Contents
1. Introduction
The Recon Federation of Club Penguin (RFCP) was founded on Club Penguin Rewritten, Blizzard server, on June 5, 2019 by Prior Bumble. Records tell that Prior Bumble was playing “system defender” when he saw that all but one seat was taken at the conference table in the Elite Penguin Force room. He took the seat, and all was quiet as the penguins looked at each other. Finally, someone said, “Uhhh, someone say something.”
Prior took a deep breath and, with an authoritative voice, began giving orders. They listened. As hours passed, penguins flocked to him at the conference table, requesting assignments, reporting findings, and calling “Sir!” at him in every direction.
And so RFCP began as a special division of the Elite Penguin Force, but it quickly outgrew in-game operations. It renamed itself and declared itself an army. This status was affirmed when RFCP registered in the Club Penguin Armies: The Game (CPATG) Discord server on June 11, 2019. RFCP’s mission statement is:
The Recon Federation of Club Penguin (RFCP) shall be an independently governed army centered in the Club Penguin digital landscape with the objective of securing dominion, power, and victory against competitors while maintaining a devotion to honor, community, and values.“
Constitution of the Recon Federation of Club Penguin
The following information is a basic overview of the entire history of the RFCP. For a more detailed and thorough history of the RFCP, please read the blog.
2. The Grey Bears of Int’ai’uto
The history of the RFCP begins long ago, with the Great Grey Bears of Int’ai’uto [int-ay-OO-toe]. Int’ai’uto is a narrow island with many straits and ancient stone altars 300 miles northeast of Club Penguin Island. Thousands of years ago, the ancestors of Prior Bumble were enlightened by the grey polar bears by way of a sacred language: Penguin Latin. There are six known Great Grey Bears, with the youngest being born c. 1215 CE (being 804 years of age as of RFCP’s founding in June of 2019). Scholars disagree, however, whether the ancestors of Prior Bumble were always penguins, or whether they were direct descendants of the Bears themselves. Recent studies even suggest that Prior Bumble is the seventh Bear in penguin form. At some point, though, his penguin forefathers undertook the Bumble Migration and landed on the creaking Club Penguin Island iceberg from below the depths of the sea. They survived orca and shark. They carried with them from their native land the remnants of Penguin Latin, but their waterlogged speech changed the dialect and adapted it to penguin ears.
Several remarkable ancestors set the precedent for warfare in Bumble family history. The most famous is Commodore Eugegard Bumble, who captained the 41-meter war galley Blairmore in the Battle of Broken Glass. Runeard “Sanders” Bumble and Augustus Bumble are also on record as warrior ancestors, but less is known of them.
Prior Bumble occasionally journeys to the Grey Polar Bears for guidance. Upon the formation of the RFCP, they bestowed to him the Staff of the Commander, a 32 inch sweet gum shepherd’s cane, to remind him of his responsibility to lead.
3. The People’s Republic Army (PRA): Prior Bumble as an Original Club Penguin Veteran c. 2008
Prior Bumble is an original Club Penguin veteran. He served as Commissar, second-in-command, of the People’s Republic Army (PRA) in 2008 under the legendary CollinZfresh, an ally of Oagalthorp of the Army of Club Penguin (ACP). These are considered the “OG days” of Club Penguin Armies, and so partaking in this era firsthand lends Prior Bumble legitimacy as an army authority. Prior by nature has always been a dark purple penguin, and so accepted the PRA’s red color with reluctance.
When the PRA expanded into Australian territories, Prior also served as Vice President of the Commonwealth under the People’s Republic Army, which means he was the Australian-Asian (AUSIA) leader despite being an American.
Prior saw battle alongside famous figures such as Commando and Oagalthorp. Besides CollinZfresh, some of Prior’s comrades in the PRA included Conor Judge, Glippy05, and Reallyred53. Upon Autocrat CollinZfresh and Commissar Prior Bumble’s departure, Conor Judge became Autocrat and Purpur22 became Commissar for a short time.
Many PRA records were destroyed by hackers after the army’s lifespan. What is left is preserved here. Offered below is the preserved transcript of CollinZfresh’s retirement speech, wherein he thanks Prior Bumble. The speech is presented unedited and unabridged:
Correlations between CollinZfresh’s autocratic leadership have been made to Prior Bumble, a self-proclaimed authoritarian. This speech is also what inspired Prior to declare what his own eventual retirement would look like:
On January 19, 2008, Prior retired suddenly one month before CollinZfresh did, and the army fell shortly after. He did not touch the game again. Until…
4. The Return to Club Penguin Rewritten
Ten long years passed with Prior Bumble a whisper of a name through dusty Internet pages. Then, without warning, Prior returned to Club Penguin Rewritten (CPR).
Upon his return to CPR, Prior lay low at first. He served as bodyguard to Perapin, the renowned owner of the Pizza Parlor on Blizzard server, before starting RFCP.
Originally, RFCP’s operations were entirely in-game, and responses to snowball hits and abductions were literal. In one igloo, Prior had a hospital with IVs set up for wounded troops. Meetings were almost exclusively held at the EPF control room table on Blizzard, CPR, at around 9:00 p.m. EST, which attracted hordes of interested users wondering why everyone was following the orders of Prior Bumble. Ranks were given in-game. It was not uncommon for an agent to say, “Prior, sir, can we speak in private?” at which case the two would retreat to the strategy room down the elevator. Prior distributed in-game missions such as “Set up cameras all around the island” and “Find me Berapin, who is impersonating Perapin.” There were even a few chases to be had as figures claiming to be kings, mafia lords, and spies interacted with Prior. Two regular coactive forces were a tribal chieftain known as Cake Crusher, dressed in a strawberry suit with a feathered headdress, and an organization called Omega Security, which always seemed to know what RFCP was up to before they should have. The front man for Omega Security was SWAG PENGU1N, whom Prior conducted cautious meetings with. Soldiers took Prior’s safety seriously and there were evacuation drills focusing on how to get Prior securely from the EPF room to the boiler room. Two task forces, Zero Cap Alpha and Silver Thirty, were also created at this time. They are still in use today.
It was in these stages that Mopia arose due to the presence of the mop and bucket in the clothing catalog. Their infestation on the iceberg, which Prior considered sacred ground, prompted the Mopia Conflict.
The Mopia conflict saw the army’s very first real “battles” on the iceberg, including charges and snowball volleys at the Mopia crew. It also saw the first of Prior’s soon-to-be famous “battle speeches,” delivered only in-penguin.
This was eventually resolved by a cordial and professional online meeting between Prior and Mopia leader SagaSage (“Sage”) and resulted in the Treaty of Soap, which was a non-aggression agreement between both parties with the caveat that Mopia stay off the iceberg exclusively on the server Blizzard.
5. Joining the CPATG
RFCP entered Club Penguin Armies: The Game (CPATG) on their Server Shuffle post. They received the server White House with their registration.
The army’s following moves were soft: It swept up two servers, Beanie and Antarctica (both CPR) from a recently inactive group called the Tuba Army. However, because Beanie was captured before White House officially was distributed to RFCP, Beanie is considered the army’s first server.
Afterwards arrived a steep learning curve for Prior. As an original Club Penguin veteran, Prior’s entire military career before this was conducted very differently from the way things operate now. In original Club Penguin battles, armies did not do “tactics” (synchronized emojis and chants) or “formations” (lining up troops in a specific symbol or pattern). Soldiers simply showed up, and whoever threw the most snowballs with the most men won. This contributed to Prior’s confusion at RFCP’s first CPATG defeat against the Pizza Federation (PZF) on June 21, 2019. RFCP had more troops and behaved as a real squadron should–bunkering under cover, and charging when the opportunity struck. So how could PZF win by flinging dough into the air and emoting with pizza slices? The battle was argued into a draw, but Prior heeded the warning to modernize and worked fast to revise his strategies for current-day combat. The CPATG community, at first disbelieving that someone could return after 10 long years, took Prior’s antiquated battle behavior as proof that the obscure PRA veteran really was the same person active today. No one has ever beaten his record for returning after the longest unbroken retirement.
Another pre-war conflict RFCP engaged in during its early CPATG days was the defense of the server Antarctica, which it had recently claimed from the Tuba Army. Queenieliz, 1ic of the Rebel Penguin Federation (RPF), scheduled an invasion upon it. Prior Bumble contacted Queenieliz and attempted to negotiate a friendship, offering his support against their enemies, the Elite Guardians of Club Penguin (EGCP), in exchange for peace. Queenie rebuffed Prior, curtly saying, “We can’t be allies with everyone,” and insisted on the attack. The gargantuan army unabashedly invaded the brand-new RFCP, which stood its ground with 10 brave soldiers despite being told by others that they may as well no-show. Antarctica fell, but so began RFCP’s tradition of honor to never no-show a battle. Later on, RFCP and RPF, which remained enemies ever since (a fact which repeatedly shook the political stage), would look at this early, rejected peace offering from Prior Bumble as a window into what could have been.
