The History of Boomer 20

Here is the story of my Club Penguin life that I wrote for the ACP Forums sometime around March (with a lot more that I had to add  ).  Hope you like it!

It was late March 31, 2007. My sister was using the computer. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me she was playing a game called Club Penguin. It looked pretty cool, so later that week, on March 31, 2007, I created my very own penguin. I decided to name it Boomer after the nickname given to me by my soccer coach because I could kick the ball very well. I added the number 20 because my favorite football player was and still is Brian Dawkins, number 20 of the Philadelphia Eagles. With that, my penguin was born.

I began playing at my home server of Half Pipe in the midst of the April Fools Day Party, where I received my first item: the blue propeller hat. This was the only time I had witnessed the Dojo to look differently than it used to until recently. I spent much of my time early on doing nothing specific. I played Mancala and Find Four, I went sled racing and played many of the games available at the time. I slowly built upon my skills in Find Four until I was nearly unbeatable, but something was missing. The sad fact was, I didn’t have anyone to hang out with on Club Penguin…

In late April that same year, I met a group of friends on Half Pipe that I had a lot in common with. Every night, whenever we could, we met together at the Half Pipe Dock and just hung out. It was a good time for me.

It was now approaching May, and I was excited for Summer Vacation, but it just wasn’t coming fast enough. My friends were now spending less and less time on ClubPenguin. In the span of a month, most of my friends were either banned or just stopped playing Club Penguin. I felt alone again. To fill the void left by my lost friends, I wandered from server to server, searching for something else to do.

Around mid-May, I stumbled upon Mammoth, one of Club Penguin’s largest servers. After searching around, I stopped in the Dojo, where I discovered a large group called the Underground Mafias Army. They were facing an army called the Nachos, led by Zippy500. Intrigued, I decided to join UMA, where I worked as a spy. My missions included disguising myself as a Nacho and infiltrating their base at the Beacon. I suppose I would have liked to know of the UMA site so I could join officially, but without my naivete, I probably would have been a life-long UMA soldier rather than an ACP soldier.  And if anyone has old UMA pictures, look for me  .  It would be awesome if I were in any.

The occasional battles were fun. I would race to Mammoth every day after school just before it filled up and meet up with other UMA soldiers.  But between family vacations, summer camp, and a week at my grandparents, I was unable to keep up with armies during the summer. When school started up again in the fall, I had little time for Club Penguin between schoolwork and soccer. When I did come on, it was only to receive an item or for a new party. Then came Winter Break. Being away from school and its related work, I had more free time. I became more involved with Club Penguin again. After attending what I believed to be the largest battle I had ever seen by accident, I decided to look for other large battles on YouTube.

I soon found a video of an even more massive battle in which the Army of Club Penguin defeated the Underground Mafias Army in WWIII. This video encouraged me to look into the ACP.  I searched around the army sites of which I had heard. None impressed me very much. Then I tracked down the ACP site. The site was well organized and far more detailed than any other site I had looked at. Everything down to territory and government was clearly and carefully planned out. I was very impressed with this army, led by Oagalthorp. So once again I returned to Mammoth.

On January 3rd, my first day as an ACP soldier, I met my good friend Shaboomboom, who joined the ACP on the very same day. We have been great friends ever since that day [insert your own destiny reference here   ].  We like to joke about combining our names to form “Shaboomer”  . I also met Mazachster, Rapidy, Corvette 360, Sheila Gally, Hattrick, Peguin21795, and many more that day. Later that week, I emailed Oagalthorp, the leader of the ACP, to see what rank I would get. A week or so later, on January 18th, I became an official ACP soldier as Captain of the Sigma Brigade, led by Db Penguin.

After discovering ACP chat, I went on, where I heard about the SSACP, led my Mazachster. I joined on January 12, 2008. Later that week, I heard that Fort57 was also making an army of his own. I joined Fort’s Blue Vikings on January 17, 2008. About a month later, I met my good friend Dialga80 on Club Penguin. Together we created the Army of Reindeer, just because we were bored. As it turned out, our little army of two grew into an army of nearly ten, and we defeated a much larger army of Golds. Later, after I managed to track him down to WW Chat, Dialga introduced me to the Watex Warriors, which I joined in mid-February. I still miss my late-night hide and seek games with Dialga and those who stayed up to play with us.  With all of the army action, Club Penguin was fun again.

I continued to serve my armies loyally for months. I was around in late May when Fort rebelled against Oagalthorp, then retired leader of ACP, thus making ACP the closest it had been to destruction.  Facing a full-scale attack from every major army in Club Penguin, ACP held on to defeat the invaders. The victory was bittersweet for me, because it marked the end of my friend Dialga’s Club Penguin career.

