I still think the funniest way for Gi-hun to discover that “Young-il” is the Front Man would be through the most relatable slip-up ever: missing his iconic shoulder-length waves.
Picture this: after a game, Gi-hun and “Young-il” are chatting casually, maybe even joking around. Gi-hun laughs about something, and without thinking, “Young-il” sighs wistfully and says, “I miss your longer hair.”
Cue Gi-hun freezing mid-laugh, narrowing his eyes like, “How do you know I had long hair?”
And that’s when the panic sets in. Flashback to “Young-il” glued to surveillance footage from the first games, zooming in unnecessarily on Gi-hun’s flowing hair.
Love this idea, but picture this: what if it all happens right after the failed rebellion, but before Jung-bae gets killed? So, In-ho, in full Front Man mode, is in the middle of his grand, dramatic speech. He’s all like, “Did you enjoy playing the hero, Player 456?” when—splash—suddenly, both of them look down and realize Gi-hun’s breeches are completely soaked.
Cue the awkward silence.
Gi-hun, clearly in pain, is trying to figure out how he’s suddenly in this situation. Meanwhile, Jung-bae, who is totally baffled by what just happened, looks at Gi-hun and just deadpans, “Are you... pregnant???”
Gi-hun, looking utterly done with everything at this point, glares at him and snaps, “No, I’m too old for that shit.”
In-ho, under his mask, is having a full-on meltdown, breathing erratically like he’s about to faint. He’s trying to stay composed, but this? This is beyond him.
Jung-bae, still processing, is just like, “Bro, you’re obviously pregnant! And in labor now!” Meanwhile, Gi-hun’s holding his stomach like he might die, and In-ho's mentally just spiraling.
Finally, In-ho snaps at the guards to escort Jung-bae back to the dormitory and to bring the doctor for Gi-hun, who, despite now being in active labor, still thinks the idea of him being pregnant is preposterous and will continue to do so until he is holding his newborn son.
So I've seen a number of anons bring up potential Gi-hun pregnant during the second games scenarios, but I think for maximum comedy he should have zero idea he is pregnant and randomly go into labor either during or in between one of the games.
Gi-hun, during the search for the Frontman, slept with "Young-il" nine months before, who claimed he was grieving the death of his wife and unborn child. Really, In-ho wanted to see Gi-hun, and one thing led to another. So when they "run into each other" at the second games, it seems like a massive coincidence.
Gi-hun has been displaying some strange symptoms like nausea and stomach pains and the occasional odd food craving that he has dismissed because of his stubbornness and determination to stop the games. Plus, the thought that he is pregnant just never even occurs to him because he is not showing because he has not eaten much or rested and simply because he believes he is far too old to worry about such things anymore. So when his waters break at the second games, it is a big "what the f*ck" moment for all parties.
I would love to imagine how In-ho reacts, but I have already taken up a lot of space 😂
this is soo gihun 😭😭😭😭 this would definitely happen to him vnienkgv
sometimes he feels some fluttering in his stomach but he just thinks it's something bad he ate, neverming that he never actually eats anything 🙄
i'm trying to think of the funniest moment he could go into labor and it's either as he is about to vote on the games or when they are playing mingle or the pentathlon.
let's say it's during mingle.
they have just crammed ten of themselves into the room and the shaman is yelling like a maniac and inho is staring creepily at gihun and gihun is bent over, clutching his stomach and watching the remaining players be gunned down outside.
his abdomen is cramping and his hips and lower back ache really back but he thinks it's the physical stress of the game and the result of not eating anything while being nauseous all the time. again, pregnancy flies right over his head because he. is. old.
the labour is one of those that is super quick!
gihun is still watching through the door slit when he feels something wet down his legs and he looks down to find his pants are wet.... daeho of course, would ask if he is okay and jungbae would chuckle that he peed his pants but gihun is just horrified and geumja is like "that doens't look like pee 🤨"
and gihun curls up in pain, holding his abdomen and inho is like "are u pregnant? 😟" and gihun says no, that's impossible... except that they had sex nine months. his contractions are worse and everyone is freaking out and the door won't open!!!! and inho feels like he is about to pass out bc what do u mean he's having another kid????
gihun has the baby right in that room, there isn't even time to get anyone out. junhee has a lovely preview of herself within the following month and daeho can't look gihun in the eye bc he's seen ALL of him. jungbae immediately claims to be the baby's fav uncle and geumja is admonishing gihun for not noticing that he is pregnant. of course, hyunju, our queen, held gihun's hand through the whole thing and let him yell at anyone he wanted, particularly inho 🥰
OR - he has the baby during the night while everyone is in the dormitory asleep
Chapter Five Archive of Our Own Link 🔗: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62894770/chapters/163598866
if you marry me
would you bury me?