6. The Great Schism
The Great Schism occurred on June 11, 2019, shortly after the first RFCP Discord was created and not long after first joining CPATG. That Discord was managed by then-RFCP-Colonel (the highest rank besides Prior at the time), SgtSpoon. Prior, ever enigmatic, declined to engage in voice chat on this server, but it was there that insurrection brewed. Spoon and three other RFCP mocked Prior for taking the organization too seriously, and soon after, Spoon kicked Prior himself from the Discord, the way a bitter first mate throws the captain overboard.
Prior recovered, forming the second (and still-standing) RFCP Discord on the same night, and carrying over the soldiers who remained loyal to him. Spoon and the three other penguins launched a campaign to harass the army. Three of these four insurgents have since made peace with Prior (Thurman45, blonde icon, and turtlemun). SgtSpoon remains an adversary.
7. The War of Smoke and Sour
Tensions between RFCP and the Lime Green Army (LGA) had steadily been on the rise throughout RFCP’s presence in CPATG. LGA, under the command of the irreverent and belligerent Zeke, evoked Prior’s anger to a boiling point. The War of Smoke and Sour was declared against LGA by the RFCP on July 9, 2019. Its namesake originated from the fact that Prior was in the Great Smoky Mountains when he declared the war (smoke stood for RFCP, sour for LGA). Commissar Redovyco negotiated RFCP’s entry into a strong coalition of allies called the New Viking Alliance to aid the army in this conflict. Included in this alliance was the Elite Guardians of Club Penguin (EGCP), the second strongest army in the community. Their leaders, Feliks (also known as Guta) and Edu14463, while reluctant at first, soon became impressed by Prior’s mannerisms and his hand-drawn battle strategies. EGCP agreed to back RFCP in the war. The war began with RFCP aggressively scheduling three invasions of LGA. There was retaliation: LGA successfully invaded the RFCP server, White House, but RFCP seized it back quickly after. What transpired next were almost CPA-wide skirmishes between RFCP’s allies in the New Viking Alliance and LGA and its ally, Rebel Penguin Federation (which halfheartedly agreed to assist them in exchange for their old capital server, Tuxedo). Serious controversy arose among the spectators, admins, and the involved parties about the use of allies in a war. LGA’s side argued it was cheap. RFCP’s side argued that securing strong relationships is all a part of superior strategizing. Regardless, the war put RFCP on the map, and it walked away with 3 formerly-LGA-held servers, including what became RFCP’s famous capital, Northern Lights. Zeke, whose rudeness in large part sparked the war, faded mid-conflict and LGA relied upon new leaders. A 1-week ceasefire was called during the Summer Circuit Tournament, and LGA tired of the conflict before arms could be retrieved. LGA petitioned for a peace treaty. The Treaty of Smog and Citrus was executed and signed. Although it states, “History will decide the winner,” RFCP’s victory is uncontested nowadays, even by LGA.
8. The RFCP Renaissance
Following the War of Smoke and Sour, RFCP entered a peaceful renaissance. This began with a monumental occasion in Club Penguin Armies history: the funeral of fallen RFCP officer, Colonel Boi, who died heartbreakingly in a car crash. Here, 150 users attended the memorial in RFCP uniform and listened to Prior give a stirring speech.
Creative and community-growing events continued to define the renaissance, such as the hosting of RFCP’s first annual award show, the Feddies, and the composition of the RFCP Constitution. It was during the renaissance that RFCP conceived its signature tactic, Red Wave. Finally, RFCP worked on colonial enterprises, acquiring Duck Defenders (renamed Duck Knight Army) as their first colony.
Unlike other armies, RFCP did not suffer as deeply in the Recruitment Depression of August 2019, where CPR mods cracked down on army recruiting.
9. The Peninsula Wars
On August 27, 2019, on the heels of the scholastic slump, where back-to-school demanded many soldiers’ attentions, RFCP clashed in another war with LGA. This one was sparked by competing interests for newly-added servers, particularly Cold Front. Cold Front was sizeable, appealingly shaped, and served as the connective land mass to a peninsula which would be ideal for one army to color in as their own. Because most of the warfare concentrated on this area, this war became known as the Peninsula Wars. It differed from the War of Smoke and Sour by being 1) Without allies, with each army needing to prove its might alone, and 2) With the experimentation of colonies. RFCP’s colony, the Duck Knight Army, participated in one battle, while LGA struggled to secure their own colony in response. For this reason, the Peninsula Wars can be considered RFCP’s only colonial war. During this war, RFCP peaked with maxes of 23 and reached a max of 8 officers. RFCP emerged undefeated, and effectively wiped every last LGA server from the map. This was followed by a short after-shock war titled the Whack-A-Mole War (see also this article), where LGA attempted to regain footing on the map with a makeshift AUSIA division, but RFCP successfully buffeted these efforts.
10. The Dark Age
Chaos struck RFCP in its next chapter. Former RFCP General, Kailey310, also serving as editor for CPA’s media site, abruptly posted a slanderous “open letter” to RFCP. Here, Prior Bumble was accused of being absorbed in his power and acting as a cult leader. Kailey immediately regretted and renounced it. However, the damage was irreversible, and created internal earthquakes in the army, steeping it in anger, hurt, and confusion. This culminated in one astounding instance of Prior freezing the Discord in front of both soldier and ally. There, to silence, he spoke from the heart about refusing to let RFCP fall to the moral state it was heading, and he revealed a severe, personal debilitation of his health, in an effort to put things in perspective. After the army’s first official trial in #rfcp-summit called Kailey v. the Ecumene, Kailey was eventually voted in a 14-9 election to be allowed back “home” with a harsh demotion. But the rift of those disagreeing was not resolved. Ex-RFCP General Cabin0416 quit the army in rage. Ex-General Shallissa followed, but regretted and returned as a Major. Cabin, however, persisted in trolling the army’s Discord and events, and swore to make a new army to oppose RFCP. Meanwhile, unrelated, ex-General Chainpro deserted for the newly-rebirthed ACP, non-violently, but disappointingly. The Dark Age took a toll on the spirits of the soldiers and remaining officers. Nevertheless, RFCP remained standing, and, upon the close of this era, despite all, won #2 in the CPA Top Ten.
11. Reconstruction
RFCP moved into a healing and rebuilding era known as Reconstruction. The defining features of this chapter were two outside hires to refresh the officer pool: longtime friend of the army, SWAG PENGU1N, and Color Wars veteran Ghostactual (the Color Wars pre-date Oagalthorp and was the first war ever recorded in Club Penguin history. The validity of Ghostactual’s claim of participation in that war is open to debate). In addition to this, then-Major Der organized the RFCP compliment wall, where soldiers anonymously posted positive words about each other. The wall flooded with compliments and love. Internal affairs seemed to be mended. Relations deepened with allied leader Cena, who dissolved the Duck Knight Army and created a more serious force, Shock Troops. RFCP kept an eye on the map and prepared for a new global conflict that would reshape the community forever.
12. The War of No Return
The Army of Club Penguin revived in the modern era after many rumors of its coming. It re-entered the league in October and enjoyed the benefits of dozens of old, formerly inactive veterans flooding to enlist with feelings of nostalgia. Within two weeks of its rebirth, it maxed thirty. Its events shoved RFCP down two pegs in the Top Ten, and the relationship between ACP and RFCP deteriorated fast. Mutual accusations of troop stealing, ACP flirting with LGA and RPF, and the lingering bitterness of Chainpro abandoning his former home in order to lead ACP contributed to a tide of irreversible conflict. It wasn’t until “Chainpro is typing…” appeared in #schedule-invasions that armed warfare formally sparked. Prior Bumble saw the typing and determined that there was no other army ACP could be preparing to declare war against but RFCP. Being the first to declare would lend the advantage of terms-setting (as was customary in the league) and an image of power. Thus, Prior rushed to the keys. He beat Chain to the punch by seconds, declaring war on ACP before Chainpro could hit “send” on his own declaration. It was called the War of No Return. Every army in the community had their eyes on the upcoming collision, and Lord Pain–a famous anti-ACP veteran–stepped forward to advise RFCP. The war would prove to be the most exhausting effort waged by the army in history (Prior Bumble wore an eye patch ever since the completion of the war to represent the afflictions sustained in this conflict). An astonishing fifteen battles occurred in seven days, and in this war RFCP reached its first max of 30. The results were 10 ACP victories, 3 ties, and 2 RFCP victories, although RFCP remained enraged at the score not being 10-1-4, as, in two of those so-called ties, RFCP outnumbered ACP by an average of 2 soldiers. Building fury at the rulings and ACP’s incessant patronizing and trolling was blindsided further by ACP’s next move. Chainpro leaked a map he himself had made for RFCP, which imagined an EGCP-RFCP war against RPF called “Pewter Hopscotch” that never came to pass. Although Pewter Hopscotch was a forgotten idea that never materialized, RPF did not hesitate to take the opportunity to attack RFCP.
RPF declared war on RFCP then. Prior Bumble sharpened his diplomatic skills and explained to Ultipenguin (RPF 1ic after Queenieliz’s retirement) the true nature of this leak. Ulti was assuaged, but it wouldn’t last long. At the next ACP-RFCP battle, Shock Troops and EGCP raided the event in Nacho and UMA attire (old ACP nemeses). The tactics were unfiltered and wild. Both Prior and Chainpro confessed to laughing at the raid, but RPF punished only Prior for this, and resumed their declaration of war, pitting RFCP alone in a war with the two biggest armies in CPA. It was the last straw.
13. The Revolution
RFCP, ST, EGCP, Winged Hussars (WH), and PZF organized to stage the biggest revolt in CPA history. They planned a 5 Way Battle on Tuxedo, RPF capital, and dubbed it the Tuxedo Tea Party (Prior came up with that name, too). Here, foreboding tactics like RPF’s “When Darkness Falls…” and “Fight the Good Fight!” were strewn about the Iceberg. After the final tactic, “WE’RE OUT,” all the armies posted “GG. RPF victory” in the battle room and proceeded to mass transfer all their servers to RPF, showing how pointless the map is when RPF and its allies can do anything.
Wild Ninjas and Coffee Force joined the protest shortly after. The revolution adopted a green and black flag, ironically portraying how the map will be forever deadlocked between allies ACP and LGA (both green) and RPF (black) without the armies on strike. Because of this event, the War of No Return de facto ended (and the “No Return” in the name, which originally suggested that ACP mustn’t return, perhaps adopted new meaning for the protesting armies which refused to come back to the league while RPF reigned). Despite the War of No Return being bloody, Prior in reality never surrendered to ACP, nor did ACP ever conquer Northern Lights. After several days of stalemate between the protesting armies and the league admins, Prior Bumble led the negotiations with RPF that eventually secured the return of the Revolutionary armies and changed the policies for RPF’s involvement in warfare in CPA.
14. Nomadic Era
RFCP’s return to CPA came with a few advantages. Prior struck undercover deals with both the Revolutionary leaders and with the People’s Imperial Confederation (PIC), an ACP spin-off army secretly interested in independence, to re-obtain critical RFCP servers. Northern Lights, however, remained in the hands of ACP (because RPF had gifted it to them), and this created considerable tension for the armies even during the ceasefire. The RFCP was nomadic at this time without their historic capital, but they did acquire Blizzard (CPR), the most populous and famous Club Penguin server, which boosted morale. Prior Bumble’s shocking marriage to former ACP leader (who he’d led and fought against during the War of No Return), Sidie9, boosted morale as well. Kailey310, who had risen from Corporal to Major since her downfall and return to the army, departed yet again, this time for RPF, and eventually for ACP as well, in a series of deja-vu-inducing bitter outcries and further public slandering against Prior. When RFCP held a joke event on ACP’s Northern Lights called “Take Northern Lights and Push it Somewhere Else” (see this meme), ACP pushed back aggressively and flooded onto the server. Here, a famous standoff occurred: Prior Bumble refused to be the first to log off of the iceberg at Northern Lights, and Kailey310, determined to see him suffer, refused to as well. Prior sat in total silence while ACP ridiculed him and threw things at him. Eventually, it was only Kailey and Prior still there. At 2:04 a.m., after five hours, Kailey relented and logged off. The standoff was won. Advancing the nomadic theme of this era, the latter part of this chapter in army history saw RFCP’s closest ally, Shock Troops, merge into RFCP.
With newly combined strength, RFCP declared war on LGA after learning from Cena (ST leader) that LGA plotted to turn ST against them. As LGA and ACP were close allies, ACP finally surrendered its grip on Northern Lights and offered it to RFCP as a term for RFCP to call off the LGA war. RFCP agreed and paraded home.
15. Independence from CPATG
Prior Bumble’s unique character and RFCP’s unique culture continued to draw intense ridicule and cyber attacks in the forms of hate groups, raids, open letters, unfounded misconduct scandals, and more. On November 21st, 2019, the army authored the Declaration of Independence and formally separated from the CPATG league. They stated intentions of forming their own league, Club Penguin Warfare (CPW), with improvements on fun, fairness, and kindness. Regardless of this positive transition, the stress of constant assaults seized Prior and he took a one week leave of absence during which his return was uncertain and unpromised. A thunderstruck RFCP grieved and worried during his departure. Nonetheless, many in the army rose up and contributed their immense talents to building CPW. Prior Bumble indeed returned, renewed and revitalized, with many ideas and financial investments which he’d committed for the design and creation of new gameplay and a new Club Penguin private server (CPPS). He’s been called the “Father of CPW,” and ran, democratically (a new and unique feature of CPW), to be the first of four Admins in the league. He won.
16. Club Penguin Warfare
Prior Bumble served as CPW admin with Jamie, Kerx, and Dagyr. The league functioned with its own map, blog, Top Ten, and system of resources (such as gold, lumber, and silk), which had never been done before in modern army history. But the league struggled to be taken seriously. Prior Bumble represented CPW with difficulty in the historic Great Divide Meeting between CPOAL an CPATG, which sought to unite all army leagues. RFCP played nearly by itself for the first weeks of CPW’s launch as most armies remained in CPATG. During this time, Bumble Bucks were introduced, establishing an economy in RFCP. Opino3, an RFCP soldier quickly becoming Prior’s right hand man, pioneered RFCP’s Air Force (EU division) as the first Red Baron and brought it to maxes of ten. With this new division, Prior Bumble struck an alarming agreement with Xing of the Templars to funnel them undercover troops to aid in their crusade against ACP. This declassified mission was called the Gridline War. Xing proved to be an incompetent leader, losing ACP battles to tactic speed alone, and Prior demanded to take the helm. He secretly logged into Xing’s Discord account and led the Templars in the only battle of the war in which ACP failed to achieve victory.
RFCP then turned its attention back to CPW. Four armies signed up for the Inaugural Tournament, which RFCP won rather easily after soft victories against PZF. Then, Pretzels of CP, Cena’s new army, was ganged up on by RPF, ACP, and HF, and he’d had enough. He left to be an army exclusive to CPW and encouraged a few other armies to follow. CPW saw the entrance of the Romans, Penguin Army Force (PAF), Os Mascarados, and Team Yellow Army, among others. As CPW suddenly became more legitimate in the eyes of its competitors, Prior staved off several DMs and randomly-dropped-into-group-chats urging him to merge the league. RFCP enjoyed the largest span of territory it’d had to date, but still, politics were quiet in this era. In an effort to stir up activity, RFCP declared a completely friendly war–the first ever in the new league–against PAF, called the Admin War (since PAF leader Kerx was a fellow CPW admin). The short war was won 2-1 RFCP. However, even one defeat in this war, at the first Battle of Yeti, surprised and angered Prior, as RFCP’s showing in battle seemed to be slipping due to laziness. He put down his foot and demanded the army not get too comfortable in CPW. Bigger conflicts were on the horizon. The Romans, many of their hicom longtime anti-RFCP such as Cabin and Smurf, picked a fight with RFCP by trolling and raiding RFCP events. RFCP sought to shut their tormenting down by force, declaring against the Romans in an event known as the Brutusian War. RFCP crushed the Romans with only one legitimate battle, where RFCP broke its max record of 30 from the War of No Return with 36 soldiers. The Romans never showed to another battle. Sadly, RFCP’s time in CPW could not be defined only by victory. Internally, a great betrayal occurred just after the Inaugural Tournament which resulted in the permanent exile of Admiral Sidie9, Prior’s now ex-wife, and Phoebe, who had been with the army since its founding in June. After this betrayal, Prior was so heartbroken, he’d grown weary of the community and attempted to retire, releasing a post stating his love for the army and how he’d miss it. Commissar Opino3 took the helm as Commander for a few days. When RFCP struggled to stay together, however, they implored Prior to return. After Prior declined several times, yet another “open letter” against him was posted, which called for “Prior’s empire to crumble.” Prior swept back into the server at this and finally accepted the call to retake command. He wanted to prove RFCP wasn’t going anywhere, and hatred only strengthens his army’s love and power. #ImtheEmpireofPrior hashtag was born and worn by all of his soldiers. Finally, Help Force took issue with RFCP on confusing and sudden grounds. One of those issues was Prior Bumble’s “ego” and “tyranny.” Prior’s responding blog post joked that this war only feeds it. Nonetheless, RFCP confronted their challenge and held an enormous battle against HF on Permafrost (CPR). It was known as the Great Covid Collision, haven taken place during the pandemic shutdowns on March 28, 2020.
