Duffy had been with us since the early days of Guardians of the Circle, and from the moment he joined, he became one of the most loved (and most ridiculous) members of our little group. There was something about him and his trusty white wolf, Strider, that just fit right in with our band of misfits.

Duffy wasn’t exactly young anymore—still cocky, still cracking jokes, but with a bit more wisdom than the rest of us. He had that “cool uncle” vibe. So, one day in officer chat, we came to the obvious conclusion: Duffy was ready to become an officer. Not just any officer though—we needed a Ranger Leader. With Elandariel off gallivanting with some elite raiding group, Duffy was the natural successor.

We summoned him to Hellfire Peninsula for the big moment. But poor Duffy, bless him, immediately assumed the worst.

Duffy (in guild chat): “Uh, guys… am I in trouble?”

Zuri and I were in stitches in officer chat.

Me (trying to type through laughter): “Trouble? Why would you think that?”

Duffy: “Well… I might have been, uh, caught ERPing with a Draenei in the Stockades a while back. It was just a joke! I swear!”

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Zuri nearly spat her drink across her keyboard.

Zuri: “Wait—YOU DID WHAT?!”

Duffy: “It was a joke! Someone dared me! I didn’t think I’d get caught.”

By this point, the rest of the guild was wondering why we were summoning Duffy to Hellfire. They were probably expecting some grand trial or a public shaming, but little did they know we had something else in mind.

When Duffy arrived, his avatar looked around nervously, and we could practically feel him sweating through the screen.

Me (in chat): “Duffy, do you know why you’re here?”

Duffy: “To face justice? I swear, the Draenei thing was a one-time deal—”

Zuri (still laughing): “Oh my god, it wasn’t about that! We actually like you!”

Duffy: “Oh. Wait… what?”

Me: “Yeah, no. You’re not in trouble, you big idiot. We want you to be our new Ranger Leader.”

There was a long pause in the chat. Duffy’s character just stood there, probably frozen in shock. Meanwhile, we were dying in officer chat, picturing his real-life reaction.

Duffy: “Wait… you’re not kicking me out?”

Zuri: “No! We’re promoting you! Ranger Leader, Duff! You’ve earned it.”

Duffy: “Oh. OH. Wow, uh… thanks? I thought for sure I was about to get booted!”

Me: “Why would we kick out the guy with the best wolf and the worst Stockades story?”

Finally, the realization sunk in. Duffy was now an officer, and his nervousness turned into pure excitement.

Duffy: “Well, damn. I guess this means I should probably, y’know, do some real work now, huh?”

Zuri: “Or, just keep being you. That seems to be working so far.”

The promotion was official, but we kept laughing for a good hour afterward, mostly at the thought of Duffy sweating bullets over something we hadn’t even known about.

He thought he was walking into the guillotine, but instead, he got the keys to the kingdom—or at least the keys to the Ranger squad.