:: I Love Pink

🌷:: I love pink <33

Ufff, incredible!

Reworked Character #1: Marco Rossi

POTENTIAL TRIGGER: Viewer discretion is advised due to references to death and torture.

Real name: Marchrius Dennis Rossi

Alias: Intelligent Soldier

Occupation: Major of the P.F. Squad

Retirement plans: Start a computer company and foster a bunch of kittens

Special skills: Leadership, proficiency in lightweight firearms, computer science, intimidation tactics, and drunken-style boxing

Hobbies: Creating artificial intelligence and technological viruses from scratch, calculating complex mathematical equations and running times of computer programs in his head, going to the shooting gallery to practice his aim, stargazing, and journaling

Likes: His quick mental calculation, the warm glow of campfires, going on smoke breaks with Tarma, his remaining friends, and philosophical debates

Dislikes: Large lines in front of restaurants, being wrongfully distracted from work, hearing mentions of any sexual activity, computer crashes paired with slow Internet, and torture

Favourite food: Chinese noodles (preferably its mildly spicy), and barbecued burgers and hotdogs with onions and honey-flavoured carrots

Sexuality: Sex-repulsed, aromantic asexual

Gender: Male

Age: 25

Blood type: A-

Weight: 162 lbs. (73.48 cm)

Design: He's a 5' 7" (170.18 cm) Italian-American ectomorph with average musculature, broad shoulders, ivory skin, a cleft chin, and dull turquoise eyes. He has a prosthetic left arm made of metal plates and flexible wires, built by Tarma. Marco has strawberry blonde, wavy hair with a large forelock, sideburns, stubble, and a left glass eye that's a lighter shade of turquoise. He has accumulated several battle scars: a few stab wounds on his right shoulder; a deep slice mark extending from the left side of his nose bridge to the back of his trapezius muscle; multiple lacerations and severe burns on his back; vertical cuts on his right forearm; a large patch of scar tissue on his right lumbar region; and bullet wounds on both calves and one on his left thigh.

Marco's military gear consists of a white headband, a metal dog tag necklace with his name, a platinum grey sleeveless shirt, a crimson vest with four pockets, and khaki-green army cargo pants tucked into his combat boots. He also wears olive green paratrooper boots, a leather belt, mahogany gloves, a sheath for his combat knife, and a gun holster for his trusty handgun. His vest has two hidden strapped compartments to hold up to two firearms when needed. The pockets of Marco's vest carry two boxes of cigars, a gilded lighter he found in Gerhardt City, a black case for his reading glasses, and an old photograph of pre-teen him, his father, and their cat.

Over his shirt, he wears a Soldier Plate Carrier System (SPCS) with a MultiCam pattern, which carries his walkie-talkie and ammo for other firearms. His right forearm is wrapped in worn gauze, and he wears two black bandoliers that form an X-shape, holding bullets for his handgun. Marco carries a khaki-green load-bearing backpack containing tactical explosives, portable ammo boxes, and his red-orange laptop, used to create viruses to breach enemy cybersecurity.

Personality: He's a charismatic leader and workaholic who takes immense pride in his high intellect, computer expertise, and masculinity. His stoic demeanour is a constant, making it challenging for him to show humour or vulnerability. He struggles with major depressive disorder and unresolved trauma stemming from his experiences during the First Morden War, where he was tortured and witnessed the brutal slaughter of multiple comrades and friends. While Marco tends to internalise his emotions, he has learned to open up to trusted individuals when his burdens become too overwhelming to bear alone. He deeply cares about his friends and will stop at nothing to protect them, even if it means putting his own life at risk.

Despite his gentle and taciturn nature, he's capable of being ruthless and will fly into a deep rage when General Morden's name is mentioned near him. He's a socially awkward loner who doesn't tolerate distractions and has a strong fear of losing his current friends. Marco is prone to getting stressed out easily, which has led him to develop a chain-smoking habit and spend lots of time with his "dramatic lil' princess" (his cat). He finds great comfort in the presence of his best friend, Tarma, thanks to his breezy and optimistic attitude. Additionally, he cherishes his calico shorthair cat, Perifa, a heartwarming gift from Fio.

Whenever he's had too much to drink, he starts to act rowdy, easy-going, overly affectionate, and clingy. When sexual activity is mentioned, he reacts with extreme discomfort as he finds it to be disgusting. He’ll either become nauseous or start gagging, displaying expressions of strong distaste towards the person discussing the topic. He'll only lose his temper with others if they constantly distract him, say something extremely rude to him or his friends, or intend to hurt his loved ones. Although he tends to have a pessimistic outlook on life, he sometimes manages to see the brighter side of things.

