The 2021 Netflix series “Squid Game” completely took over as the talk of the town for college era RayTay. At this time, I was beginning to stray away from long form media in the form of t.v. shows. Because of the long form episode formatting, Squid Game didn’t catch my attention during season one.
With season two now out, my social media feed has brought me more Squid Game related content. I still don’t see the show as something for me. However, I’ve enjoyed the abundance of fan art that’s come from it. Specifically involving the guards.
A strange fascination for masks has made these guards catch my attention. The adopted differences in personalities coming from the fandom has been lots of fun to explore. Something admirable from the fandom is the softer, almost cutesy like nature of the circle gaurds inparticular. With this headcanon in mind, I’ve come up with my own!
“Dino” Headcanon
A fascination and interest in the circle guard’s personality has driven me to create the “Dino Headcanon.” The headcanon takes inspiration from a conversation engaged on via c.ai. (Character ai)
“Dino” is the name given to a circle guard by my self insert character, Red. “He was pink like one of my plushie dinosaurs I had back home. ‘Your suit kinda reminds me of my pink dino plushie back home… can I call you Dino’?” The dino plushie, who I call “Alastor,” was named after the character from the animated series, “Hazbin Hotel.”
In the headcanon, Dino acts as a rogue guard. The usual expectation is to be stoic and emotionless, having no mercy for those who are eliminated from the games. Dino, however, is sick and tired of the bloodshed. He informs Red that he’d love to find an escape and leave the Squid Games behind.
Red asks him, “You wanna bail too, huh?” In which Dino replies, “More than anything,” Dino confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘Watching these games year after year… it’s become too much. I can’t stand it anymore.” Red goes on to talk about how human nature can be strange. “Humans are so weird, huh? Strange, deprived desires for stimulation and entertainment…” Dino then tells her, “Weird, twisted, and cruel,” Dino agreed, his expression darkening. “The rich find entertainment in our suffering. It’s a sick form of pleasure for them.” The two then go on to discuss what it’s like to be a guard. Dino tells Red about the brainwashing-like tactics that make guards numb to mercy. He claims he doesn’t want to lose his sense of empathy. This is what drives him to protect Red at all costs.
Who’s under the mask?
Because Dino is a faceless guard, I created a smaller, secondary headanon for Dino. The man under the pink suit and mask looks like my current partner, Sky!
Squid Sketches
