rebuild in 'Verse C. Except Eridan. no archive warnings, E

the wworst by 2x2verse (agent_florida)

“Oh my god,” you say out loud. “We are the two most insecure assholes on this side of the fucking planet.” “The planetary system,” Eridan wails good-naturedly. “The entire goddamn galaxy,” you trump him. “We are the best at being the worst.” -- They both hate their bodies, and they've been hurt so much over them. And each of them barely dares to whisper it, lest the other one leave them alone to deal with it. no archive warnings, E (past noncon implied)

As Fast as you Can by BlueMoonHound

Cosmetic mutations. In a highblood, it's hardly a concern to the empire. Especially one so close to the color of the Condesce herself. In the past, however, that hasn't stopped her from culling them. They do carry on genetically into descendants, and mess with Her plans. To have that in the slurry? It could end up in lowbloods, who would be culled on sight, midbloods, who would be shunned, or – gog forbid – the Tyrian line itself. You're only important because you're an orphaner and no one else can hold that job. no archive warnings, T

a whiter shade of pale by Spacefille

AU Future fic, Alternia is restored in all its horrible glory and Feferi is not in charge. Karkat is a blood prisoner and Eridan is his guard. Eridan POV. Dark. noncon, M

Choices by Spacefille

Eridan finds out Karkat’s blood color. Karkat lashes out in self-defense, which lands the mutant in the brig of Eridan’s hive. Now Eridan has a dilemma on his hands, does he cull him or risk letting him go? rated with graphic depictions of violence but it should also be rated with noncon, E

You don't Choose the Helmslife by BagtheBagisnotaBag

The helmslife takes you from your hive and tortures you till you crack. "In Which a Seadweller Captain of the Imperial Fleet and His Lowblooded Matesprite Find Their Long Lost Childhood Friend Suffering as a Yellowblood Helmsman Trainee, They Then Proceed to Enlist the Damaged Helmsman to Helm Their Ship as Both of Them Hold Long Buried Romantic Interest in Him. Includes Emotional Turmoil, Psychological Torment, One Sided Pale Advances, Unintentional Auspising, Excessive Swearing, Delusions, Crying, Yelling, Monologing, Torture, Treason of the Cullable Variety, and Hope." creator chose not to use archive warnings, M

You Part the Waters by poodles

Karkat works at a shitty little restaraunt frequented by Eridan the rich asshole who leaves extravagant tips as an attempt to woo karkat. It backfires. creator chose not to use archive warnings, T

What do you Want? by Rubaiyate

A fill for a request on homesmut: [paraphrased] "The imperial drones come for Karkat, his blood color having been exposed to the empire somehow. Of all the trolls to come to his rescue, it’s Eridan. Eridan goes toe-to-toe with a drone to make them back off, but Karkat doesn’t know this and, having never met Eridan face-to-face, is confronted with the terrifying view of a pissed off seadweller bursting into his hive and forcefully escorting him to his own hive. Thing is, Karkat has absolutely no idea who he is, why he has been taken to somebody else’s hive, and Eridan doesn’t realize that Karkat is freaking the fuck out." (The "Rape/Non-Con" warning is more of a precaution. There is no actual rape, but it is a close thing, so I figured it would be better to err on the side of caution.) noncon, M

Dirty Deeds by Miko

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and nobody is more desperate than a troll facing the Imperial Drone at collection time. Unfortunately, anonymous sex isn't so anonymous when you run into someone you know. no archive warnings apply, but I digress the consent issues inherent to the premise and would warn for noncon, E

The Power the Dark Lord Knows Not by TrashfireRadiowaves

You would say that you don’t know why you’re here, but you’d be lying. You know exactly why you’re here. You know exactly why you’re here, and the stupid fucking reason is that stupid fucking Eridan Ampora has gotten himself into some stupid fucking shit yet again. no archive warnings, T