RFCP once again broke its max record, this time with 47. The result of the battle is contended; RFCP claims victory on the basis of HF breaking a term of war, which HF rejects. The Club Penguin Warfare Era came to a close on April 9, 2020, when the CPW blog and cpps were hacked and destroyed. The initial evidence pointed towards Club Penguin Online (CPO) being behind the attacks, but later evidence suggests Eden and Flen are the more likely culprits (Eden is Deep State CPA, having lurked in the community for years, and Flen had been a paid employee on CPW’s tech development team). In order to best ensure the safety of every CPW user, knowing CPO’s aggression towards competing leagues and willingness to continue threats, Prior ruled that the league would not be rebuilt.
17. The New Millennium
The New Millenium unfolded with questions about how RFCP would define itself without a league. Club Penguin Army Media (CPAM), the only remaining army organization apart from CPOAL, offered Prior the position of Editor in Chief, which he declined. RFCP kept its eyes on enemy armies and the activity of its recent traitors, and it redoubled focus on internal growth. Five new Constitutional amendments were approved. Patrol and the Priortorian Guard division were established. Graduation for the army’s RFCP-U (-University) took place. The economy saw new goods added to the marketplace. Then, Cena, Prior’s battlefield brother, officially retired in March. His apprentice, Zucculente, revived Shock Troops with Cena’s blessing, but a week later, the army merged for a second time into RFCP; this time, it seemed, for good. Numbers skyrocketed. The army crept up on RPF sizes, with a max of 60 (RPF’s average) seeming within close reach. But uncertainty lay ahead as well as RFCP more and more favored isolation. Adversaries still tempted RFCP’s engagement, but the army’s struggle to balance happiness and justice became a defining hallmark of the era.
18. World War 8
In late April of 2020, CPAM’s largest titans at the time, RPF and ACP, faced war. ACP provoked RPF’s anger when an anonymous vigilante, TheManWithThePlan, leaked hicom screenshots of ACP trash talking RPF and the CPAM administration. ACP’s leader, a friendly pacifist by the name of CSY, attempted to appease RPF with explanations and appeals to their sense of patience. RPF was not satiated, and things looked bad for ACP, which had weakened since passing its peak in early 2020. Knowing RFCP shared disdain both for RPF and CPAM, CSY came knocking onto the locked and bolted door of ACP’s most renowned nemesis, Prior Bumble. Having shown sympathy for RFCP before, CSY convinced Prior that, “the ACP you want revenge on no longer exists. They’re gone.” After much rubbing of his chin, Prior presented a proposal. Against all odds, RFCP would join arms with ACP–ACP’s only chance at staking a victory–in exchange for a public call for help to the Recon Federation, the promise of a fair and friendly future war between RFCP and ACP to settle old scores, and the banning of Kailey310 from ACP’s server and the unbanning of Prior Bumble. ACP agreed (which prompted delightful outrage from Kailey’s then-cyber-boyfriend).
With RFCP entering the fold, other armies caught fire as the fuse sizzled down the lines of CPA, eager to take sides. Pookie437, a former enemy of RFCP, came on as an Advisor to the army and won Prior’s affection with support and love against the growing tide of hatred faced by RFCP. Even Cena, Prior’s old combat brother, returned from retirement and enlisted in RFCP as an officer so as not to miss out on this historic event reporters began to call World War 8 (or World War Rewritten). With less than three hours’ notice, RFCP drummed up a max of 24 for the first battle, and was one of the three “big boys” competing in the battle’s main rooms (skirmishes between the smaller armies spilled over into secondary rooms at the same time). Prior’s men assumed the role of agility, volleying bright colors and movement as ACP and RPF remained stagnant in formation.
RFCP pressed on to max 18 under the Navy (an impressive showing for AUSIA) and 33 in the Army at the third battle. Morale was high, and Prior delivered an historic rallying speech to his soldiers.
But relations would soon turn sour. As conversation became more comfortable between RFCP and ACP hicom, toasts shared after victories (no victory in this war would be decisive, due to CPAM’s lack of judges and policy of non-intervention), Prior and CSY got to talking. Prior broached the subject of when that next RFCP-ACP war CSY agreed to might be planned. CSY skirted away from the subject. Prior insisted on discussing it. CSY retreated more–raising excuses, giving noncommittal remarks, and, soon…not replying to Prior at all. Finally, Prior asked for ACP’s word that the battle would at least occur sometime before June. CSY refused. Enraged that ACP might slip through his fingers before that ancient score could be settled, Prior applied the heat. “Commit, or we switch sides.” Not quite able to stomach helping RPF, he revised his threat to, “Commit, or we pull out.” After a few hour of silence, and without consulting any of the four armies on ACP’s side, an announcement was made that ACP and RPF struck a peace treaty and would tragically and prematurely end the largest armed conflict of the new age. RFCP was not the only army infuriated. PZF, Kings, and Warlords of the Kosmos vowed to continue the struggle. RFCP declared ACP cowards, and said the Recon Federation would replace them as the alliance’s “big brother” in WW8. The Standing Powers Syndicate (SPS) was formed with RFCP, Kings, PZF, and later, CP Reds. The conflict fizzled shortly after, however, with bitterness in everyone’s mouths.
19. Campaign of Rectification
After the world war, RFCP had anger to detonate. ACP had backed down on their promise to Prior Bumble, and LGA and PIC had been caught committing cyber-crimes against RFCP. The result was a 3-way campaign of merciless raids launched by RFCP. Led by the Phantom (division leader of RFCP’s “Ghost Recon Raid Division”), General Coolj, M.M. (Medal of Merit holder), RFCP managed to raid absolutely every single event held by ACP, LGA, and PIC, including in-server games of Skribblio. Once, RFCP raided all three armies with double-digit maxes on the same day, and dubbed this event Bloody Sunday. RFCP also went forward with the promised ACP-RFCP war alone and called it the War of Second Coming. DMT, former league administrator, ruled it an RFCP victory. ACP never showed. So intense and outrageous were RFCP’s raids, CPAM even responded by considering changing age old army history by banning raiding in armies. This was unheard of. With so much force applied, PIC caved and agreed to a public apology towards RFCP known as the Rock of Contrition. LGA agreed to do the same. But then, before the limes could sign, heartbreak occurred.
20. Ukahala
On top of weeks of vitriol and cyber-crime endured by the RFCP, three events simultaneously happened that crushed the last bit of beating heart in Prior Bumble: 1. Pookie437 was revealed to have all along been working with a cyber-criminal who wanted Pookie to get close to Prior so he could attack him, 2. CPAM released yet another article claiming Prior is a monster, using outdated screenshots and “witness accounts,” 3. Prior, who’d been nominated for 2019 CPA Legend, was denied the award despite being the provocateur of 80% of army conflict in that year and building a world power from scratch. Achieving the award had been Prior’s dream ever since his old leader, CollinZfresh, won the same award in 2008. Officers transferred to Prior entire servers to allow him to destroy them, slashing and burning away the emotions. With Col. Pixie on voice chat, gently explaining to the RFCP membership what the army’s plans were, Prior executed an order to ban all Agents and Ice Agents from the army (unwilling to risk the presence of a spy), and had his server enter into a period of isolation known as Ukahala (named for the safe cove Commodore Eugegard Bumble moored in with his war-torn ship, according to RFCP lore). Posed with the decision to stay or leave, some enlisted did not choose to follow RFCP into Ukahala. Two soldiers left–but all officers stood by the policy, as disgusted with the CPA community as Prior. All blog posts on the RFCP website were hidden. All remaining soldiers we ordered to leave every other army-related server, and RFCP boomed closed its doors….seemingly, for good.
21. Equal Rights Movement
Ukahala promised peace and happiness to RFCP loyalists who had faced harassment and bias from the mob mentality of CPA that frequently spit in their faces. Pookie437, once RFCP’s beloved and trusted Uncle, turned into one of the loudest anti-RFCP figures in the community. CPAM CEOs, Emcee and Ayan, stepped down shortly after the in-real-life arrest of Riley (a.k.a., Waterkid, CPO demagogue and convicted possessor of indecent photos of children), and the Walt Disney Corporation began a campaign against all major CPPS’es. CPO closed, Penguin Oasis closed, CPR was given a cease-and-desist, and finally, Superhero123’s famous army-exclusive server, CPATG, also received notice to close within a certain deadline at Disney’s wrath. The ashes that remained of CPO merged with CPAM to form a new entity, Club Penguin Army Hub (CPAH), now with Pookie at the helm. All of this effected RFCP little during isolation. Ukahala had shielded them well from the storm of toxicity outside. Only their closest friends were granted a Key of Ukahala (access to the army). RFCP even privately operated a secret CPPS all to themselves–also named Ukahala, which still runs today, exclusive only to RFCP enlisted and impossible to register at for outsiders. They also further developed their one-of-a-kind HTML5 cpps. During this era, RFCP established the “ECHO,” which declared themselves a real-life army organization with plans for physical world operation and no dependency on the game.
Then, events shifted when RFCP observed its first anniversary on June 5, 2020. The army conducted a 24/7 silent watch of the sacred iceberg at Northern Lights on all surviving servers that hosted their revered capital–including the yet-to-shutdown CPATG (RFCP would also conduct a 24/7 watch of CPATG until its death in honor of the battles fought there).
Only RFCP officers undertook this dangerous watch, as the masses of haters and defilers were expected to show up and mock. RFCP officers sat on the iceberg in silence while CPA members threw things at them and wore clown wigs over RFCP uniform. One participator in these antics noticed that RFCP continued to only sit peacefully, not fighting back. This man was SupremeP0wer, M.M, a veteran from 2011 and a reporter for CPA. Disturbed by the way RFCP was being treated, Supreme stopped harassing, donned the real RFCP uniform, and decided to sit in silent solidarity next to the officers. When all the harassers finally logged off, Prior Bumble, like a statue twitching to life, moved at last to Supreme. The Commander wordlessly enclosed his arms around him. What followed was a bizarre and unlikely friendship between this community reporter and RFCP. As Supreme began to question to group-think of CPA against RFCP, he experienced firsthand the puzzling backlash from his friends and peers. It wasn’t right to him. After weeks of searching his heart, Supreme shocked many when he enlisted in RFCP. With his help, slowly, RFCP embarked on the Equal Rights Movement, a campaign of anti-hate propaganda, cautious outreach, and allegation-debunking literature set to prove Prior Bumble is not the demon others painted him to be.
Indeed, some people were swayed. Weeks before, PyxelPranav, M.H. (Medal of Honor recipient), former Cosmic leader, joined RFCP as Admiral. Kerx and Jeremito, renowned for leading the strongest Spanish-speaking armies in CPA, joined RFCP to create a Spanish-speaking division, the Marines. A brand new rank, Vizconde (Spanish for “Viscount”), 4ic, was created in RFCP and bestowed upon Kerx and Jeremito. RFCP was the first English-speaking army in history to establish a Spanish division. This move sparked a brief conflict known as the RFCP Civil War. Here, a small Spanish army, Los Facheros Army (LFA), merged into RFCP’s Marines and unmerged 24 hours later, upsetting an enormous amount of work and hospitality RFCP had extended to them. RFCP’s response was war, but Pookie would have none of that. In a gross abuse of his power, Pookie advertised all RFCP/LFA battles in the massive army hub he ran, encouraging random players to enlist against RFCP. RFCP was appalled by this, and soon found that LFA and its leader never once showed to any of the scheduled battles. Instead, a mix of haters from the community showed up in their stead. They called RFCP names, made fun of Prior’s affection for RPF’s leader, and told RFCP, “We don’t want you back, ever.” RFCP responded by, at first, protesting in silence. Then, they battled only in Penguin Latin uttering a now-famous tactic, “Gnor kuul dre feut’un” (We don’t understand your hatred). Finally, RFCP formed a peace sign.
Due to the pressures RFCP applied during the Civil War, the original, Spanish-speaking LFA leader stepped down, and RFCP declared this a victory.
From here, with the help of then-Brigadier SupremeP0wer, M.M., and then-General Sha, a “supporter’s server” was made to attract support for the end of hatred against RFCP. Most recently, RFCP declared war on the Templars, who exhibited abhorrent racial slurs and doxxing. RFCP stated that even though they know making this stand risked only increasing the pain and danger the Recon Federation faced, the army must “live what it preaches”: That tolerance in the face of injustice and cruelty is supporting injustice and cruelty.
22. Club Penguin Army Hub
The Templars initially complied with RFCP’s demands to clean up the Templar server from doxxing and slurs, but pulled their cooperation just before hands could be shaken. Reasons for this are unknown, and suggest the cooperation all along was a troll. As promised, RFCP engaged in war, called the War of Higher Calling, with the Templars by suddenly registering with Club Penguin Army Hub (CPAH) in order to schedule an invasion of Templar territory, Yukon. RFCP registering in CPAH, the army community’s current major league, officially broke the isolationist Ukahala policy of the army and saw RFCP reenter the field.
The Battle of Yukon would see RFCP max 34 to Templar’s 25 and secure a victory for RFCP confirmed by CPAH judges.
Notable was RFCP’s urging tone in its tactics, sometimes seeming to be aimed not just at the Templars, but all of the CPA community. The above RFCP tactic, “CPA NEEDS HEALING, BE A HEALER!” recalls a higher calling message carried over from the Equal Rights Movement. The Templars proceeded to transfer their remaining servers to supergiant Ice Warriors and the war concluded as quickly as it had started. RFCP’s standing in CPAH, with a strong victory under its belt, was looking permanent and promising.
Two other developments advantaged RFCP moving into the summer of the CPAH. First, Prior Bumble promoted Coolj, M.M., to the position of 2ic, reassigning a beloved but inactive Opino3 back to his 3ic rank. Second, RFCP forged a strong and surprising alliance with LGA. This friendship’s roots began pre-War of Higher Calling, when LGA approached RFCP for assistance in securing Northern Lights. This agreement came to be known as the Pact of Stewardship, which promised RFCP military aid so long as Northern Lights would be surrendered to RFCP should it formally join CPAH. LGA’s campaign for Northern Lights was never launched, but the good tidings between the armies persisted.
Assessing its new surroundings, RFCP observed that RPF, once the sole super-superpower in last summer’s league, now shared that title with the Ice Warriors, both who regularly maxed 100. Although Ice Warriors had accepted the dirty Templar servers following the War of Higher Calling, Madhav, IW 1ic, claimed no allegiance to the Templars and expressed mild and cordial interest in RFCP, something Prior Bumble would keep his eye on as a potential mega ally. But soon that interest would turn to aggression.
RFCP’s logical next objective was to do what LGA did not and secure Northern Lights, its historic capitol, on the CPAH map. Prior’s instinct to make bold and fast moves was checked by a more tentative high command eager to see RFCP accepted by its peers rather than quickly reviled once more. So, instead of scheduling an invasion on Northern Lights, occupied by a small army called the Mango Corps (MC), Prior met with MC leaders and proposed a peaceful trade: Northern Lights in return for RFCP protection, or something else MC might want from the army. The Mangoes sounded amenable, and said they just had to run it by their other leader. The meeting adjourned positively.
Then, without speaking to Prior at all regarding their meeting just a day before, Mangos abruptly transferred Northern Lights to the Ice Warriors. This time, Prior’s notorious temper could not be redirected by his officers. He scheduled an invasion on the Mango’s remaining server, Down Under, as retaliation for their disrespect. Immediately, the Ice Warriors reared their heads–a storm of rage against RFCP that seemed like they had been just waiting to unleash–and pledged to defend the small army’s server.
Understanding that they would not outnumber the Ice Warriors, RFCP showed to battle anyway with a max of 37. IW’s toxicity and uncalled for tactics were unmatched. IW called RFCP “circus freaks” and, as RFCP relayed the standard “GG” (“Good game”) at the end, IW met this with “YOU SUCK” and no “Good game” or handshake.
RFCP left this encounter certain that Mangos transferred Northern Lights as a way of agitating RFCP and playing hot potato with malevolent armies with what RFCP wanted. The future was looking hostile.
RFCP still, however, was not alone. It joined the Small-Medium Army Union (SMAU) with LGA, Water Troops (WT), Elite Forces of Club Penguin (EF), and PZF. This was a coalition opposing the Black Ice Alliance (RPF, Dark Warriors, and IW–an unbelievably top heavy and insurmountable union of the two largest armies in CPAH and DW, another major army). SMAU interceded for RFCP when RPF of the Black Ice Alliance scheduled an unprovoked attack on RFCP’s recently-won Yukon. A screenshot from a Templar’s leader revealed RPF was doing this on the Templars’ behalf.