I had also made great strides in my work for the Secret Spy Agency of Club Penguin (SSACP).  I had worked my way up to Top Spy in an agency full of the best spies in Club Penguin, including some familiar names: Mazachster (the Leader), Cooltiger413 (the Co-Leader), Corvette 360, Headofpolice, Rapidy, K Wadler, Shaboomboom, Bellehdewmah, and myself.  Other members of the army included many other high ranking ACP soldiers, including Jedimaster17, Abercrombe29, Nodear, Dr Nono Jr, Clintos007, Sheila Gally, Jcs11, Chrisdude100, Ballon451, Seanehawk, Speedmobile, Coleslaw7175, Yoitspablo, Jcapp64, and Jazz77.  We were probably more successful in what we did than any armies will ever know, which is in a way unfortunate, however it does add the the mystique surrounding us.  We had been so successful that even as a mere spy organizing, we had achieved major army status, in the same class as the Watex Warriors.  That was until July 23, 2008, the day the SSACP site was hacked.  It was a hacking from which SSACP would never recover for a long time.  I still say being with this original group was something I will never forget, and I will always hold it in high regards.  I think it is safe to say a spy team will never be assembled better than what we had.

In August, ACP was faced with yet another serious crisis when Oagalthorp chose Rapidy to be the new ACP Leader and Fort selected Dr Nono Jr.  Much of ACP began a rebellion against Oagalthorp and “Old ACP”, creating a new site and a new chat.  Oagalthorp then made a poll over whether the old ACP site should be deleted. The results of this poll were unfathomable.  Both sides fought hard to take the lead from the other.  I was so worried after a while that the site would be deleted that my friend Corvette 360 and I spent all night copying pages and posts off the ACP site to our hard drives.  The ACP site had become more than just a website.  The ACP site had become an archive of critical information to be passed down leader to leader, army generation to army generation.  And so reflected the poll, if only barely.  By only one single vote out of nearly 500, the ACP site had been saved.  The roots of rebellion had been planted, however, and it would not be long until ACP was faced with another crisis.

Meanwhile, I had worked my way up in ACP, achieving the rank of Field Marshal. I had become a moderator on chat shortly after Fort became ACP Leader in April and I was slowing moving my way up, gaining respect from the ACP veterans along the way.  When Shaboomboom ran for Leader of ACP in October, he nominated me to be his runningmate, and I soon became his Co-Leader along with Jedimaster17. After a long period of tension between Shab and Jedi, as well as Oagal and Shab, ACP went to war for Mammoth. When ACP nearly collapsed after an embarrassing loss in the Battle for Mammoth, rebellion and chaos among the leaders forced ACP to a crisis. After meeting with Shab, Jedi, and Oagal, it was determined that I would be the best choice for Leader because of my response to the crisis and my ability to settle disagreements.

When I took over ACP on November 21, 2008, I was not taking over the strongest army, but one that was devastated by leadership struggles and a overwhelming loss on Mammoth.  Within a month, I led ACP back to the top, defeating UMA, Nachos, and IW in order to take the title as The Strongest Army of 2008 in the Christmas Tournament.  In 2009, we progressed even further, holding our position as the strongest army through the months that followed.  In February, we displayed our true strength, as 110 soldiers destroyed the competition in the Clash of the Unforgiven.  On we moved into April, where ACP grew to overwhelming size, regularly achieving 60 soldiers on chat.  During this time, ACP and RPF held an Invasion of Tuxedo, in which ACP covered all the main rooms of the server, numbering 140 strong.  In addition to this, every month from November to April, ACP saw its hits rise, and April marked our biggest success – 140,000 hits.

Around this time, I was developing a tactic that would revolutionize ACP’s style of warfare.  A simple circle became more than just something for fun, but a powerful tactic that combined all elements of offensive and defense warfare.  The circle spread the army all over the room, making us look much larger.  It forced the enemy into the center and made them unable to charge back.  It made for an amazing display to onlookers, increasing our troop count with tons of recruits.  And finally, the circle would collapse into an unstoppable clover charge onto the defenseless army in the center.  This tactic became so impressive that ACP held the Snow Forts with a massive circle for an hour and a half before and during the Decade End Tournament, and neither the Nachos nor IW even attempted to invade this crucial room once during the battle.

In May, ACP continued to grow, until finally, I retired after over 6 months of leading ACP.  Nearly 100 soldiers attended my retirement party, and when an unfortunate rebel army tried to invade Snow Fort, ACP arrived with the largest numbers I have ever seen.  A total of 170 soldiers packed the Dock, Town, and Snow Forts, and for 10 minutes, I was unable to get into any of them (even though it was my final battle).  My first retirement was something I will always remember.

After being retired all summer and most of September, ACP had a leader named Seanehawk in power.  After watching our hits drop steadily over the summer and by the week in September, ACP fell from its #1 Army ranking down to #3.  Soldiers complained of Seane’s controlling, dictator-esque ways, and his refusal to take advice from anyone other than his closest friends.  On September 26, 2009, Seanehawk was overthrown when I removed him from the site in a coup d’etat with help from Dryvit and Shaboomboom.

ACP had fallen significantly, and though I was back in power, in October, all I was able to do was halt the decline that had plagued ACP since June.  November looked promising, as ACP began to grow in size as new recruits began to return.  In the past, I had built my army around these recruits.  Often neglected by other armies, I recognized their undying loyalty and dedication to ACP, and through their hard work, along with that of the veterans, ACP began its resurgence to what would be another Golden Age.  By the end of November, ACP was packing its chat, and tactic sessions were held with 60+ soldiers on a weekly basis.  In a mere two months, ACP had tripled in size, and had nearly returned to its standing from the last time I retired.

December started out strong, as we looked toward the Decade End Tournament, one that we hoped would mark our legacy as the greatest army of the decade.  Preparations consisted of numerous tactic sessions and practice battles between one of our Divisions and another major army.  Humorously, through these battles we learned each of ACP’s Divisions was large enough to be its own major army.

A week before Christmas, I thought of a plan, of what would be my Christmas gift to ACP.  Feverish planning began between Dry and I, although we more we thought about it, the more flaws we discovered in the plan.  Oagal and I had many discussions on the subject, and had yet to come up with a single consistent idea of how to invade successfully.  Saint warned me, although she agreed to help, and Fox just told me I was crazy.  ACP, along with the Nachos, had both failed in their attempts to take the server dating more than a year back, so it was crucial to ACP that this be a success.  Finally, a few days before Christmas, I decided to wing it, making a post with a “more tab” and counting on other army leaders’ lack of interesting in reading the rest of my post.  As it turned out, most ACP soldiers didn’t read it either, so with those who knew keeping it a surprise, ACP unknowingly prepared for a full scale invasion of the most famous server in Club Penguin Armies.  The day before the invasion, I scheduled a chat rally for Christmas Eve at the time of the Mammoth invasion.  The next day, once everyone was on chat, we moved all soldiers to Delta Chat.  We struck a major flaw in the plan when Club Penguin was down just minutes before time of the invasion, however, as if by divine intervention, Club Penguin was back up, with servers cleared, and Mammoth with only 3 bars.  After getting all soldiers, members and not, to the Underground on Mammoth, I scouted the server, almost certain to find the usual rogue army.  There were none.  ACP marched straight up through the Town, into the Snow Forts, Plaza, Forest, and finally the Cove, gathering support along the way.  Dry and I were jumping up and down (metaphorically) knowing what we had just done, although I waited to write the post until the night before Christmas, and posted it for the soldiers on Christmas morning.  It would be the biggest, and most controversial invasion of the year.

Following Christmas, ACP defended Mammoth successfully from UMA’s invasion and raids by the Nachos (Person still discredits this even happened), and prepared for what would be the last battles of the decade, the Decade End Tournament.  In the First Round, ACP faced HSA, who showed impressive strength that would have defeated most other armies.  Against ACP however, they were defeated, and we moved to the Second Round against the Nachos.  This battle was highly contested, primarily by the Nachos, who claimed ACP did nothing, although from what I heard (I wasn’t able to attend), the Nachos retreated towards the start of the battle and never returned to attack us, so it didn’t make sense for a retreating army to win a battle, while the other army (ACP) held the main battle room (Snow Forts) for the entirety of the battle.  CPA Central awarded a Tie, sending both ACP and the Nachos to the Finals against IW.

In the Finals, ACP was to control the Snow Forts, and with IW and the Nachos on either side of us, we knew we needed to be strong.  ACP came out in arguably the largest numbers in army history, numbering a ridiculous 103 soldiers on chat, and over 150 on Club Penguin.  We controlled 4 rooms at the peak, completely filling 3 of them, and an unbreakable circle held steadfast for an hour and a half as neither IW nor the Nachos were able to take the most important room, the Snow Forts.  ACP was awarded a clear victory, making it the Army of 2009.  I was so proud of the way ACP fought, and knowing it would probably be the last battle I led as ACP Leader, I felt it was a great end to my army career.  At the end of the battle, my soldiers requested that I give a speech, which I did, and I felt it was one of the best I have ever given.  It was an amazing way to end the decade.  I am so proud to have been able to lead ACP to be Army of the Year for both 2008 and 2009.

In two years of service, I have seen soldiers and leaders come and go, but some things never change.  ACP soldiers are loyal until the end.  We are dedicated and hard working, and we stand together no matter what.  It is my hope that ACP will be around for generations of soldiers to come, as the great army it was, is, and always will be.  I cannot express in words how proud I am to have led you for so long.  Few others have had the privilege to lead the Army of Club Penguin and experience the history, loyalty, and the dedication to serving Club Penguin through the years.  I proud to have been with you for two Golden Ages, to guide you through our many successes, and help you rebuild from our failures.  This is not the end, but a new beginning.  The Army of Club Penguin will live on because of you, the faithful soldiers, who will never give up, and never back down, undying loyalty until the very end.  We are ACP soldiers for life.

May the Army of Club Penguin live on as the symbol of dedication, of hope, friendship, and loyalty, for generations to come.  Thank you for everything you have given this army, and for everything you have given me.  For the last time, I salute you.

~Boomer 20
ACP Soldier