Pale As the Creatures of the Deep by TrashfireRadiowaves

He's a highblood, and highbloods are prone to highblood rages. You can see it in the way his hands tremble, long fingers clenching in fury when he gets cornered, taunted by one troll or another; you can see him take his anger and lock it away, watch him drop into a state of false calm, and you worry more with every day that passes. You aren't sure how long he can keep himself under control, and you don't think any of you will come back to life if you die again. You don't want anyone to die, and you don't want him to be forced into a position that causes him to hurt someone. You don't want anyone to die, but everyone on this fucking asteroid seems hell bent on making it happen. no archive warnings, T

[dire-kumori]

2 ways i'd continue with the whole time is breaking lots of evil robots Idea. (This is not me saying you should end the AU!! I just like sharing my ideas-)

Normal idea: The Afton siblings work together and kill the reaper along with scrap trap and scrap baby. I don't know why but I imagine that Elizabeth and Evan fire a bunch of fireworks directly into the reaper's chest and then they explode and he explodes- The reaper is killed and like everything goes back to normal basically- Michael wakes up and begins his life with no reaper... Maybe everything goes the way it's supposed to maybe it doesn't... Maybe things will be better this time...?

Crackpot idea: Okay so I'm gonna sound insane but... What if instead of teaming up with scrap trap... scrap baby actively tries to help her pass self and the other Afton siblings? Like roll reversal (Mike's the rampaging murderer and Elizabeth is The one trying her best to make up for past mistakes) Anyway team up happens, Mike get one-on-one withh the reaper. the reaper goes on this long monolog about how: "You honestly think that killing me will stop all of this? No matter what you do our dad's always gonna be a b******, we're always going to be a terrible son and everything we care about will always fall to pieces..." Somehow The reaper, Mike and scrap trap are all kind of in a room together... scarp trap attacks past Mike in his anger and nearly kills him. Reaper realizes how terrible he's been watching his father nearly kill his past self (he's turned into the thing he's hated most) Saves past Michael. Kind of breaks the cycle and time sort of fixes itself... Everything from the future is mostly sent back. (A couple things are still in the past-) Including adult Michael and scrap baby. They basically warn their past selves not to trust their dad and then just leave. Planning on finding something better... Theaften siblings are left confused mentally scarred and miraculously alive. All of them agree that no matter what they're not turning into those things.. This one is more of just a branch off idea- Again very crackpot..

Normal idea:

We bring in the new year with fireworks. Marking the end of the time loop with fireworks feels only too appropriate!

Normally the Reaper can track Mike wherever he goes, but with the appearance of countless time traveling animatronics, not to mention multiple iterations of Michael Afton, the Reaper's memories are becoming disjointed and confused. He's lost his biggest weapon, and the Afton siblings are finally able to gain the upper hand. Springtrap and Scrap Baby and the Reaper all close in on the house, hunting each other and hunting young Mike. There's a big argument, but eventually Mike convinces them that he should be the bait to lure the monsters into a trap. While Michael leads them into the basement, Evan and Elizabeth prep the fireworks outside.

I'm gonna gloss over the long, arduous battle, the Scraps brawling with Reaper and the Reaper brutalizing young Mike, young Mike barely escaping by the skin of his teeth, drenched in his own and the Reaper's blood as he crawls out of the house. Long story short, monsters are trapped inside, tearing one another apart in a gory display while the Afton children put an end to this nightmare in a show of sparks and flame. They sit and watch their childhood home burn, and feel a sense of peace as time crumbles around them.

When they next wake up, it's at the side of a small pond in a black and red world.

Crackpot idea:

This makes for a pretty interesting idea! Okay, I'm gonna say that Scrap Baby still starts out following Scraptrap, still determined to earn her father/creator's love. But as her pursuit of the Reaper leads her to the Afton kids, she comes across that girl. The one from her memories/nightmares. The one whose voice she can sometimes still hear, screaming. Baby freezes. Long enough for Elizabeth and her brothers to get away from Scrap Baby. When he finds out that she let them escape, Scraptrap is furious with Scrap Baby. He makes sure to let her know what a disappointment she is before he resumes his own hunt.