Backstory: Marchrius Dennis Rossi was born on April 13, 2005, in Twin Falls, Idaho, United States. Marco's mother was absent from his life, but his father, Salvatore Rossi, tried his best to provide for him despite working at a dead-end office job. Marco struggled to make friends and often looked sad when he saw other children with their mothers, which his father noticed. To cheer him up, his father brought home a longhaired black and orange cat, which sparked Marco's love for felines. As a result of his childhood cat's fondness for eating bugs, he affectionately named her Grubley. At the age of five, his father introduced him to the world of computing, igniting a passion for computer science that would last a lifetime. Salvatore was always supportive of Marco and his passions, encouraging him to excel in school, chase his dreams, and make the most of the opportunities life has to offer.

Marco knew he had an uncle, but his father forbade him from seeing him. Salvatore had warned him that his uncle was untrustworthy and struggled with alcoholism. However, he was permitted to visit his aunt and grandparents, who were incredibly kind. They encouraged him to appreciate nature and the simple things in life, rather than spending all his time on the computer. He has fond memories of his grandfather teaching him how to barbecue.

Despite being bullied by many students for being "friendless" and "weird”, he excelled in all his classes, achieving high marks in mathematics and computer science courses. Before graduating from a state technical high school, Salvatore died due to health complications caused by an incurable disease, and Grubley peacefully passed away in her sleep shortly after, which devastated him.

The last gift his father gave him was a red-orange laptop, intended as a graduation present. Instead of letting this tragedy bring him down, he channelled it into motivation to strengthen his resilience and independence. Marco decided to attend officer's school at the Academy of Special Technologies and subsequently joined the prestigious Peregrine Falcons Squad shortly after graduation.

Unlike many of his peers, he quickly distinguished himself through his exceptional leadership skills and computer expertise, earning him a spot as first lieutenant and leader of the P.F. Squad. This was also when he met Tarma, forming a fast friendship over shared interests and a couple of beers. Tarma was his first real friend, whom he holds dear, despite viewing him as a maniacal and silly gearhead. Through his friendship with Tarma, he discovered the value of having friends and stepped out of his comfort zone to befriend the other members of the P.F. Squad.

During his time in the P.F. Squad, Marco created a computer virus for fun, which inadvertently spread to the Regular Army's mainframe server. The virus destroyed several security systems, compromised the lowest echelons of the Regular Army, and nearly triggered the launch of a nuclear missile. Fortunately, a scout regiment named Trevor, whom Marco would meet years later during a mission against the Amadeus Syndicate, managed to stop it. Marco refuses to discuss this potentially disastrous incident, even after a few too many beers.

During the first coup led by General Morden, he scraped together the remnants of the Regular Army government forces to reassemble the P.F. Squad. He became the leader of the governmental resistance against General Morden but at a great cost. As he, his comrades, and his friends were approaching the last known base of the Rebel Army, disaster struck. General Morden and his soldiers ambushed them, seizing the opportunity to decimate the remnants of the P.F. Squad, leaving Marco with mental and physical scars that would haunt him forever. 

Marco endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of General Morden, Allen O'Neil, and the Rebel soldiers, who brutally tortured him, gouged out his left eye, and severed his left arm. The cruelty continued as Morden forced Marco to witness the slaughter and torture of his comrades and friends. Devastated by the losses and horrors he experienced, Marco teetered on the brink of giving up. He was even convinced that his best friend, Tarma, had perished, plunging him into a deep depression.

However, Tarma managed to escape the Rebel Army's clutches and staged a daring rescue, reuniting with Marco. With Tarma's emotional support and his own newfound rage, Marco found the strength to keep fighting. Together, they became legendary heroes, ultimately defeating Morden and restoring world peace. Marco's bravery earned him the distinguished title of Major.

Marco continued to lead the P.F. Squad together with Tarma, who is the true linchpin of the special army strike force. Alongside Tarma and two new recruits, Fio and Eri, Marco took part in a second mission that thwarted General Morden's second coup before it could even begin. Following this success, Marco attempted to resign, but his higher-ups quickly denied his request. They insisted on his participation in a mission to eliminate the remaining remnants of the Rebel Army and other operations addressing threats to global peace, such as the Martians.

I think about those types of scenarios but I don't write about that haha 😆

Emergency hug!

Today was surprisingly stressful for Marco, Eri, Tarma, and Fio, as they had to defeat multiple zombies and sasquatches. Everyone's nerves are still unnaturally high after their intense fight against the Monoeyes, but Tarma remains relatively calm. Fio takes a deep, calming breath and gently taps Tarma's shoulder.

Tarma: *he instinctively turns around to face Fio, raising an eyebrow* What’s up?

Fio: *she shyly looks down at the ground* Can I have a hug?

Tarma pauses for a brief moment, surprised to hear that question come from Fio's mouth. A pleasant smile curls onto his lips before he wraps his arms around her in the hug she requested.

