[THE CSY CHALLENGE] Unlocking the Key to Nikki! #2

The CSY Challenge #2: Unlocking the Key to Nikki!

ACP 11 year veteran, and proud owner of multiple (!!!????) wieners.

The Army of Club Penguin has, since it's inauguration in 2006, become much more than our initial snowball throwing iteration - we've grown to become an organized army - a community for all walks of the community. From our illustrious history, with PoG member Flipmoo being heralded as the creator of AUSIA; to our diverse leaders - with members from all countries, races, ethnicities, sexualities, interests - the Army of Club Penguin has been known to celebrate and welcome diversity. As our community expands daily, many of us find it harder and harder to meet and get to know everyone - The CSY Challenge hopes to bring you an interview of a different ACP soldier each week, challenging them in an ultimate test of skill, vitality and intellect.

Following our colorful interview with Max last week, and not just because of his very very gay socks, this week, we're heading down the trenches to interview an 11-year ACP veteran, who has fought with us through thick and thin. We welcome Keynikki, current ACP major and veteran to the stage...

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Heyy Keynikki! Can you quickly introduce yourself?

Howdy y'all, I'm Keynikki, I'm a major, 11+ year ACP veteran, and mother to the friendly ACP Weiners!

But you can just call me Nikki :)

Wait, your name's not actually "Keynikki"? Top 10 Anime betrayals right here . What's the meaning behind the 'key' bit?

When I was making my first CP account I couldn't think of a name so I had my mom help me. My name is Nikki and the name of my first stuffed animal is Key. He's been with me all my life so I thought, why not? My mom came up with it and it stuck!

Oooh does that mean you've had lots more stuffed animals to come? Can we get introduced to them ?

Of course!

We have Key - my green bear, the hospital gave him to me the day I was born.

Teddy is Key's "brother," he's actually a yellow lamb but I named him Teddy.

Mimi (or Melody) is their sister! They're the main 3 ringleaders of my stuffed animal cul- I mean group!

Then we have some others like James (same exact beanie baby as Key, lol), Lily, a German Shepherd named Spike, a rabbit named Alyssa, a beagle named Dante, and a lot of other ones!

(my stuffed animals, in order: Key, Teddy, Melody/Mimi, James, Spike, Iggy, Alyssa, Lambchop, and Dash)

Are they still all with the family to this day? Any unfortunate or memorable stories?

They are! And yes, there are some memories both good and bad, haha. When Levi (ACP Weiner) was a puppy he found Teddy and ripped out an eye, and same with Key. But now they're all hiding in my closet, haha

My favorite memory with them is definitely all of them, they've seen me go through really rough times and some really great times, they've been with me my entire life and I mean sure I get sensitive when my brother tells me to get rid of them, but they gave me really good happy memories when times were hard for my family and that's what matters, no matter how old you are!

That's very sweet :D who's a more loyal friend than a stuffed animal? Anyways, how did you find out about CPA - and what's your journey been like?

I was recruited into ACP, my first army, in late 2009, I was just about to turn 7 (I was 6 when I first joined). From there I moved up the ranks. I met great people like Aero, Mondo, Mch, and I'm like 98% I was a mod in UMA under Max's leadership. Around 2013-2015 is when I gained some power, especially in SMAC armies. I was HCOM in Heat Warriors, leader of my own army that died after like a month, leader of an army called the Navy Seals to which I've gained legend status in, I was a mod in multiple armies such as UMA. I was a troop in RPF for a short time as well.

Around March 2015 is when my entire life irl changed and took a giant plot twist, and that's when I stopped being part of the community. I went MIA, I was gone for 5 years! I kept tabs on CPA from a distance but I never really popped in and said hi.

When CP died is when I stopped paying attention and paid more attention to life. I was a freshman in high school and I had bigger things in life to do.

Around late March or early April, I decided to go on CPR for the memories. I ran into Chaos's first event back into the community! I joined Chaos and got reconnected with everyone - people I haven't seen in years, people like Aero and Mondo. A week after rejoining, I was handed a gun and told to fight in the world war going on (not like it wasn't my first, haha). I rejoined ACP after the war was over. When Chaos died, I became part of ACP full time, made my part up to Major and I left for a bit for my own mental health, but just recently came back atter I was inspired by Sanya!