The shock of seeing her past self has caused Elizabeth's soul to awaken inside of Scrap Baby. She begins to remember. And slowly, she begins to break free of Circus Baby's murderous programming. Suddenly the Afton kids gain a powerful new ally in the fight against the Reaper.

And she's not the only one. I didn't touch much on it earlier, but the other animatronics, even as they're going berserk, won't harm children. Kids all over town are being ripped away from their parents, adults left in bloody heaps in the streets as the animatronics sequester the children somewhere 'safe.' Of the animatronics, only a select few seem to have any sense of reason. The Puppet watches the carnage and weeps, searching for the cause of it. She knows on an instinctive level, that William and the Aftons are involved. And as she chases down Scraptrap, she discovers the newly awakened Scrap Baby, and soon the Afton children, sticking together and trying to survive in this hellscape.

Fast forwarding again, sadly, this ends with everyone being forced to say goodbye. Once time resets, nothing that shouldn't physically exist in 1981 (that's when I'm saying this takes place now, even though I never specified before) remains. Only thoughts and memories. To the Afton kids, this whole event will become one long, particularly vivid nightmare. To Scrap Baby, the Reaper, the Puppet and all the others, it's the end of the world. The future in which they come to be is erased, despite time resetting, as although nothing physically remains out of time, the event still leaves psychic scars on the Afton kids. For Mike in particular, this event lingers as a particularly vivid dream he never fully forgets, though it does fade in time. Michael, Elizabeth, and Evan aren't the same kids they were before the Reaper entered their lives, and they don't make the same choices or mistakes that they might have without his intervention.

[scientifichubris]

What made you get into this kind of stuff?

This is super vent-y, but it answers the question. Sorry. I’m feeling open and vulnerable tonight.

Growing up I was treated like a test subject and I’ve always felt like one. I don’t want to talk about the stuff my dad did, but what he’s done to me, and another alter that I eventually fused with last year, contributed to it greatly.

In middle school, I was always the group that was the first to try out anything. They’d make it all cool sounding and snazzy, but if it failed it would be on us not them. It would still be on our record y’know? We were just little kids basing our future on things that weren’t majorly tested because we lived in a poor area that needed funding and that’s how the schools got their money. We’d be the first to do certain classes, specialized programs, and new to-be-standardized testing types. Most of them really sucked and no one really knew how to teach them. It was hard.

In high school, about 22 other students and I were completely and utterly isolated from the entire school because of a high-level program. Even our bell schedule was different. We were nerdy freaks that were the only way the school got any money anymore. This test run was what was funding the school at this point. We didn’t have any sports or even a cafeteria in hot ass Florida so that should tell you that it was a shitty, poor school. The school had no idea how to run the program and I got in during what was their second year of a 4-year for each student program so it was a mess. I could tell you stories for hours about how horribly it was run. It was just a test run and if we were not successful on such high-level shit despite the horrible conditions and complete isolation we wouldn’t get our high school diplomas. It was a full-on nightmare where, yet again, I was the lowly test subject. 

I still feel that way even in university. I’ve always been the lab rat or the guinea pig. I always get the new professors or ones that haven’t taught since the 80s so they’re so rusty and don’t get anything yet. The first real “job” I ever got here was to take part in an experiment too. I got paid less than minimum wage for working the hardest I ever had in my life and then got fired halfway through when results weren’t what they were hoping so they lost funding.

It feels hard to escape and always has. It always feels like I’m on the receiving end of a test or some experiment. It sucks.

My first real mental escape from all this was Frankenstein. I first read it when I was 13. I really loved the idea and became instantly obsessive over it. That was probably my first idea of a “mad scientist” since I wasn’t out much back then. I carried it with me everywhere when I was though. Victor didn’t feel like a test subject. He had my loneliness, my depression, my want to self isolate, my stress, my sickness, and my horrid health, but he was able to still make something and do his own tests and creation and his own experiments and he didn’t need any professional to tell him what to do about it. Someone wanted to hear his story. Someone was interested in him as a creator and not a subject and that was something I craved so deeply then. Yes, it caused his downfall and ruined his and other lives, but I was on a huge tragic literature kick and was an edgy little bitch, okay? 

During the worst year of my life (yet) in high school, we had to read Frankenstein and everyone else hated it but me. I haven’t felt that alive since I first read it. Discussing it with my teacher, it turned out to be one of her favorite books too, and classmates gave me so much more application and love for the book than ever before. It now meant than it ever had previously. Figuring out each theme, alternative ideas, further connections and connotations to things I finally understood now that I was older… Realizing I was somewhat gay, this book even helped with that. Like, it is so gay and my teacher was a lesbian, so I didn’t feel so alone IRL. It was an even farther escape from what high school felt and the utterly horrible time I was having. I’d think about how great it would be to just create and make and not be, for just once, the test subject. It was, and still is, pathetic how relatable Victor really was.

I later found the Frankenstein community on Tumblr. All the jokes and memes over a book from 1818/1831 filled me with so much joy. I discovered other mad scientists as a result, but nothing really hit the same and as real as Victor felt to me. However, I genuinely liked the idea of exploring it more, so I did. I liked the flashy aesthetics, the bright greens, the glowy stuff, and the cartoonish depictions. The jokes were great, and I actually understood them so that was a major bonus. It was so away from reality and fun and I found looking at it it did calm me down from some things. The addition of my love of science and biology helped too. As weird as this all felt, everyone was really friendly so I thought I’d give it a shot and make this.The community was small, but I felt at home.

I hope this didn’t sound so Villian Monolog. I’m obviously not in it to treat other people like test subjects or to “turn the tables” on those that hurt me. I’m not into torture and that stuff makes me severely uncomfortable as a victim of it myself. I just really like the aesthetics and it takes me out of the hopelessness of the opposite that is my life. Going from feeling like the test subject to pretending to be a cool mad scientist with some wacky goal is just fun. I tried to display this in ZB, who is frankly just me. He went from being a test subject himself, to self-experimentation to extend his own deteriorating life that is due to the prior testing. It’s about me learning more about myself, getting past it and taking control of what happened to me. I guess it isn’t such a wacky or fun goal, but he’s still fun to think about and display in his “””weird””” ways. It brings me a lot of comfort, and I can play out my fears and reality subversions. I will eventually start to distance himself from me, since I have ideas for a story that don’t feel like me at all, but for now, that’s how I feel!

[livehealthywithpinti-blog]

Stop Focusing On Your Mistakes

http://pinti.co/stop-focusing-on-your-mistakes/

Stop Focusing On Your Mistakes

  When we are catastrophizing, it for the most part implies we could have taken care of something better or in an unexpected way. Thus, it’s neither reasonable nor supportive to aimlessly persuade ourselves that all is well (“It’s fine that I shouted at my companion toward the beginning of today! I’m awesome!”). What’s more sensible, and profitable, is to concentrate on preparing the target reality and loving ourselves at any rate.

  Self-acknowledgment isn’t only a smart thought in principle—it has exceptionally unmistakable advantages. In one examination, Kristin Kneff and her partners asked work showcase bound students to take an interest in a ridicule meet for a vocation they “ridiculously want[ed].” When the questioner requested that the understudies portray their most prominent shortcoming, those high in self-acknowledgment announced feeling altogether less anxious and reluctant thereafter—had it been a genuine prospective employee meet-up, they likely would have performed much better subsequently.

  Research demonstrates that a basic approach to support your self-acknowledgment is to screen your internal monolog. So whenever you end up catastrophizing, pay heed to whether you’re acting naturally basic (“There I go neglecting to set my alert! What isn’t right with me? For what reason wouldn’t i be able to do the most essential things, as be on time?”) or self-tolerating (“That was a mix-up—however I’m just human and these things happen”). An accommodating thing to ask can now and again be, “Would I say what I just said to myself to somebody whom I like and regard?”