That means so much to hear from you—thank you!!
I adore merpeople AUs too, and I'm thrilled you're enjoying this one! I can’t get enough of imagining Gi-hun with his striking red hair and a deep green tail—like the same shade as the Squid Game tracksuits, which feels so poetically fitting. And oh wow, I hadn’t thought of In-ho as a Prince Eric parallel until you mentioned it, but now I can’t unsee it and I’m obsessed. It fits him so well!
Poor Gi-hun, truly. In my headcanon, he’s the child of two merfolk himself but was abandoned young—left near the ocean floor to fend for himself, hunt, survive. So like you said, he knows nothing about raising a child, specially not one with a human parent, which is completely unheard of in mer society. I imagine Gi-hun was genuinely heartbroken to leave the baby with In-ho—he just didn’t know he had a choice. No one taught him otherwise.
Because the baby is half-mer, he can breathe underwater, but Gi-hun, being used to the way merchildren are, handles him with a kind of reckless affection that would horrify a human parent. Merbabies develop fast and are tough, so Gi-hun will just casually drop him in the water or even toss him in the air and bop him gently with his tail like a dolphin playing with a ball. The baby’s completely fine (maybe even giggles), because in mer culture, that’s considered normal caregiving—for the two whole days they do keep their kids 😅
Looking ahead, I love the idea of Gi-hun eventually finding a way to gain legs so he can be with his baby and his eventual husband-slash-co-parent-slash-accidental soulmate. And once he learns how to really care for a child, he takes to it like he was made for it. He adores that baby with his whole heart—and mourns, quietly, that he never knew love like that himself. But he’s so grateful to In-ho and Jun-ho for showing him that there’s another way.
Thank you again for letting me ramble—it means the world! I’m definitely going to keep building this story out. I’ve got so many ideas!
Also, just imagine Gi-hun doing this with zero context and In-ho having a minor heart attack.
I need someone to rant to about a potential story idea for In-ho x Gi-hun inspired by fanart on Pinterest, which I have included below, so I hope you do not mind. To begin, In-ho and Jun-ho live on an island and work as police officers but do a lot of fishing together in their spare time. One time while out, they witness another fisherman heartlessly throw a kitten in a sack into the water, and when they go to rescue it and plan on going after the fisherman, a massive green tail emerges from the sack with the kitten in it, and they think it is a big fish trying to eat it, so they net it and drag it in with the sack. Only to find it is what appears to be a merman with bright red hair who takes the kitten and resuscitates it and tries to keep it away from the brothers, thinking they were planning on harming it too.
This merman cannot speak but does understand human language, having watched them from afar for so long, so they communicate and eventually become friends. In-ho names the merman Gi-hun since his actual name is a series of unreplicable screeches. Well, In-ho, Jun-ho, and Gi-hun develop a deep friendship, though In-ho and Jun-ho only get to see GI-hun a couple of months of the year since he moves based on the seasons. Well, eventually Gi-hun and In-ho catch feelings for one another, and one thing leads to another, in a cave specifically, but Gi-hun has to leave for the winter afterward. But In-ho waits patiently for him to come back.
Gi-hun comes back months later with In-ho and Jun-ho waiting for him eagerly; only he has a basket he obviously scavenged from the water, and in it, a newborn baby with human legs and dark hair. Of course, In-ho, who had no idea mermen could carry, nearly faints into the water while Jun-ho loses his mind. “You fucked a merman???” When both finally calm down and turn back to the water, they find Gi-hun gone.
Turns out merpeople are absentee parents, so they mate with other merpeople or humans and then dump their offspring on them, thinking it is like a gift. Well, next time In-ho sees Gi-hun, he patiently explains how humans are expected to raise their children together and not just dump them on one another 😂😂😂 So they learn to co-parent their half human half merperson baby with Uncle Jun-ho.
Sorry for the rant but as soon as I saw the fanart below this whole story came to me. I obviously want to finish other things first but what do you think?
please never apologize for ranting at me!!! i love it 💞🙌
i love merman aus so much!!! 💖 i'm also loving that between the green tail and the red hair, gihun is looking exactly like ariel... plus his love interest is a dark-haired charming man with a four-letter name....
i absolutely love the story!! it has a lot of potential going forward since u can expand on the fact that gihun, due to merpeople being absentee parents, would have no idea how to raise a child. nor would he have any idea on how to raise a child with humans.
since the baby is half-merperson, im assuming it can breathe underwater but imagine inho and junho's shock when gihun grabs their tiny baby and just dunks it into the water 😭
also - totally get if u haven't thought that far end - but would gihun ever, little mermaid style, make a deal with a witch and get legs so that he can walk with inho, junho and their baby?
AND OMG I LOVE THAT GIHUN LOVES CATS IN EVERY UNIVERSE!!! HE SAID CAT PERSON 4 LIFE 😩🙏🤧
Casey: [looking anxiously at the crates, where a distinct snapping noise was heard] Did you just... kill him?
Leonardo: Of course not! That would be inhumane. [He stands proudly, gesturing to the unconscious goon behind the crates.] l popped his medulla oblongata, paralyzing him for life. He can still breathe and feel Purple Dragon sadness.
Casey: [scratches his head, looking confused] ...I don't see how that's any better.
Context: During season four of the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo drags a Purple Dragon goon behind some crates, where a distinct snapping noise is heard. This made a lot of fans theorize he actually snapped his neck, killing him. Video below:
Here is the fourth chapter:
Hello everyone!
I am so excited to share my first work in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fandom with you! While I am a huge fan of the 2003 iteration, I have chosen to set this story in the 2012 iteration, as it fits best with the storyline I have envisioned. But do not worry—if you enjoy this, I will be posting a story set in the 2003 universe later on, so stay tuned!
This story is a loose adaptation of the City Fall arc from the IDW comics, tailored to fit the 2012 cartoon's setting. Here is the link and summary:
Title: Little Dark Age
Summary: After a devastating defeat by the Shredder during the Kraang invasion, Leonardo is captured and subjected to the dark machinations of the witch Kitsune. Bewitched and scarred, Leonardo is made to believe that the Hamato Clan is the architect of his suffering, convinced they are responsible for years of psychological and physical abuse. When Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo return to New York, they are horrified to find their presumed-dead brother now a vengeful and far more powerful adversary as the chunin of the Foot Clan.
Link 🔗: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57918355/chapters/147434158
In-ho | The Front Man: [swirling whiskey in a glass with a cold smirk] Tell me, Player 456, have you ever seen a documentary on seahorses? It’s actually the male seahorse who—
Gi-hun: [interrupts with an exaggerated sigh, rubbing his temples in frustration] Oh, for the hundredth time... No, I can’t carry your damn young.
In-ho | The Front Man: [throws his glass of whiskey against the wall] Damn it!
@thegirlwiththeninjaturtletattoos
Oh my goodness 😂 😂 😂 I love all of this so much! Now I really want to write this now, with Leonardo staying shrunk for an entire month, leading to chapter after chapter of endless hijinks. Just imagine the hilarious scenarios—Donatello carrying Leonardo around in a little sling, Raphael trying to act tough but secretly fretting, and Michelangelo relentlessly trying to use him as a toy.
I think a really underrated trope is "character gets shrunk to adorable size and hijinks ensue," and I especially want to see this used in the 2003 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Picture this: Leonardo, either through some villain of the week, freak accident, or alien technology, gets shrunk down to roughly the size of a Barbie doll.
Donatello calls Raphael and Michelangelo into his laboratory, looking all grim and serious. The absence of their eldest brother has the younger two convinced that something horrible has happened.
Raphael: [bursts in, all worried] Donny, what the shell happened? Where's Leo?!
Michelangelo: [close on his heels, equally concerned] Yeah, where's Leo? Did something happen?
Donatello: [holding up his hands to calm them] Yes, but it’s not what you think! He’s fine. He's just... gone through a bit of a change.
Raphael: [squints] What kind of change?
Donatello: [sighs] Now, I’m going to bring him out, and you two better be on your best behavior. No laughing—this is serious.
Raphael: [crosses arms, suspicious] Serious how?
Donatello gives them a look that screams, "You'll see." He reaches under the table, carefully picks up something (or rather, someone), and gently sets Leonardo down on the table. Leonardo—now barely the height of a Barbie doll—straightens his gear and adjusts his mask, trying desperately to maintain his dignity.
Raphael: [silent, staring] ...
Michelangelo: [jaw drops] ...
Raphael: [deadpan, trying not to laugh] ...I’m not supposed to laugh, right?
Michelangelo: [slowly grins] He...is...so...AWESOME! Dude, he’s like the ultimate, super-realistic action figure! [jumps excitedly] Let me hold him! Let me hold him! Please, just for a minute!
Leonardo: [scrambles to climb up Donatello’s arm, in full panic mode] DO NOT let him hold me! DO NOT let him hold me!
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