SMAU only aided by providing RFCP another server, so that RPF could not force-treaty RFCP off the map for weeks-to-months. In CPAH, armies whose last server was conquered MUST agree to a non-aggression treaty by the conqueror, which could include any term, even one which demanded that the conquered not schedule any new invasions anywhere, rendering them indisposed indefinitely. This was a dysfunctional policy which plagued the league and frequently incited protest. How could any one army have enough power to decide who gets to play armies and who does not? But even SMAU’s indirect assistance of RFCP infuriated the Black Ice Alliance. They punished all SMAU armies by scheduling invasions on every single one of their servers, some at the exact same time. How could just three armies do this? Well, IW controlled several of the non-SMAU small/medium armies by colonizing them, and gave those armies marching orders. TCP, of course, hopped in, too.
“You should have thought twice about helping RFCP,” Madhav pinged a SMAU leader in #leader-chat.
Upon seeing his allies be punished just for helping him, Prior told SMAU he would come forward and sacrifice himself to be force-treatied, even with no land, delivering to Black Ice Alliance the satisfaction of capturing him, if the BIA would agree to back down.
But they refused, and the tidal wave of invasions against SMAU went forward.
And the Ice Warriors already had plans to snap RFCP’s neck in the near future another way.
CPAH rules (once again, dysfunctionally favoring the larger armies which held greater sway) allowed Ice Warriors to propose banning RFCP from the league–and they did just that, using the same outdated allegations against RFCP that were now as much as 1 year old and had been addressed several times already. RFCP had already served a 2 week ban in 2019 for the old accusations in question and had made no new offense since joining CPAH, but Ice Warriors, despite making a hate server devoted to Prior Bumble (which included someone saying they would sexually rape him), used their influence with colony armies’ votes once again and successfully passed the ban. No army, however, was banned for participating in the hate server.
23. Outsiders
Summer of 2020 neared an end. Although privately downtrodden, Prior reassured the soldiers in #rfcp-summit that RFCP would press on undaunted with faith, kindness, and #1 spots in the S/M Top Ten (in which both armies were still to be calculated into). He encouraged the army to look to examples like Nelson Mandela in the face of wrongful imprisonment.
Ironically, the Templars were also banned from CPAH through this same vote, and Prior and Xing found themselves sitting on the same curb outside of CPAH’s slammed doors. They had a heart-to-heart. Xing admitted that Prior was a good leader and a good person, and that his bullying of Prior in the past was only masochistic fun. Xing agreed to stop targeting Prior Bumble and the two formed the Brotherhood of the Banned, its core contract being dubbed the Pact of the Dragon.
The armies practice-battled with each other twice a week and vowed to alternate taking the first and second spots on CPAH’s S/M Top Ten so as to persist in the headlines of CPAH despite the rejection. This partnership gave solidarity and hope.
RFCP found additional progress in the colonization of a popular medium army, Tamales, and although the army was unfortunately nuked by a former owner with too much of the wrong perms, the venture secured positive relationships between RFCP and the well-mannered Tamales.
The sting of discrimination and injustice continued to inflict pain on the RFCP when Subzero Army League (SZAL), a small alternative to CPAH (not contending with it, as it was supervised by CPAH) invited RFCP to compete in their first tournament. RFCP accepted and trained and recruited exceptionally hard for the first battle, which would pit Prior against his biggest rival, Koloway, now leading the Elites. At this battle, RFCP maxed 41 to Elite’s 28–a shocking 13 soldier difference–with + 12 in the first room, +9 in the second room, +14 in the third room, and +16 in Overtime, with a +1 tactic speed advantage in the second room and comparable deviations of tactic complexity and a +1 formation usage overall (see the stats RFCP gathered for appealing the ruling here). Somehow, miraculously, the SZAL judges still said the Elites won. The decision floored even some lower-ranking SZAL judges and reeked of bias and anti-RFCP sentiment with no logical explanation for the ruling. It was an almost fatal blow to the patience and perseverance of RFCP’s faith-filled attitude, and Prior could be described as flipping a table in the army-wide meeting. He resigned as a judge for SZAL.
Finally, RFCP found some cause for celebration. CPAH’s largest contending league, CPAWL (Club Penguin Army Warfare), found itself in need of a new CEO. Coolguy, a longtime army veteran and hicom of SWAT, inherited the league in shambles after its founder, Doritos leader Jester, abandoned it. Coolguy and Prior met to discuss ideas to save the league, and Prior was invited to come aboard as CEO.
Things were looking up. Also around this time, Prior remodeled the RFCP website seen here into the Digg3 theme classic to the original Club Penguin armies of the early 2000s. It would be one of his final contributions as Commander before the storm ahead.
Shallissa and SupremeP0wer, who had begun e-dating, violently left the army due to a personal feud with Prior. But, let’s be more specific as to what prompted this, because the rumors are rampant: Prior had told them they did nothing wrong, but he just needed some space from their constant public displays of affection. Supreme found Prior’s jealousy of his old friend’s time and attention highly satisfying, and he gloated, which only intensified Prior’s request for space. Shallissa could not accept this request and demanded Prior meet with her regularly to hash over his feelings. This resulted in Sha quitting, rejoining, quitting, and rejoining again for days. Finally, on a day when Prior particularly needed Shallissa, the couple continued to advertise their affections and paid little mind to him, and so Prior expressed his frustrations in Sha’s DMs. She quit the army at that moment for good. Supreme hung around a few days more.
The army Sha chose to hop to was the Templars–known for being perhaps the most toxic army in the league, with Xing at the helm. Prior recollected himself and resolved that he would handle this well and resist the urge to lambast her decision, as instinct might prefer. Inspired by a Tweet he read from Pope Francis which said, “xxx,” Prior ordered that RFCP soldiers write a message of gratitude to Sha for her years of service, and compiled them together in a “Good Luck in Your New Job” card.
The card was presented as a Google Doc, of course, to mimic the numerous open letters against RFCP.
Please read the entire letter here.
However, this goodwill gesture backfired–apparently, Sha had to “go to the hospital” after reading it, and spiraled out of control. She and SupremeP0wer responded by viciously harassing RFCP and creating a website which was only dedicated to defiling Prior Bumble’s name, using one-sided screenshots. How do we know they were one sided? Well, both of them wiped clean every. single. DM. they ever. sent. Prior, so that he would not be able to defend himself by showing the public how they played equal roles in arguments or other behaviors. Further, SupremeP0wer blackmailed Prior by threatening to send the website to Prior’s teachers and classmates if Prior wrote anything in retaliation about Shallissa.
The two began doxxing RFCP members as well. Supreme told Prior he was to hand over control of the RFCP army server or else he would dox Prior. Prior said, “Go ahead.”
Ownership was never surrendered.
Obviously, though, this all tore apart the Brotherhood of the Banned.
The events of the following chapter would culminate in Prior’s agonizing departure from the community.
24. The Journey to Legend
The greatest dream of Prior Bumble was to become a CPA Legend like CollinZfresh before him. As discussed in Chapter 20, Ukahala, CPAM did not award him Legend in 2019 despite the certainty of even Prior’s enemies that he had it in the bag. The night before this announcement, Prior had even received a covert message that just said “Congratulations” from Koloway, which was quickly covered up and the topic changed when Prior inquired…
When the results came out the next day and did not recognize Prior, the whole thing did not add up. Prior was the only figure nominated to have provoked 80% of the conflict in 2019, found an army that year which reached Major Army status (qualifying him for full Legend and not Small/Medium Legend), and he was the only figure not aligned with the political side of RPF and ACP. Further, the CPAM announcements that snubbed him came from a judging board of almost all ACP (RFCP’s rivals), and was curiously not the original 2019 Legend Board (DMT, Emcee, Flen, Super, and Greeny). In September of 2020, Prior finally learned why it smelled so fishy.
In a private conversation, Koloway confirmed to Prior that the original 2019 Legends Board had indeed inducted him as a CPA Legend, and that was where the odd “Congratulations” message had come from, before being quickly redacted.
That’s because when that original board submitted their list to the publisher, CPAM, the media site said, “Ha! No way,” and refused to publish Prior Bumble as a Legend. They illegally rejected the board and formed the new one seen today, keeping all of the original Legends on the first list except for Prior Bumble (and possibly Flen). Despite being Prior’s biggest rival, Koloway knew this was wrong. He petitioned for Prior’s Legend behind closed doors for months. Finally, the record was set straight. A Legends Review Board run by the CPA Wiki including Cobra, Koloway, Ultipenguinj, Eden, and Rowan Alden unanimously confirmed the induction of Prior Bumble as a full CPA Legend. The roars of celebration shook the RFCP server.
