I Am So Ready For Squid Game 3. Can You Imagine Gihun Finally Discovering Who The Front Man Is, Processing

Random Person: “Do you still think that Leonardo and Usagi should have gotten a rematch in the Battle Nexus considering one was poisoned mid-match?”

Me:

Is it just me or do 2003 Leo and Raph have the best relationship out of all the iterations? It's my favorite, at least. Like they do get snappy with each other sometimes but their spats aren't nearly as often, as intense or festering as long as some others I've seen.

It was refreshing that Raph didn't challenge Leo's position as leader nearly as much. Sometimes he would challenge the decisions he made while leading but not undermine his position. He learned and mostly accepted that Leo would be a good leader in childhood and he backed him up nine times out of ten (even when Leo didn't know it: e.g. the "If Leo needs us, we're here. But let's see what this is all about." An instance of Raph pulling a Leo-type move, hanging back to recon rather than rushing in, while Leo's judgment was clouded. Learning from each other and supporting even from a distance)

How ready they are to be there for each other? How openly protective they are of each other? Like they're not as coy or begrudging or emotionally constipated as others about showing how much they care. Small gestures, big gestures, it doesn't matter. Leo's having trouble focusing on a plan because of the noise? Raph makes the noise go away. Wasn't Raph the first one who wanted to look for Leo when his morning training (getting ambushed by the Foot) ran unusually late? Or the scene where Leo's suddenly getting pulled away by an unknown magical force and he calls out to his brothers in alarm. Don cries, "Oh, no!" as he and Mikey stand there and watch; they freeze up. Raph dives headlong after him instantly.

And how they take it when they can't be there for each other? He dove headlong and he didn't actually make it in time to grab Leo's hand before he's gone. Master Splinter has to physically hold him back as he's still shouting and fighting to get to him (and then he has to be restrained again by magic when it looks like Leo's in danger in the 1v1 he was pulled to. Screw the fact that he's obviously outpowered by the almighty binding rules of the duel, he'll go kicking and screaming anyway, that's his bro!) And the scene where they're on top of a moving car, Leo loses his grip on Raph and he falls and from Leo's POV, time slows until he sees Raph land alright. Raph facing his fear ick about bugs, jumping down to defend Leo from the big boss bug with no hesitation when he sees him get stung? And of course when he cries just the once (as far as I recall) in the whole series when Leo's seriously hurt. How he makes me cry in SAINW as he crawls to Leo's side, reaches out for him, calls his name with his dying breath, his last word is his brother's name as he falls beside him, hand against his??? And that was after being estranged in that what-if future! LIKE BRO THAT SCENE MAKES ME WANT TO SCREAM

Even just the two or three lines where Leo's waxing poetic about their family, being completely sincere, and Mikey bursts out laughing and teases him for being a sap. Raph immediately tells Mikey to lay off and that Leo's got a point.

They're just so good. They have a few arguments like all siblings do but there is zero doubt that they love each other to pieces and they don't hesitate at all to show it on the regular. And outside of that estrangement timeframe where they were traumatized and grieving and in a literal apocalypse where they lost all hope, they didn't let their relationship fall apart the way some other iterations did. (Like I love 2007 but that fight on the rooftop? Where Raph could have killed him? I watch it and I can't help but think to myself, "2003 Leo and Raph would never." We saw them have a tussle on a rooftop and the moment there was a possibility he put Raph in real danger, Leo came to his senses and dropped everything to make sure he was okay. I dunno)

Asfjskjfks this is all just biased four AM rambling. The point is I love them, your honor, best/closest/healthiest R&B dynamic duo forever in my heart <3 (Natural disclaimer: I don't say any of this to crap on any of the other iterations. I like them all! I just like 2003's portrayal the most)

Quick essay that no one asked for on the ship of Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho. I see this pairing being commonly compared to the likes of Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter, and while I definitely see the similarities, to me, the (oddly enough, heterosexual) couple they remind me the most of is Catherine the Great and Peter III of Russia.

These characters are from the television show The Great, and long story short, Catherine the Great begins as a naive and optimistic young woman who marries Peter III, and her optimism shatters upon realizing how cruel and spiteful her husband is, and she decides to overthrow him. However, despite everything they do to each other over the course of the series, including attempting to kill and overthrow each other and murdering one another's loved ones, they somehow fall in love.

Their love is so powerful and all-consuming that even those around them, closest to them, cannot fathom it after all that they have done to one another and to me that is how Seong Gi-hun and Hwang In-ho are. Often people argue that Gi-hun would never in actuality love In-ho after what he did to countless players and Jung-bae, but that is the point: like Peter and Catherine, their twisted love transcends the violence and betrayal, showing a deeper connection that defies logic and reason.

Specifically, there is one scene played out between Peter and Catherine that I could easily see happening between Gi-hun and In-ho. In a fit of rage, Catherine finally stabs Peter (who is actually a body double of him), and she thinks she has killed him, and upon realizing what she has done, she breaks down in sobs and falls to her knees. Then the real Peter appears, and Catherine, realizing he is alive and how she felt when she thought she had killed him, realizes her feelings, and he holds her while she cries. I can totally see Gi-hun somehow managing to shoot The Frontman (who is actually a double as well, let us say) only to similarly break down in tears and feel utter devastation over what he thought he had done. Then In-ho appears, revealing that the individual in the Frontman outfit was a double, and Gi-hun is overcome with a multitude of feelings like relief, shock, and love, and cries before going to the other man and embracing him.