  Another effective apparatus to battle catastrophizing is point of view. In one investigation, analysts reviewed more than a hundred Chicago couples at regular intervals for a year on their sentiments of conjugal fulfillment, closeness, put stock in, enthusiasm, and love for their accomplice. Amid the investigation, they got some information about the contentions in their marriage. A control aggregate composed for 21 minutes on the contention and the test amass expounded on how an “impartial outsider who needs the best for all” would see the contention—just the exploratory gathering was shielded from the general pattern of “hearty decreases in conjugal quality.”

  By ascending past their own particular point of view about their conjugal clashes, members could escape their ruminative circles and push ahead much more beneficially.

  A similar thing transpired amid my discussion with my creator companion. After I confessed all to her about my “disappointment,” she clarified, “When that transpires, I endeavor to recall that I’m an indistinguishable individual from I was the day preceding. The main thing that is distinctive is the number.” It was a straightforward however intense understanding.

  Particularly when we’re down on ourselves for an apparent disappointment or confinement, augmenting the focal point to see our target improvement over weeks, months or years encourages us keep the confidence, support our vitality, and value our achievements.

  My partner helped me understand that regardless of the possibility that it doesn’t generally feel like it, I am making progress in my vision for a more mindful world. I’m not exactly there yet, but rather I’m likewise not ceasing at any point in the near future! (At the point when has anything vital at any point been simple?)

  What’s more, on a more profound level, it’s an update that it’s similarly as imperative to chip away at our self-acknowledgment as it is to deal with our mindfulness. On the off chance that we focus on observing ourselves unmistakably, yet without empathy for what we realize, it turns out to be simply one more exercise in self-hatred. Rather, on the off chance that we recall that we’re human and in this way flawed—and this is truly alright—the trip turns out to be substantially less demanding and endlessly all the more asserting.

[sherzyang]

What you want to be

Growing up my dad was a dental professor and my mom was a civil engineer. This seemed like the recipe for a budding child scientist, but it wasn’t. I grew up in the 90’s, a time when I thought I had to love math more than anything in order to study a science. However, I also loved reading, drawing, and history. My identity didn’t seem to match with what a scientist should look like. Computer science seemed out of reach.

As a kid I loved building games out of paper, creating store ideas, and making museum exhibits. However, as I grew, I had to make a choice based on what I was good at. My love of art and history seemed to mean I wasn’t as “smart” as my STEM classmate. The labels of smart and dumb not only inaccurately define what we do, but they are toxic to who we can grow to become.  

According to a Stanford researcher, kids who are given the language to believe they can learn anything, do better than those who are taught the vocabulary “not your strength” and “not good enough”. Ten years ago, you didn’t build things if you weren’t "good enough" at it. You had to choose something else.

Things are different in 2017. The conversation around jobs and careers has changed into one more centered on fluid skill sets. For the younger generation, growing up in a world with overwhelming options means they must believe in themselves and their power to grow. Today there are many more channels to learn what we don’t already know. The conversation around coding really can begin that internal positive monolog of a growth mindset.

Is self-love the key to a growth mindset? We want to give kids the labels we grew up with, but we may need to stop and ask ourselves if these labels really help or hurt. If someone is a outgoing, can they also be a coder? If someone is shy can she still be a boss? Self-love of diversity in background allows everyone his or her own path. Now we can encourage these paths, not just what we think will work best for our children, but what will inspire them to own and love their best selves.

As children and adults, we can be driven to do things based on fear or curiosity. Fear can drive us to go places in life, but those places often do not bring fulfillment. According to Education Week, curiosity will create the opportunities for our children tomorrow. We could be afraid of not appearing successful, afraid of not being smart, afraid that we only have a few chances so we cannot fail. As his boss says to Leonardo Dicaprio in the 1950’s in Revolutionary Road, “A man gets only a couple of chances in life. If he doesn't [take them], it won't take long for he's sitting around wondering why he got to be second rate.” That negative, fear-driven thinking doesn’t work in this decade. Fear runs out of fuel and never carries a person as far as curiosity. Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert said, Creative living is “is choosing the path of curiosity over the path of fear”.