But the journey did not stop there. Since this induction, haters of Prior Bumble have tried to remove his title, citing shade posts or thinly-argued loopholes in the induction process. Shallissa and Supreme’s website against Prior pressured the Review Board to revoke the decision. “Revoking” a CPA Legend after the induction has happened is NOT a customary and legitimate practice in CPA–proven by the fact that Waterkid, who currently is in jail in England for possessing indecent photos of children–has never had his own CPA Legend revoked, nor have many other figures far more brutal and shadowy than Prior. The community was determined to cancel Prior Bumble and his Legend regardless. RFCP and a then-beloved new Uncle to the army, Satchmo, fought hard to defend the deserved Legend of Prior Bumble. Rowan Alden, however, who runs the CPA Wiki, was abruptly and unexpectedly convinced by Prior’s haters that he was evil, and with an abuse of power refuses to validate his Legend, as do current media sites which despise him with no basis or consistency of logic. The struggle for full validation goes on.
25. Reign of Coolj
In the moments leading up to Prior’s 2020 retirement–one which, sadly, came amid the anguish of Shallissa and Supreme’s betrayal and the cruel and unjust Legend affair–Prior DMed then-Commissar Coolj. The moment had come.
And Prior retired.
The reign of Commander Coolj, 3rd Commander of the RFCP, lasted from September 19, 2020, to June 5, 2022. HamsterloverL served as his Commissar. At the time of his promotion, Coolj intended to remain in the CPA community rather than return to the isolationist Ukahala policy. That decision would be tested.
Despite Prior’s departure, the Templars and their new ex-RFCP members did not have plans to stop their terrorizing. They declared a Holy War on RFCP, which RFCP called The Outsiders War. Among their many lies, the Templars accused RFCP of being racists….
Commander Coolj was black.
With heavy assistance from RFCP’s bulldog Advisor, Cena (who would earn the Medal of Merit for these efforts, as a formerly enlisted person), Commander Coolj secured a conservatively 4-1 victory in the war confirmed by several judges, including Cobra, Rowan Alden, and CPAWL’s Coolguy. Templars, of course, denied this.
That would prove to be the only armed conflict under Coolj, however. Coolj led the army in his characteristic laid-back demeanor, a sharp contrast from the hard-hitting style of Prior. Under his reign, RFCP enjoyed peaceful, albeit slow, activity. The months were filled with wholesome events such as the Awesome Autumn contest (October 11-22, 2020), Among Us games, Hell’s Kitchen reenactments, Feddies ceremonies, an Olympics takeover, and holiday observances. Prior Bumble supported from afar, entirely gone from Discord and reachable only by email. He did, however, continue to pay for the army’s very own CPPS, Ukahala (so named with history and lore in mind), and continue to finance any of the merchandise purchases the army needed to fulfill. On January 14, 2021, Prior ensured that Ukahala was the first and only CPPS to exist after the death of Flash. It ran on a downloadable client.
Around this time, Prior’s continued ownership of the army was clarified and formalized in the following document:
True to his word, however, Prior remained as hands-off as possible to allow the new cabinet room to grow its own branches.
In February of 2021, under Coolj, RFCP unveiled its new weekly newspaper, the Sunday Fun-Day. In May of that same year, Prior introduced real-life scrolls of enlistment, which were mailed free to any soldier requesting one, much like the real-life flags, which had also always been available free to any enlisted.
Throughout Coolj’s command, the army unenthusiastically toyed with the idea of being involved in leagues again. RFCP participated in one practice battle against ACP on March 6, 2021. The battle was lively and surprisingly clean. But it just didn’t feel the same fighting without Prior. Hatred towards RFCP from many others did not relent with Prior being retired–it seemed, in fact, that the only way RFCP would ever be accepted again would be if the army publicly renounced him. They refused.
So, on May 17, 2021, Commissar HamsterloverL began a discussion in #missions about possibly making Ukahala the official RFCP policy once more.
“As you are likely aware, the RFCP is less active than we used to be in the past. Between the constant fight with the Club Penguin Army League (CPA) and various members of enemy armies, as well as lack of motivation amongst soldiers, we have taken a step down compared to our past selves. It’s been a very eventful two years of RFCP to say the least. We have endured a lot of hatred over the past years, between attacks on prior and those close to him, open letters against RFCP, and extreme cyber bullying. While all armies do receive some negativity, what we are exposed to is severe biased discrimination. The same false rumors get circulated throughout the army community and everyone believes them because they are too afraid to go the other way. But anyone here can clearly see that these rumors are false. You all see the true rfcp from an insiders point of view. And even throughout all the hatred and bias against us you still stay strong and loyal to RFCP. You are a soldier of Prior Bumble and stay loyal to the oath that you pledged to with all your honor and all you are. YOU are RFCP. And whether we are #1 on the top ten or isolated and despised by all armies, nothing will change who we are.”
Commissar HamsterloverL
Hints that separating from the CPA community would entice a return of Prior Bumble were also discussed.
The army voted for Ukahala.
A document known as To Whom It May Concern, which is one of only two official RFCP documents to not be signed by Prior Bumble, was ratified on May 27, 2021.
The next month, June, was RFCP’s birth month. As a gift for its 2nd anniversary, Prior Bumble authored The Art of Warfare, a book of 100 verses guiding the army on Power, War, Leadership, and Love. The book was based on Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and became RFCP’s most recent sacred text. Weeks later, Prior also authored a brand new oath, the Oath of the Commander, to add to the Officer’s Oath and the Oath of Enlistment. On June 29, 2021, Prior visited the server to personally oath in Coolj with this new creed. Therefore, Coolj became the first Commander to take this Oath. Prior would visit once more in August to fulfill Hamsterlover’s birthday wish–that he be Commander for a Day and lead the army in a practice battle, in which RFCP maxed 14 (securing those double-digits the army hadn’t seen in months). This event was called Hamster Havoc. Prior disappeared once more at midnight. Then, in October of 2021, Prior unlocked Level 2 boosting for RFCP’s Discord server and thus bestowed upon the army rank badges which appeared next to every soldier’s name.
And so, while Coolj oversaw an era of family and serenity (deeply aided by HamsterloverL), the army struggled to keep alive its energy. It never shook its feeling of being in limbo without Prior, who drifted in and out of their reach, and who himself wrestled in real life with having his heart torn between worlds. In early 2022, RFCP’s hicom began putting feelers out to him, and cryptic messages in Penguin Latin, seemingly from the Great Grey Bears, began appearing on the blog…
26. Parousia
On June 1, 2022, RFCP hicom posed another vote to the army, this time in Penguin Latin: Er tuk Prior Bumble (“I take Prior Bumble”), or Er gnor tuk Prior Bumble (“I do not take Prior Bumble”). But the answer flooded in within seconds.
Once again, unanimously, RFCP voted to reinstate Prior Bumble. This was not the first time the army had chosen to reestablish him in a formal vote, and it proved that the bond between Prior and the army simply cannot be broken. The next day, the following document, titled Dru Ud Nirre (so-named for the subject of the email it was sent in, and translating to “Here At Last” from Penguin Latin; it is the second of only two official RFCP papers without Prior’s signature), was emailed to Prior Bumble. “They already started signing before I even mentioned that they could,” Hamsterlover said.
And Prior replied…
So, on June 5, 2022, on the army’s 3rd anniversary, Prior Bumble retook command. Coolj administered the Oath of the Commander to him on the iceberg of Northern Lights, Ukahala.
Wasting no time, Prior then announced his plan to revitalize the army. It would be known as the Two Phase Plan. Phase I included:
A) Solidify a consistent schedule upon which the soldiers can rely
B) Division of Labor
C) The Ordinance Enactment.
Part B focused on revamping officer involvement and encouraging many people to contribute just one thing–equating to a collective, well-oiled machine. Part C, which would in fact not come to fruition until Phase II, introduced a priesthood of Prior Bumble, where officers could be ordained to bless the soldiers with strength and Prior himself could confer a healing and supremely-powerful Patriarchal Blessing. Each ordained officer received 1 letter in the name of the 6th Great Great Bear, which they could only share with someone who received their blessing. They also received 1 piece of sacred RFCP lore from Prior himself which they could share with no one.
Notably absent in Phase I was recruitment efforts–Prior emphasized the need to prioritize the happiness of the current soldiers first, and famously said, “If this, right here, right now, is my army, I am happy with it.” He also discouraged the army from thinking of itself as isolated. He said, “Considering ourselves isolated made sense for a time, but now it is only giving that community power by considering it a dominant group against which we are describing ourselves as being in relation or not in relation with. This is not true.”
