Interviewer: EttilaSharif
Interviewee: sugarybunxx
Interview Editor: EttilaSharif

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Greetings! I'm Ettila, and I will be taking your interview for Freak Show. As one of the Owners of CLN, it is my honor to interview you. Let me know when you are ready to start the interview!

I am ready to start!

Awesome! First thing's first. What name/pen name and pronouns do you go by?

Well, I am known as Kinky by everyone around here but they also call me Rupa or Rinky which is less weird lol, so anything is fine and my pronouns are she/ her.

Rupa it is then! You have such... interesting nicknames lol. So Rupa, tell me, what does it feel like to be an Owner of CLN?

Well, it's crazy, it's awesome, it's basically a snazzy experience. Balancing work and craziness requires some major skills and I believe I have acquired them in the past two years. It's an amazing group of people and I couldn't be more grateful.

Sounds like you love it there. When did you first join CLN and why?

Well, I joined CLN on the 6th of April 2020. I had entered my book in one of the awards hosted by CLN and I had checked out one of the previous founder Karen's profile as I had contacted her regarding some queries. I had found it quite interesting, the whole community concept, so I decided to give it a try!

Nice way to join a community I'd say. Apart from being an Owner, what positions do you hold in CLN?

Well, I am the Helpline co-owner and the Communications Subhead for the community.

That's great! How do you feel about the staff in CLN? Are you familiar with them or do you not interact much?

The CLN Staff is some of the best I know. They are a wonderful and talented bunch of people, not to mention super crazy and I get along well with every one of them! I have pretty good relations with almost everyone on the team and we interact very well together too.

They sound awesome! And how do you feel about your fellow Owners? Do you like the relationship you have among you now or are there some inner torments that we don't know about? 👀

Our team of founders is the best I could ask for. I connect so well with them, it's insane! We have our differences as well but we know how to sort them out. I love how each one has her own ideas and stand on things and how well we can merge them all into one solid idea and implement it with the same vigor. Our love for the community and the understanding of everyone makes it the perfect mix of people to work and be crazy with a smile. Ali is the feisty and hyperactive one, Ettila is the responsible one, I add a bit to everything and Alexa balances everything out : )

Seems like CLN is in good hands according to you. Tell us a bit about yourself outside your online life. What do you do and what are your hobbies? A bit about your likes and dislikes.

Well, I really just study outside of my online life, and when I am not doing that I am basically watching 3 kdramas at once or sleeping. I read a lot too, fanfiction is my new current obsession. Also my love for BTS is well known to everyone xD

Wow, you sound like a busy person. Do you have any hidden talent/specialty (s) that no or very few people know about? If so, care to share some with us?

Indeed. Well, I don't have any hidden talents as such but I have been professionally trained in singing for quite a few years but very few people know that I guess. Other than that I also have useless talents such as starting reading or writing multiple books or dramas at once and then not remembering where I actually stopped at or falling asleep at the drop of a hat anywhere possible. OH, AND ONE MORE THING, I make awesome poems which inspired CLN to make a nursery rhyme book as well 😁

Wow, that's amazing! What are some things you are most proud of? It could be about yourself or something else.

Well, I am proud of whatever I have achieved so far, be it getting good grades, winning competitions, writing books, or running a community like CLN. I am proud of all the efforts I have put into all things till now whether they have been fruitful or not. I am also proud of all the talented and hardworking people I have met on this platform and through CLN. It's been a great journey overall till now and I hope it continues to be just better and better!

Those are some amazing things! Do you think you've grown very close to someone in CLN while working here? If so, who is/ are the (un?)lucky person(s)?

Well, I have grown close to a lot of people and made some great friends here. But the three people I am the closest to are definitely Ali, Zee and Alexa.  Ali is like my long-lost soulmate atp who I just love to bits and we even share the same love for all things worthy of simping over which is a blessing. Zee is awesome and I love her vibe, always really cheerful and happy. Alexa is the person who just sends you memes randomly and makes dark jokes but her humour is top notch and I am all for it. Other than them I am also very close with Ettila, Maxxie, Rae, Demi and Anika. They are some really amazing people and I love all of them loads!

They both sound like the perfect partner-in-crime, or in this case, craziness. I'm glad you found your long lost sister ;) and I hope your friends' feelings are mutual! As an owner of such a huge community as CLN, it goes without saying that drama and stress are a must. How do you deal with them? Does it feel too much sometimes? What do you do then?

Haha yes indeed they are and I hope so too. Well, it's a given that drama and stress come hand in hand with the work and fun of course, but I have a great team that helps me keep things organized and on schedule. It's a lot of work keeping everything in check but it gets done breezily with great coordination. Everyone needs a break every now and then so I make sure to take one when things start to feel too much. Though I also make sure the work gets distributed properly and everything is in good hands so it's stress-free from both sides and I can also enjoy my break. I am usually not good at keeping my cool for a long time and tend to snap easily but I try to collect myself as effectively as possible and that's I think something that CLN taught me to. Other than that, I usually unwind to music or a good nap and then I am ready to get back to work :D

Sweet! It seems like you handle it well enough. What is something you find unique or extraordinary in CLN?