Sounds like you've been around for a longgggg time . What was it that kept you around and interested after all these years?

The friends and memories I've made, really!

Plus nostalgia lol

-we interrupt this interview with sounds of Keynikki dying in the background-

No animals were harmed in the process of filming

What do you think is the biggest difference between armies back in the day and now?

I always say the people, but, aside from that? I'd probably say tactics and formations. They're a lot more complicated and that's what I love about it, how "tactic engineering" as I call it has grown!

I hear you love showing off your "wiener"... Who's that, and how did he get his name?

I have two! Levi is my first one, we call him weiner due to the fact that he's a dachshund and he's a weiner dog! We kept his name when we rescued him, his name is Levi because the person that had him before us didn't actually have a name for him and kept calling him cuss words because that's how they speak and whatnot, but when her grandson asked what the dog's name was she couldn't say the cuss word so she just blurted out Levi and it stuck!

Roscoe it is our latest weiner and we named him Roscoe after a wine, hence the E at the end of his name! He's 3 months old and loves to nibble your legs and toes.

Levi actually is crowned the ACP Weiner, Mch even said so!

This one is Levi, with and without the hat!

We assure that the helmet did not do any permanent damage to Levi's head...

And this is Roscoe!!

I have another one, Carmen, but she's just a lesbian and not a weiner

See, thats the definition of diversity - ACP welcomes all people, penguins and even dogs as troops ;). Wait, how's your dog lesbian?

She likes girls, duh! Haha it's an inside joke between my mom and I. (I don't actually remember tbh we've been calling her a Mexican Lesbian for years now)

Here's the lesbian!

We even just welcomed an IGUANA into ACP! I named him Carlos!

(All the edits are done by FatChicken!)

Lowkey the iguana in ACP gear is dope

You seem like a big animal person Have you always grown up with animals, or whats the story behind it?

I've been around animals since before I was around ACP! My first dog was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Freckles, who passed away in December 30, 2016. He saved my life 3 times and honestly, he's what made me make a promise to myself to rescue animals like my mom does. We rescue dogs who were abused, are handicapped, and we take care of them! We even foster them too, that's how we ended up with Carmen.

Image of Freckles

That's very inspiring, tbh. Any interesting stories to share about these rescue animals?

We fostered a lot of Catahoulas when we lived on our farm in Pennsylvania, that's when we started to foster Carmen. Before her we had Eevie and Helana, and I think Carmen is definitely a mix of both of them. Helena was super smart, we taught her to sit, lay down, speak, roll over, paw, and play dead all in a week! Eevie was the goofball and loved my shoes and bed. Carmen is definitely a mix of both, which I always thought was funny!

I used to also volunteer at a rescue with my mom when we first moved down to Florida and I became a mom to pretty much all the puppies there!

Have you ever considered a career with animals?

Yes, definitely! I always will rescue animals, even if it isn't my main career. It's a lifestyle for my family.

Well I hear you're doing biomed now! What spurred your decision to pursue that over something like veterinary, and hows that going?

Ah yes! I'm going into biomedical engineering. I chose against becoming a veterinarian because I don't handle animal deaths very well (I still cry over Freckles) and I wanna make a difference in the world.

I want to become a biomedical engineer because I want to change how the American healthcare system works, so to speak. I want to make prosthetics and medical devices such as pacemakers (I actually can never think of what the "devices" are actually called smh) more readily available to those who need it and can't afford it. I wanna make them more accessible to low-income communities and homeless veterans, especially as someone going into the military myself!

It's going okay, if you don't count the fact that the virus pandemic happened. I was supposed to become a certified biotechnician assistant after 3 years of studying, and I was supposed to take my test in March, but it never happened and we weren't told anything, so who knows if I'll ever get my certification? I've had a 4.0 in that class through the 3 years I've taken it and I always scored high, so I should have been certified by now but I'm not and I'm super salty about it.

With this career I could revolutionize the costs while still making them perfect.

Woah - it sounds like you really do want to make a difference in the world. A straight 4.0 student too. What's been the hardest part - and has the course lived up to your initial expectations of it?

I actually don't have a 4.0, I have a 3.8, and that's with AP and honors classes. I'm not your star student, I've failed classes, I've gotten Cs, but the GPA doesn't say who you are! Numbers don't define you - your actions do.