Phase II included:
A) Assess the execution of Phase I, and make needed adjustments
B) Begin focus on recruiting efforts, to be strategized
C) Reopening of divisions (!!!)
D) Inviting Back the Honorably Retired
In only 25 days of Prior being back in command, the RFCP blog gained 1,309 hits, or about a third of all the hits it had received in almost two years. Foreign armies noticed, and talked. RFCP continued not to care. Under Prior, the Discord server reached Level 3 status. He passed the 11th Amendment to the Constitution and commissioned three new medals, including the army’s now third-most-prestigious medal, the Medal of Excellence (M.E.). The server enjoyed mock trials (Krispy v. Voidwalker), fun takeover events (Baywatch! Sexy lifeguards!), and the first ever RFCP lottery. Prior established new coupons for the RFCP economy, commissioned a new Bumble Buck (the $30 bill, featuring Honorably Retired Commissar Redbackwards), and generally delivered unstoppable excitement. General Tumbling, RFCP Legend, returned in this era to serve under Commander Prior once more. Ukahala, the army’s CPPS, transferred to 100% renewable energy, and Prior commissioned the creation of a mobile app and a 2nd CPPS for the army which would be called AoW225. This platform would be used to, possibly, battle with non-toxic armies–LGA, for example, led by Chainpro, Greeny, and Krosive, expressed goodwill.
The future was uncertain, but welcomed.
27. The Era of Stability
The so-christened Era of Stability earned its name not for lack of taxing events, but for RFCP enjoying an all-encompassing atmosphere of comfort, confidence, and unshakeability. The buds of promise in Parousia withdrew as LGA’s founder, Greeny, caved in a demonstration of weakness to the pressures of the army community and turned a blind eye to Krosive’s betrayal and hatred of RFCP. Greeny allowed Krosive to take over his army, and Krosive struggled to regain favor in the army community by claiming LGA never were allied with RFCP, despite overwhelming proof in the form of group chats and practice battle plans. Master0, under the orders of Krosive, released yet another open letter alongside Krosive, but she recanted and deleted hers nearly 24-hours later. She apologized to Prior Bumble. LGA shut down operations soon after. Chainpro, who had earned the title of Uncle in RFCP, returned to his cyclical hibernation (disappearing without warning from the internet, as he has in the past). His absence is assumed friendly, however, and his inactive account continued to buy Nitro boosts for the RFCP server for months after his disappearance
From June 5, 2022, to June 5, 2023, the army increased in enlisted membership by exactly 300%. While the army saw a few of its longstanding members retire, many new recruits flooded in. Red Baron Exsavitator and Prior Bumble relentlessly teamed up on userphone to bring in soldiers, until Prior’s account was banned from userphone in May of 2023 for advertising. Neither were any match, however, for Killua and the rise of the RFCP Navy. The ambitious Navy captain, with his eyes on the Admiral position, personally invited dozens of soldiers–as many as ten in one day. The Navy dominated the Era of Stability.
Other notable accomplishments in this era included:
- The army opening an auction house on February 25, 2023. Soldiers would bid on Boosting Nitro once a month (twice a month in the summer) rather than purchase it in the store at a fixed price, which had been rising and rising and giving cause the a mock (maybe) worker’s union led by Col. Randomplayer10. The auction house allowed the market power to determine the price of Nitro, pleasing the union and Prior’s wallet. Auctioned Nitro sold for as much as $3,000 BB one month and as little as $650 BB another.
- On March 6, 2023, the release of a new uniform, the Dress Whites, which would be the most formal uniform for officers (appropriate to wear only on June 5, weddings, and other occasions authorized by the Commander)
- Debuting the massive Top Ten training video, part of the army’s efforts to produce more info-videos.
During Stability, on May 3, 2023, Prior Bumble published the Summer Proclamation.
This document established a variety of policies to carry the army through a booming summer. Most importantly, the Proclamation established the RFCP Department of State. This new Department (not a Division) allows soldiers to apply to become an RFCP Ambassador or Diplomat, tasked with positively representing the army to foreign servers. These servers would not be related to the Club Penguin Army community, but could range from gaming servers to fan servers to art servers. Ambassadors and Diplomats demonstrate RFCP’s engagement with the digital world, defying the accusation that RFCP is “isolated.” It also enabled the army to have non-CPA allies listed in its #foreign-relations channel. Additionally, the Proclamation reorganized the Division, Ghost Recon Raid Division, into a server takeover planning division (such as doing an Ant Colony takeover, or the Baywatch takeover from Parousia, etc.). This addressed the issue of Ghost lacking purpose, as the army has no need for raiding anymore.
On May 13, 2023, in response to haters from the past attempting to reconcile with the army in the Portal server, the hicom of RFCP published the Terms and Conditions of Apology Acceptance (TCAA). This policy made clear that no one from the past should attempt to apologize to us without matching that apology with three actions:
- The unrightfully taken must be rightfully returned
- Public offensives must be publicly corrected
- Our beloved leader and soldiers must be spared from further abuse and ridicule
Da Best, colloquially known as “Da Worst”, and Shallissa continued to launch harassment efforts against RFCP. Da Worst pledged to destroy RFCP (which still hasn’t happened. *checks watch*) and prompted Zero Cap Alpha to address a spy concern in the early summer. Sha, who found the TCAA triggering, resumed sending aggressive messages to Prior. She wrote a 4-page long email and said that her big “mistake” was idolizing Prior. Prior responded with only two sentences:
But, again, the Era of Stability is not named for lack of challenges, but for lack of instability among these challenges. The army brushed off these events almost instantly and made some fire memes out of them before resuming regularly scheduled programming.
Some of the most fun events of that programming included playing Hide and Seek: Tuba Edition, doing the electric slide, and having official UNO Tournaments.
Stability also saw the army’s Feddies Awards hosted for the first time ever on RFCP’s new Club Penguin server, AoW225, in summer 2023. Likewise, Prior Bumble secured the important and exclusive @priorbumble tag on Discord’s new identification system–yet another sign of stability among the army, now and to come.
28. The Era of FSR
The return of the 2023 school year applied pressure on the army’s hicom, which struggled to adjust to more demanding end-of-summer schedules. RFCP also found itself in a vulnerable position to mitigate the challenges of this rhythmic shift after the loss of their Commissar, HamsterloverL. The Commissar departed from the army in late July 2023 following a serious personal issue in real life. This parting was as sad for the Commissar as it was for the army, and she holds love and respect for the army to this day in spite of the unfortunate situation in her real life. Nonetheless, with RFCP left shorthanded, Commander Prior announced on August 24, 2023, a period of respite during which the army would be placed on “low burn” for 39 days. It was known as the Era of Flexible Support & Respite, or FSR.
For the most part, the soldiers enjoyed this short season of rest. The Commander knew it was what they needed to reduce the stresses of hectic new academic calendars–even if he himself prefers action. Several relished streaming Parks and Rec and relaxing with music parties. Prior encouraged soldiers to use this time to recharge and develop creative projects. One corporal, FourthGearVibez, even used this era to produce a song for RFCP called “Waterdrops of Ukahala.” Its peaceful, restful vibe matched that of FSR. As October neared, Prior initiated the first rumblings of reawakening the army to full activity. On September 23, he hired a professional Discord advertiser to help grow recruitment. New members began flooding in almost instantly, and this behaved much like fresh water surging into a dry spring. The server started its dethawing early. Not long after, Killua, then a major, was promoted to Field Marshal, making him the first Navy officer since PyxelPranav and refreshing the command room as well.
The Era of FSR ended promptly at midnight October 1, with a full Halloween event calendar, an opening bid for Nitro in the auction house, pings for officers to take orders, and oaths being administered left and right.
The army returned to high burn.
Erat ipso sacra.
Prior Bumble’s Quotes
“War the fuck on.”
“The best way to be a leader is to be good to my soldiers.”
“We have fought here. We have joined the legends that bled on this snow before us.”
“Do not be deterred by the noise of yesterday, and do not be haunted by the silence of tomorrow.”
“It is easy to fall in love on Club Penguin. We are already in love with ourselves, and who we can become here. We get to be who we feel we are inside.”
“Many in real life call me a leader, too. But this [RFCP] is the way I prefer to be one.”
“There will be time for us to be gentlemen when we are Goliaths.”
“We will turn our soldiers into men. But remember, it is our blood which must be spilled first.” (Prior to his officers).
“Rain fire on them.” (Prior in the War of Smoke and Sour)
“I have walked among the wild, and the wild is you.” (Prior to his soldiers)
