I had been languishing at 299.xx for weeks, without having time to play much at all, let alone play the raid. Knowing I was getting close to the 300 threshold, I had been holding on to my exotic engrams until I crossed it.

Beardfade convinced me that I could get to 300 with a drop in Trials, so I figured I'd give it a shot (and at the same time, maybe reach Rank 2 in Crucible.) UpNorth came along for the ride.

We got off to a very poor start. I'm terrible. Just terrible. And it was pretty frustrating. Beardfade even broke his couch after shooting an opponent in the face twice and not getting the kill. We went through two trials cards in no time.

By the third card, we were one match away from completing all the bounties, and we scored a win on our first match. I managed to get a cloak that put me just above 300 (albeit with a motley mix of armor and weapons and racing gear).

Back at the Tower, here's what the Cryptarch decrypted for me:

Zahlo 310
Telesto 290
Telesto 310
Truth 290
Truth 310
Empyrean Bellicose 310
Don't Touch Me 310
Alpha Lupi 290
ATS/8 Tarantella 310
Peregrine Greaves 310

All in all, not a bad night, and I actually started to enjoy Trials at the end. Many thanks to those two for their willingness to help me out.

Time to infuse...

EDIT: add to that list a 310 MIDA...

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Yes, I indeed broke my couch. In a fit of rage, convinced I had hit my opponent in the head and then killed by him, I slammed my fist on the arm rest of my couch and broke some of the cheap wood inside the arm. It's an IKEA couch, so I'm not surprised. However, I'm 30 years old and sometimes my temper still gets the best of me. Not something I'm terribly proud of. Thankfully, it's nothing major (for the couch at least), and I had been planning on building a custom arm rest cover/drink holder over Christmas break, so all is well.

I think what was best was that the drop came on the final match we played and it put you over the edge. That was so satisfying that our plan worked. Plus, you got 75 legendary marks out of the deal too.

Let's do it again next weekend.

Yes, I indeed broke my couch. In a fit of rage, convinced I had hit my opponent in the head and then killed by him, I slammed my fist on the arm rest of my couch and broke some of the cheap wood inside the arm. It's an IKEA couch, so I'm not surprised. However, I'm 30 years old and sometimes my temper still gets the best of me. Not something I'm terribly proud of. Thankfully, it's nothing major (for the couch at least), and I had been planning on building a custom arm rest cover/drink holder over Christmas break, so all is well.

Glad all is well.

Your couch came up at our breakfast table this morning as I was relating our experience to Junior and Miss Oholiab. I was telling them how terrible we did at first, despite you carrying the team, and Junior asked, "did Beardfade's language get colorful?". That's when I related the story of the couch and hearing you explain the matter to your wife, then hearing you take it apart during idle moments the rest of the evening. Needless to say, they got a big kick out of the whole thing, and I can't guarantee Junior won't bring it up sometime.

That said, they both really enjoy playing with you because you're a good sport and very patient with underperformers and n00bs.

I think what was best was that the drop came on the final match we played and it put you over the edge. That was so satisfying that our plan worked. Plus, you got 75 legendary marks out of the deal too.

Agreed - that was the best part. It was as if RNG said, "Fine; here's your stupid loot." Mission accomplished.

Let's do it again next weekend.

Yes! I think I may have caught the ToO bug...

Your couch came up at our breakfast table this morning as I was relating our experience to Junior and Miss Oholiab. I was telling them how terrible we did at first, despite you carrying the team, and Junior asked, "did Beardfade's language get colorful?". That's when I related the story of the couch and hearing you explain the matter to your wife, then hearing you take it apart during idle moments the rest of the evening. Needless to say, they got a big kick out of the whole thing, and I can't guarantee Junior won't bring it up sometime.

That said, they both really enjoy playing with you because you're a good sport and very patient with underperformers and n00bs.

I'm sure James gets this, but if not, feel free to reinforce that I learned/inherited anger and colorful language from my own father, and while at times and in the right circles, colorful language is fun and funny, for the most part, those are two things my old man passed on that I'd rather not have. It's far easier to be a person who isn't quick to anger. Makes relationships a lot easier for sure.

I get the sense though that Junior is learning some real good lessons from you Senior, just hoping not to be a bad influence :)

I'm sure James gets this, but if not, feel free to reinforce that I learned/inherited anger and colorful language from my own father, and while at times and in the right circles, colorful language is fun and funny, for the most part, those are two things my old man passed on that I'd rather not have. It's far easier to be a person who isn't quick to anger. Makes relationships a lot easier for sure.

I get the sense though that Junior is learning some real good lessons from you Senior, just hoping not to be a bad influence :)

I appreciate your honesty, and will definitely pass the message along to Junior. He's at that age where kids naturally gravitate towards, and find humor in, colorful language and frustration-fueled shenanigans like rage-quitting. He understands it's wrong, but when all the "cool" kids (and Destiny YouTubers) are doing it, a father's wisdom doesn't always get through the noise. Having another take on the matter makes for a good shepherding opportunity.

And as I said before, it's not your colorful language that appeals to my kids, but your gaming ability, good spirit, and willingness to help kill minions of the Darkness.