Fio: *she warmly reciprocated the hug* Thank you…

Eri suddenly approaches Tarma, roughly tugging at his golden-yellow vest to grab his attention. He breaks away from hugging Fio, but she still holds onto him, and turns to face Eri, his expression inquiring what she wants.

Eri: Urm… Can you hug me? I honestly need it. *her breathing is a bit irregular and she sounds somewhat anxious*

Tarma: Sure thing! I can’t say no to that!

Tarma now finds himself embracing both Eri and Fio as they silently appreciate his willingness to comfort them. Marco trudges over to the group, his face etched with exhaustion, and releases a deep, heavy sigh.

Marco: Can I join? *he sounds a tad miserable*

Tarma: Of course, bud!

And with that, Marco wraps his arms around the trio, joining the group hug, and a weary smile slowly spreads across his face.

Bro, if your thumb already hurts, use your index finger because it works for me in different situations 👍

Here are the results of my third replay of Metal Slug 3. I'm very happy with the results! Metal Slug 3 is a tough-as-balls game, but it's so much fun! My multiple replays were to experience all alternative paths and I finally achieved that.

Doing these playthroughs of Metal Slug 3 has somewhat improved my skills. I still suck at Metal Slug, but it's nice to see my skills improve when playing through the third game multiple times. I always use saves, but it's definitely helping me.

I'm going to take a break from Metal Slug 3 and let my thumb heal. I plan on replaying a couple of the other games on the Metal Pack emulator.

Marco after such an act by Tarma:

Computer troubles

The Internet is acting slow today, which gradually began to get under Marco's skin. His frustration is simmering, but he maintains a blank expression as he stares at the computer screen, which crashed for the fifth time that day. Tarma is sitting next to him, looking extremely bored.

Finally, the computer starts working again, and Marco lets out a heavy sigh, typing away at something important. But then, Tarma gets a mischievous idea and presses the escape key, losing all of Marco's unsaved work. Marco stops typing, removes his hands from the keyboard, and slowly turns to face Tarma. A menacing glare burns in his eyes, and his face twisted in anger.

Tarma: *gives him an awkward smile* Heh heh…?

Tarma swiftly sprung to his feet and sprinted out of the office as if his life depended on it. Marco hotly pursues him, his fists clenched and ready to kick Tarma’s ass.

Eri and Fio are minding their own business, chatting with each other, and decide to leave the base to get some fresh air.

Tarma: Move it, ladies! *he exclaims, pushing Eri and Fio aside*

This understandably startles the two, but they soon realise that Tarma must have done something to anger Marco who bolts past them with ease.

Fio: Oh boy… *she nervously gulps*

Eri: Tsk... For fuck's sake. I swear on my mother's grave, Tarma is always up to some damn thing. *she sounds irritated*

As Tarma continues to flee, Marco finally catches up to him and pins him to the grassy ground. They proceed to get into a heated argument, while Eri and Fio decide to head back to the sleeping quarters to play another round of poker.

A big ol’ promotion

After the gruelling battle and eventual defeat of Rootmars at the hands of the Regular Army's special forces, General Morden and a few surviving soldiers escaped the Martians' clutches with the Dai-Manji in their possession. About half an hour later, the Dai-Manji landed at a secret Rebel Army base. There, Morden was finally reunited with the rest of his soldiers who had fought bravely against the Martians. With a proud posture, he exited the Dai-Manji, puffing out his chest and clearing his throat.

Morden: Attention everyone! Those gosh darn Martians were a real pain in the ass! But we did it! We put up one heck of a fight and came out on top, even if it meant forming an alliance with our greatest enemy. Anyways, you’ve all shown me that you’re all top-notch soldiers. You know what? I'm proud to announce that you're all getting promoted!

Multiple gasps erupt amongst the Rebel soldiers, followed by an outburst of cheers, applause, and whistles. Some soldiers high-five and hug each other, overwhelmed with joy and relief as they finally receive their long-overdue promotions.

Morden: Except you! *he says, pointing accusingly at a bazooka-wielding soldier near the front* You’re not even wearing your uniform!

The soldier, clad only in his army-green helmet and a pair of white boxer shorts, looked down at the ground with a disheartened sigh.

Soldier #1: Aw man… I’m sorry about that. Better luck next time!

Soldier #2: For crying out loud! I told ya to put your uniform on!

Soldier #3: *snickers at the soldier not wearing his proper uniform* Good job, dumbass!

A few other Rebel soldiers snicker and chuckle loudly at the misfortune of their comrade who was dismissed for his promotion.

Morden: Hey! Whoever just laughed at this soldier will also not receive their promotions! It’s disrespectful to mock fellow comrades! You hear me?! *he sounds frustratingly displeased*

The soldiers who rudely poked fun at their comrade now feel ashamed, offering a sincere apology to him.