With coding as a conversation starter, instead of being consumers of whatever the world tells them, our children can be creators with their curiosity. They don't have to just love art or just love science. They can build something new. Today I have an Ivy League business background, and a fiction writing passion. I learned HTML and CSS this year. I realized I just hadn’t been able to code -- yet. Rethinking the language I used to talk to myself through coding closed the gap between what I wanted to solve and what I could do. I saw the distance wasn’t so big after all.

[rajibfci]

KLYMAXX : bernadette cooper klymaxx

Biography

Bernadette Cooper, Is an American recording artist, producer, composer, musician, entertainer and the original creator and founder of the Pop/R&B all-girl band 'KLYMAXX'. In a career spanning almost 36 years she remains relevant. Being the maverick that she is, Cooper sets out at an early age to conquer her dream of an all-girl band.

Bernadette Cooper the founder of Klymaxx, created the group that made history as the first all-female R&B, funk and pop band in which every female member played an instrument. Klymaxx collectively holds the distinction as being the ONLY all-female R&B/Pop band to go Platinum to this day.

Describing herself as a Diseuse. A  Diseuse is a female entertainer who performs dramatic monologs. Bernadette has made this a popular art form in the Pop/ R&B world. Like Madonna, she can be sexy and funny at the same time. Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, at the age of 12, She taught herself how to play the drums and began playing the drums in church.

Singer, songwriter, and producer, Bernadette Cooper has never been anything like the women the Beach Boys harmonized about on their sunshine soundtracks, she is still a California girl. Raised in Inglewood and in Compton, the “hood” that blessed us with both Barry White and N.W.A.

Whether singing Aretha Franklin songs at the show & tell in the first grade, listening to Sly Stone on the radio or admiring the drums on Isaac Hayes records, she knew early that music would be her life.

Cooper, subsequently graduated from Inglewood High school where she earned a scholarship to El Camino College.  While attending college, her  vision of forming an all-girl band remained. Bernadette majored in Law at El Camino college, but quit after one year, after surrendering to her passion.

She then began pursuing her love of music.

So...Ms Cooper came up with a name she thought would be exciting and would capture attention and then changed the spelling so it would be the groups own entity. Through magazine ads, auditions, word of mouth and interviewing many girls, the  band came into fruition.

"I know I was looking Good" with these six words, on 1984 hit single “The Men All Pause,” Bernadette Cooper and Klymaxx changed the face and sound of music. The group that the Inglewood, California native created went on to become the most successful all-female soul/pop/funk band of all time.

Bernadette Cooper is cooler than you. She's also cooler than me, but that verdict is still pending. Before Beyonce failed, tried to bring out the "Sasha Fierce", there was someone who didn't need the word in her name, her actions spoke much louder.

Bernadette is a visionary who has the rare ability to see around the corner even if  a Mack truck is obstructing her view.  Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in finding, developing and signing many artists including John B, Madame X,  and Klymaxx

Life And Career

KLYMAXX

In 1979, Bernadette Cooper formed Klymaxx. She narrowed the band down to the six girls who became the popular band. Klymaxx's uniqueness is due to the all-girl band's ability to play instruments, and their sound was influential because of its comedic, women power theme. Klymaxx's original members are (vocalist, drummer) Bernadette Cooper, (vocalist) Lorena Porter (Stewart), (guitarist) Cheryl Cooley, (keyboardists) Lynn Malsby, (keyboardists) Robbin Grider and later, after the band signed to Solar records (bassist/ vocalist) Joyce Irby, was added to the band.

Inspired by the past generation of mack divas (Lynn Collins, LaBelle, Brides of Funkenstein, and Chaka Khan) as well as Prince’s computer blue funk, Klymaxx was on a mission to kick ass.

“The forming of Klymaxx felt more like it was an out of body experience. It was guided by a force that I can’t explain,” Cooper says. “I remember the struggles and the sacrifice, but I also remember the camaraderie of six girls focusing on one goal. We sent out a few demos and immediately came to the attention of SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records) through an executive named Margaret Nash; she urged her boss Dick Griffey to check us out. He came to our rehearsal, watched us play and immediately offered us a record deal.