I honestly say that the hardest part of being a high GPA student is definitely the fact that you have to manage your time. Being somebody who is in ROTC and most of its teams, choir, marching band/colorguard, environmental club president, NHS and Beta Club, and potentially drama, I definitely need to manage my time better which is always the hardest thing for me, but I'm getting there!

It also definitely has not been what I expected! I never needed to really study, and for some classes like history, I still don't and still get an A! But as my classes get more advanced, then I'll definitely need to step up the game haha

Sounds like you have a lot of extracurriculars too. What's your favorite one?

I love all of them! ROTC is fun because you get to go places if you're on any teams like I am. Apparently, in the guys locker room on PT days, it gets kinda...weird? While us females just have a rave party all the time! It also led me to wanting to commission into the US Navy after I earn one of my college degrees!

Marching band is DEFINITELY up there! I definitely have lots of memories, good ones, sad ones, interesting ones...at band camp last year our front ensemble section leader ate a packet of wasabi and went home throwing up because he has stomach ulcers! We made a pretty good laugh after that though.

I've done choir since 4th grade and it holds a special place in my heart. I don't really have too many interesting stories aside from the amount of solos I was gonna have before corona ruined everything!!

Band camp is fun too because we get to quote American Pie :')

Other than your hectic school and social life, what else do you enjoy doing?

I skateboard, BMX (both freestyle and race), I'm gonna learn to twirl a baton (that ties in with guard too), rollerblade, tend to my plants because I'm a good plant mom, swim, run/jog, tarot/palmistry, kayak, and I wanna learn tai chi and traditional astrology!

There's a lot more to that list but that's just to name a few lol

That is a LOT of stuff to do. What's your favorite book or TV series? ~~or do you have no time for that?~~

I don't read books as much as I should but I'm currently reading The Odyssey again! My favorite TV series rn is definitely Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra. However I'm IN LOVE with The Magicians!!

The magicians? i heard it was like bootleg Harry potter

ITS NOT BOOTLEG HARRY POTTER REEEE

I know you identify as bi - how did you figure that out, and have you had any challenges with this identity?

Yes, I'm bi! I always knew that I wasn't entirely straight but I never really knew in what way, I still liked boys but I didn't like how they acted most of the time compared to girls (sorry males). So when I started dating girls I was like, "this feels right." That's when I thought I was a full lesbian, but then I met my now ex boyfriend my freshman year and as we became better friends, I started questioning myself more and more. I began to identify as bi again!

I've definitely faced a lot of challenges with my identity, but these challenges were never internal challenges I had to face myself, alone. The challenges that I have faced are mainly just homophobia and biphobia. Whenever I would be in a straight relationship I would get comments, especially from the LGBTQ+ community, that I'm not actually bi. I would get the same comments from when I was in a same sex relationship. I AM STILL BI NO MATTER WHAT! You identify as what you identify as and don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise and bring you down for it.

I'm glad to hear that :D

Okay so, Nikki - who are you irl?

Oh shoot I've been caught

Alright fine you got me

I, Keynikki, am actually....drum roll

Gamora!

I'm pretty sure she's dead

Oh no wonder

Haha I'm kidding though. I'm Nikki, duh ;)

Alright, since you're a marvel fan... Team Cap or Team Iron Man?

Neither :) I'm more of a DC fan, I only watched Marvel with my ex as a date

But if I must choose.... Team Cap definitely

WOAHHH ex??? Spill the tea - What happened to 'em?

We were together almost 2 years, but it was just the fighting we had every other day over stupid crap, it was taking a toll on me so I broke up with him. I still love him, he still loves me (according to what he said last night, oop-) and we're still best friends, but it wasn't made to be, not yet at least.

Awww ;w; I guess some things just don't work out, but I'm sure its for the best. Alright, thank you so much for letting me grill you on the most random stuff ever :P

Welcome the second contender to the arena!

Today, we'll be playing Snake. Beat me and you'll have your name forever engraved listed in the Scroll of Successful Challengers! This is the ULTIMATE test of reflexes - so get ready!

flashbacks to CSY at 4 am playing snakerace on xat for 10 xats.

Nikki: