Nam-Gyu's tattoos have been identified by some amazing people in this fandom, so here's my take on them and a yap I had in the comments with @swirlyheart48! (it's just a lot more polished since I know what thoughts I want to get out this time!)
Word count: 1.8K (not exact)
TW: Mentions of self harm, mention of suicide attempts, mention and discussion of drug/substance abuse.
Squid Game season 2 and 3 spoilers.
Personally speaking, my favourite tattoos that he has are of course the geisha (that I talk about a lot on my blog, I've also considered changing my blog title to something about it but I believe that my current title is much more relevant and important to me.) and the lucky number seven, which we'll get into the symbolism of that in this rant.
Something that sparked the interest to me about his tattoos specifically, aside from the visual appeal is that Roh Jae Won (the actor who played Nam-Gyu) doesn't have any tattoos at all, meaning that the designs and patterns are not interchangeable between actor and character. Futher on this, that means that these tattoos are an irretractable part of the character that is Nam-Gyu, essential constituents to not only his characters "design" but also uncovering what his past may have been like prior to the games.
These tattoos mean that we, as viewers, get to experiment with reasonings, and leads to the crucial question of "why?". "Why does he have these tattoos?" because there are so many possibilities. "Why did he get those exact designs?". Within the latter question, more are brought up and that means that the symbolism of specifically the "lucky number 7" tattoo can be discussed.
The number 7 has various meanings, but the most common one being this. "Furthermore, seven often symbolizes a bridge between the physical and the spiritual" (< copied from a website, as this isn't a school assignment I'm not going to quote it, but just to be clear, these words are not my own.)
Seven is often held as a symbol for a bridge between physical and spiritual states. Talking in the realms of Nam-Gyu's character and what limited knowledge we have of him, the physical bridges he crosses could include getting over his addictions and track marks. This is a reason as to why the character would get this tattoo, but why would the directors of Squid Game make that so specific? A physical bridge doesn't have to be that of Nam-Gyu's personal struggles as we don't know much about his character and self in the game as it hasn't been properly explored, but the bridge could be a literal bridge. Hear me out here.
Not only does Nam-Gyu die due to the addiction and having no faith in himself, but also because in a more literal sense, gravity is natural and it works. Nam-Gyu falls off the bridge during Jump-Rope. Another meaning behind why the directors chose this tattoo is to link him with Thanos. Thanos is the character he is seen on screen the most amount of times with throughout season two, and even the final episode of season three, and we know by canon conversation that right before being invited to the games Thanos was going to kill himself by jumping off of a bridge.
Maybe I'll slide in a little bit of Thangyu in here and say that Nam-Gyu died how Thanos wanted to and their death sequences were quite literally shot in the same manner. (the fatal error, the close up of their face, after dying the final shot of their corpse, then focus on the necklace) BUT alas, this conversation is not about Thanos or Thangyu. Maybe another time.
(Kat edits and caption: I didn't know until RIGHT NOW editing and adding in images that 777 means financial luck. Too tired to talk about it right now, but that is incredibly interesting.)
The connotation of the number seven representing the movement from the physical life of the subject (< which has already been discussed) to the spiritual life of the subject relates to not only the life of the individual but the characteristics and values that this individual holds dear to themselves. The lucky number 7, also commonly known as angel number 777 represents staying positive and crossing the paths of challenge as they come. This actually perfectly links with Nam-Gyu!
A fact of canon is that Nam-Gyu has a severe struggle with addiction, which is the very thing that leads him to die in the games. His mental and physical struggle from the addiction -> withdrawal cycle is evident through his track marks that he shows Thanos, his behaviours when receiving the drugs (eager, thankful, ready to oblige) and having symptoms of withdrawal. Not only is the absence of Thanos something that sets the overall tone of Nam-Gyu for season three, but so is the absence of the drugs that he so heavily has relied on for what clearly seems to be like years.
The anxiety and stress, impatience and irritability that he gets all prove enough that his problems and addictions are severe. But, what leads to somebody taking drugs? It could be curiosity, and that may be the case with Nam-Gyu, but we also know that he must have had it rough.
From making poor financial decisions that leave him drowning in debt and the thorough need to be better than anybody he comes across it's obvious Nam-Gyu has a tough time mentally.
The lucky number seven tattoo could be a visual representation of him telling himself to "keep going" a reminder with him at all times that even though he is at a low point in his life, he can and will get through it. Nam-Gyu is determined by nature, he's also stubborn and at times reckless and impulsive, this tattoo could be a reflection of any or all of those qualities.
(Kat edits and caption: Oh my gosh the difference when he's at the podium is so insane. Image 1 is before Thanos dies and Image 2 is after, where he changes his vote to "X")
This reminder of "keep going" actually does detriment to Nam-Gyu through the games, because he keeps choosing "O". Everybody in Squid Game is in debt (other than outliers like 456 and 001, respectively) but the people choosing "O" to continue the games doesn't just mean that need the money. Everybody there needs the money, but the people who vote "O" must firmly believe in their minds that they need it more and "have to keep going".
The players who vote "X" are content with being in debt if it means that they survive, but the players who consistently vote to continue playing time and time again are gambling their lives away because they believe that the world outside of the games has nothing for them if they don't have the money.
Thanos chooses "O" because he doesn't have a reason to live, he was going to kill himself before he was met with the salesman. He "keeps going" to make his mother proud of him, but for Nam-Gyu he doesn't mention any familial ties that he has, he barely gives any details about his own personal life unless nudged by Thanos to do so. To put it simply, Nam-Gyu must have had a shitty life outside of the games if he wanted to risk it all for some extra money. He was in debt because of poor financial choices, he had no faith in himself in the outside world to be able to keep going without drowning in debt or drugs or both. Maybe Nam-Gyu didn't have anything outside waiting for him, that is a possibility. Part of his votes was because of influence of Thanos, who he was secure with, the other part was drugs, but deep down inside Nam-Gyu must have had low self esteem and not believe that there was anything or anyone out there waiting for him.
The fandom needs to realise that not all of his actions are determined by the man who could barely remember his name. This isn't me disliking Thanos or saying that he's a bad character, it's really the opposite. Thanos did care for him and there are clear signs of that in season two.
(Kat edits and caption: During drugs/adrenaline, during withdrawals/regret)
Thanos' security gave Nam-Gyu an ego boost. After the Thanos and the drugs were gone his confidence took a clear blow and he became withdrawn. Although throughout the entirety of his screentime Nam-Gyu is aggressive, he very obviously isn't a great fighter and isn't fantastic at critically thinking either. He's hot-headed, he's arrogant and he makes rash decisions that lead to consequences for him and those around him. He's all talk and minimal action because his aim is to threaten the people around him. That's his flaw.
When Min-Su threw the cross necklace across the bridge Nam-Gyu needed the contents inside of it. He was clearly weighing out his options when scratching his head, he basically went "fuck it" and tried to grab the pills. Nam-Gyu thought that he needed the drugs, but he needed nothing because - now this sounds corny as FUCK but hear me out - what he needed to survive was within him the whole time. He needed the confidence in himself, and he clearly didn't have that otherwise he would have continued jumping even after the cross was gone. He had the time to, but his "high and mighty" personality shattered right then and there at that moment, causing him to realise that all of his impulses that brought him to that moment thus far were... dumb, rash, irrational and impulsive. He was in a kill or be killed situation, eat or be eaten, he relied on his survival instincts and those instincts were always to fight. Always. Because he liked to pretend that he was better than he was to convince himself and those around him that he was tough.
We don't know when Nam-Gyu got tattoos, it could've been a week before he entered the games. It could have been when he was still a teenager, but whenever he did get it, he was struggling and that genuinely could've been anywhere in his life.
Steering away from that topic, an interesting thing that I've noticed about Nam-Gyu and Thanos is that despite them both being in debt... they have pretty good jewellery. Aside from characters with their ears pierced or with facial piercings (like Jun-Hee, Se-Mi and Mi-Na) Thanos and Nam-Gyu are the only two characters to have proper jewellery and tattoos. They both care about their appearances, they both act tough for others and having tattoos/piercings and other such things adds to the image that they want to have of themselves and others to have of them. They're both very similar, and that seems to be something that Nam-Gyu doesn't want to be.
"Kat you got ALLL of this from a tattoo..." yes, I did. I hope you enjoyed reading it. This took me a very long time to put together, so please consider reblogging as I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on the topic, because we all have can take what characters do, say, or act like in different ways and I am so interested to see what the rest of the fandom thinks about this one! This took me VERY long to write ahasdfghjhgfd... I just had to get the brain worms out everybody.
Hello 2024!! I present you with my favourite creations for Jaurary 2024. If there is any content that is not public or work safe, it will have an *asterix next to it. Please, take a look and remember to like and reblog any content that you enjoy.
— Happy anniversary to Fearless by @antoniosvivaldi
the babygirlification of Olivia Dunham by @richardgrimes
Wednesday YOUNG OUTCASTS+ETYMOLOGY by @remusjohnslupin
oh,yourloveissunlight @lgbtqcreators creator challenge - gay rep by @craintheodora
DR. FRANK-N-FURTER (THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW) by @malafvma
certified babygirl™ (in/sp) (our flag means death) by @yenvengerberg
Ed + Stede's Journey so far [S1-S2] by @crowley-anthony
@pscentral event 20: antagonists — Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband by @siobhans-roy
2023 album releases: SpeakNow(Taylor'sVersion) by Taylor Swift by @antoniosvivaldi
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— 1989 (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift (October 27th 2023) by @starlighdt
2023 album releases:1989(Taylor’sVersion) by Taylor Swift by @antoniosvivaldi
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Catherine Elizabeth, I cannot believe you turned up in a golden metallic shimmery sequinned floor length gown with a cape on a rainy September evening and expected me to keep breathing. This is giving me Queen of the Heavens, Goddess of the Sun, Female Apollo, angel delivering a message. This is pure Q U E E N material and a little bit of tinsel material. It is pure ethereal heavenly goodness. I am in the afterlife and might never return because Catherine killed me and continued walking into the starlight. Little Miss Cambridge doesn’t always bring it and she certainly doesn’t always bring it in Jenny Packham, but she 100% did tonight