On the West Coast during the 1980s, SOLAR represented the new music of young Black America. Sometimes called “the new Motown,” the label was owned and operated by Dick Griffey. As the home of chart-topping artists Shalamar, Midnight Star, Bobby Womack, Lakeside, the Whispers, Carrie Lucas and The Deele, they were thriving in a time when hip-hop was creeping-up from the underground

With Griffey’s empire located on 1635 N. Cahuenga in a building SOLAR owned, there was also a recording studio on the premises where his artists worked.

A complicated man, Griffey was a mentor to both Babyface and Death Row founder Suge Knight. Although Griffey was seen as a gangster by some, to Cooper he was always a gentleman. “Dick was a friend and a wonderful man,” she says. “He took a girl from Compton, and not only taught me the music business, but he also introduced me to fine dining, escargot and instructed me on great wines. I owe him my career.  If Dick hadn’t been around, I wouldn’t be pursuing my dreams.”

While Klymaxx might’ve collaborated with a few male producers, they realized that they weren’t looking for anyone to control their sound, style or swag.

This was the general consensus amongst the girls after releasing their underwhelming debut, "Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman," in 1981, which was controlled and conceptualized by their male counterpart.

It wasn’t until Klymaxx’s new wave electro third album Meeting in the Ladies Room (1984) that they became a femme force in the industry With the catchy “The Men All Pause,” “Meeting in the Ladies Room” and the mushy ballad “I Miss You,” their most successful single.

Klymaxx had become more self-contained, writing tracks and directing the sessions (“The Men All Pause” was co-produced by Steve Shockley, Bernadette Cooper and Joyce “Fenderella” Irby. “We started writing for ourselves, because we were tired of men writing us lines like, ‘When you get home baby, I want you to rub my feet,'  Cooper said, “We complained to Dick and he said, ‘Fine, do your own album.’ With that, Klymaxx became real. We had freedom, and that’s a beautiful thing.” As seen in “The Men All Pause” video, with Cooper clad in fuzzy leopard-skinned top, it wasn’t uncommon for her to step from behind her drums to sing and talk smack on the mic.

At the same time, she was also making creative strides as a songwriter. As Klymaxx producers, Jimmy and Terry gravitated towards her style and her songs.  Griffey, a former drummer himself, had a knack for grooming producers, including Leon Sylvers III, Reggie and Vincent Calloway, LA and Babyface and Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam. Klymaxx was the first band Jam and Lewis recorded back in 1982 when the emerging duo produced the group’s second album Girls Will Be Girls. In the studio, Cooper closely observed the duo at work. “I was completely inspired by them and their methods and approach to music,” she says. “I watched, listened and I learned.” While women are often excluded from the production process, Griffey took a chance. “He instinctively was able to recognize my raw talent,” Cooper says. “There aren’t many men in this industry who respect the vision of a woman, but Mr. Griffey wasn’t afraid.”

Cooper’s sound became a mixture of Minneapolis styled synthesizers, George Clinton’s cosmic slop, James Brown eternal funk and the majestic pop of Quincy Jones, that was distinctively her own.

In 1987, due to the band's internal conflicts, Cooper left the band to pursue outside projects. "With all great bands, people outgrow situations," Cooper said of the break-up. "It's plain and simple. I think we were all equal in poverty in the beginning. We were all hungry, reaching for the same goal, going towards that light together.  But as time [went] on - people wanted to have babies and get married - everyone began to separate and do their own thing. "And of course, within a group you have your friction, especially when there are one or two members that people focus on more," she continued, "Our vision, as a unit, simply changed.  It's like a marriage, She continues, "Do you want to get back with your ex? I think not!"

"I'm captivating and that's because I am so outrageous live. If you didn't notice me, I was going to make sure you did notice me"- "I wanted to be remarkable, the band wanted me to blend in. That was very difficult for me to do. My personality cannot be confined. I know that I am A.D.D. ( A Different Diva) or a Difficult Diva. My personal mission is not to blend in, however, to be innovative." "I love the girls for the history that we created together."

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