Squid Game Incorrect Quotes 〇△□

Park Jung-bae: When was the last time you were held?

Seong Gi-hun: Yesterday.

Park Jung-bae: At gunpoint doesn’t count.

Seong Gi-hun: Last week.

Park Jung-bae: Being in the Front Man’s custody doesn’t count either.

Plus, people always forget that one of his greatest strengths is his resourcefulness, like in the dalgona game. And in the final game his move with the sand, which is always 🤌💋 Chef’s kiss to me.

sometimes i see people saying that gihun has no physical prowess and wouldn't hold his own in a fight. and yeah i agree up to a point.

gihun has no training, that's true. but he fights dirty.

i think we all collectively forgot that gihun bit a chunk out of sangwoo's ankle during their fight.

he didn't just bite him, he bit through him. he literally spits out a piece of sangwoo's skin like 😭

AND he got stabbed three times and kicked in the face and strangled, and still he literally pulled the knife out of his own hand to use it against sangwoo.

that doctor pulled his tooth out with no anesthesia, and gihun cut out a tracker out of the back of his ear.... that's an insane pain threshold 😭

yes, inho would ultimately kick his ass with his cop training but gihun looks like the type to dig his thumbs into someone's eyes if he's cornered and scared.

Jun-ho after risking life and limb to find Gi-hun and the island only to find In-ho and Gi-hun:

Geum-ja, barely holding it together after being trapped in the Mingle Room with “Young-il” and Gi-hun:

Thank you so much for responding! I would definitely recommend the movie is science fiction horror is your thing! The unintended bonus for the movie for me is definitely Ripley and Hicks, hence why I could not help imagining Gi-hun and In-ho as them. Not to mention Gi-hun is so final girl-coded—survivor’s guilt and all✨

Also, I loved your description of the scene. It actually made me blush 😊 🫣 Now, I definitely want to write this! Thank you again!

Hey! I don’t know if you have ever seen the film Aliens, which, full disclosure, is science fiction horror. Quick summary if you have not seen it: Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship, agrees to return to the site where her now-dead crew first encountered the alien creatures with a unit of Colonial Marines with Corporal Dwayne Hicks to investigate.

Anyway, I want to write Gi-hun as Ripley and In-ho as Hicks so bad solely because of the chemistry they have through the film being so protective of one another. But mainly because of the scene below where Hicks shows Ripley how to fire a pulse rifle to defend herself:

Seeing In-ho show Gi-hun how to fire a gun would be so 🫣 🫣 🫣

hi!! 💖

i've never seen it unfortunatley but i hear it's an amazing movie!!

omg, can u imagine inho behind gihun kinda realizing that with their height difference he can't quite get his arms around gihun, so he presses up against his back, their bodies touching from shoulders to hips. he hooks his chin over gihun's shoulder and uses his hands to bend gihun's arms this way and that, speaking soft instructions the entire time. gihun is tense, trying to concentrate on what inho is saying but his body is firm as it presses against gihun's own, and his hands are warm and calloused, and every time he turns his head his breath ghosts over gihun's neck and makes goosebumps erupt all over his skin. when gihun finally gets a good grip, inho's hand leave his arms and trail down, fitting themselves over gihun's trim waist, thumb brushing soft circles over his shirt. he tells gihun to relax and to always remember that inho will be there every step of the way. gihun almost presses his finger against the trigger and, in a moment of weakness, leans back against inho's body, feeling those fingers tighten on his waist and flex, almost as if inho wants to press them against one another even harder.

I just uploaded the first chapter today, and the final chapter will hopefully be out on Halloween:

For Halloween, I am currently spiraling into madness writing a Pet Sematary-inspired take on the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Raphael is unable to move on after Leonardo dies during what was supposed to be just another routine trip to the surface.

The grief eats away at Raphael, and while staying at the farmhouse, he hears from a neighbor about the cursed soil in the apple orchard. The neighbor warns him not to bury his brother there, giving the classic warning, “Sometimes, dead is better.”

But Raphael, being Raphael, does not listen. Desperate to have Leonardo back, Raphael buries him there anyway. And when his brother returns, he does so as a malevolent entity.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please comment or reblog! I am thinking of posting the first chapter this week. It should only be about two or three chapters and finished by Halloween 🎃

Squid Game Incorrect Quotes 〇△□

In-ho | The Front Man: [coldly] What makes you think I will end these games, Player 456?

Gi-hun: [without hesitation] I'll sit on your face.

[The Front Man, caught completely off guard, makes a choked noise—somewhere between a gasp and a strangled cough.]

[The Front Man flashes back to watching Gi-hun during the dalgona game. The camera zooms in on Gi-hun, hunched over his candy, tongue out, licking furiously like his life depends on it (it does).]