The fact that the people are so close, just like family when they are living miles apart from each other and have not met nor even seen each other in some cases. Also, the fact that everyone thinks the same when it comes to any super crazy stuff right from hinos merchandise to bathroom schedules to geoduck wars to Disney theme weeks is downright eerie let me tell you. The way we all can get into weird topics or talk to any length on anything is, I think, quite extraordinary. And then the crazy love everyone has for spamming and chaos and also the fact that CLN has a pole dancer department and hires appliances like toasters are the most unique part for me XDD

I must say it sounds very intimidating indeed XD. Contrarily, what's something that feels cliché to you in CLN? Or something that annoys you?

The cliche is the work part I guess. For example, while every community out there has a Graphic shop which is something all communities come up with first, we were struggling for quite a while to get one up because of a lack of members and some other stuff. We couldn't go "without one" cuz 'Graphic Designing is an essential part of communities' is a cliche out there. Nevertheless we have a great team now, so I wouldn't change that for the world. I don't like some perspectives of people on a particular work topic sometimes I guess, but then again, it's just a difference of opinion and we have to make it work with it.

Every community has some clichés and positivity is the key here! We all ought to overcome our differences and work together in order to succeed in anything. Now for a fun question, Kiss, Kill, Marry. Which three persons in CLN and why?

Haha, that's tricky. Well if it's to be all guys then...

Kiss - as long as it a friendly peck on the cheek, m all for the affection

Kill - no one, they are all a great bunch, maybe Ali sometimes when she decides to spam Ettila everywhere possible

Marry - you did attend my wedding didnt you T-T

It doesn't have to be all guys lol, but that's CHEATING *sobs* I'm sure people want to know some real names of people *wink wonk*. Moving on, what do you like to do in your pastime?

My current obsessions are currently Kdramas, Fanfiction, watching Youtube shorts, listening to BTS, simping over people and getting all the sleep I can 😁

Those are all interesting things to do lol. If you were to describe yourself in five words, what would they be?

Talkative, Hyper, Crazy, Weird, Attentive.

Awesome combination! Now, an Expectation vs Reality time. What did you expect of CLN and what did it turn out to be? It could be from when you joined, or any time span till now.

Well around July of 2020, I had really expected CLN to close down due to the loss of many key people and I had actually lost hope. But it actually just like, revived with a few people working very hard on it and then just kept getting better and bigger and more successful and looking at where we are today, it's actually a big surprise. The people are closer, the work is more fun than the task and everything is more organized and defined as well.

Sounds like a much-needed miracle happened that time. Are you satisfied with what CLN looks like right now? Why or why not? What would you want to change?

I am indeed very happy with how things are. There is still room for improvement for sure, a bit more organization and opening up some more new, possible avenues are on the cards. Overall it's a great team, able founders and admins, very talented heads for all departments who know exactly what they want and how they want it, and cooperative staff. I wouldn't want to change anything as of now, it's a great mix.

That's amazing to hear! How would you describe your journey in CLN so far in short?

Chaotic, with something new to learn every day from people all across the world, each having different ideas and thoughts. It's been a rollercoaster with its own ups and downs but I have found people that I am really very thankful to have in my life and joining this weird, crazy community was one of the best decisions of my life 😃

Sounds like a wonderful journey indeed. Do you want to tell someone in CLN something in particular that you want everyone else to know as well? If so, now could be the best time to let them know.

I just want to tell everyone in CLN that you all are what makes CLN stand where we are today, you all are the soul. Keep shining, keep growing and I wish everyone only success in whatever they do. I am so so proud of the entire team, love you all loads!

A wonderful message from a wonderful person! Do you have any special plans for CLN in mind for the future? If so, would you like to share it with us?

Just keeping it all together and sane is my plan for now and hopefully, it works!

I wish you good luck with that XD! Lastly, any advice for the people who are reading this right now? It could be about anything you like or just general life advice.

Thank you for the luck! To all the people who read this, just remember that life is too short to regret anything. Don't take decisions just for others' sake which you will regret later. You don't want to say "I should have done this at that time, things would have been different". Have faith in whatever you decide, stick to it, and just go ahead with it, without worrying about the results. Try out new stuff and don't be scared about what "people will think", it's your life, you make the rules!

That's some very eye-opening advice. As much as I'd love to talk to you more, Rupa, it's unfortunate that we'll have to end the interview here and I thank you for the time and patience you put up with me. I'm sorry for any kind of inconvenience my actions caused. Hope you have a great day/ night ahead. Take care!

It was indeed a great time talking to you, thank you for interviewing me! Have a great day ahead as well!