Hereโs a pet tax!! This times heโs nuzzling against my arm!
Btw hereโs your excuse to talk more about Dice. Or,,,any of Fling Posse! Have fun!
Oh, you enabler, you. Thank you for this opportunity and for the bunny picture.
A collection of thoughts on Dice and why he may very well be the most important character to Ramuda. Put under a cut for some slight TDD spoilers.
Diceโs Personality Traits
Compared to the other two nosy Nancies that make up Fling Posse, Dice himself is the king of minding his own business. While he does display definite interest in his friendโs lives - see asking Riou about his favorite food in the ARB event โRiouโs Kitchenโ or discussing Gentarouโs latest story in FP/M chapter 7 - he tends to avoid discussing topics that make others feel uncomfortable.
This can make Dice appear oblivious, but Dice is much more emotionally observant than most characters give him credit for. Letโs take chapter 14 of FP/M for a great example of this. Iโll link it here, and I encourage you to read through it again paying careful attention to his facial expressions.
Dice begins the chapter deep in thought and adopts a solemn facial expression for the next few pages. Something is clearly preoccupying him.
However, the moment Ramuda appears, Dice begins acting much more animated and begins playing along with Ramuda in an attempt to cheer him up. Note that Dice observed Ramuda acting out of sorts for the entire battle in the previous chapters and hasnโt seen Ramuda awake since (according to chapter 15). Heโs likely greatly concerned. It is arguable that his reactions are entirely food motivated...
... except for the fact that he returns to his previously somber state the moment Ramuda is no longer looking at him. Dice also doesnโt immediately accept Gentarouโs suggestion that Ramuda is trying to keep up appearances for their sake.
At the restaurant, Dice begins to play up the cheerful glutton again and attempts to directly cheer up Ramuda by operating under the assumption that Ramuda is disappointed by their loss.
When Ramuda goes to leave, the art emphasizes Gentarouโs concern, but the silhouette of Dice (and the lack of any bulging cheeks or cups carried up his mouth) in the final panel indicates that he has once again returned to his more serious state. In this scene, Dice recognizes that something has gone terribly wrong.
Each member of Fling Posse is a performer putting on an act, and as noted by Ramudaโs reaction to Gentarou invading his privacy, Ramuda feels most comfortable when each actor plays his part. Dice is aware of this and thus acts the cheerful idiot for Ramuda in these scenes because he recognizes that Ramuda needs that stability.
If I may demonstrate another quick example, take a look at the scene from FP/M chapter 12 and compare how Dice acts without (first image) and with a visibly distressed Ramuda (other images) in the room.
The FP/M mangaka also says (in the afterword of volume 3), โI think [Dice] might have a good poker face and be able to control his facial expressions even when heโs flat out broke. But his posse doesnโt seem to understand that.โ Diceโs poker face is a boon here when he can use it to help the ones he cares about.
For Dice does care very greatly. Dice minds his own business and doesnโt make any overt actions as long as his friends are capable of handling situations on their own. However, the moment he recognizes that they are in over their heads, he takes swift and decisive action (which, in turn, can be harmful to others).
Take this scene in FP/M chapter 10 as a great example. Prior to Gentarou grabbing Hifumi, Dice was firmly a bystander, but he immediately leaps in when the situation escalates. Notice that he removes Hifumi from harmโs way but also serves a shield for Gentarou and focuses his attention on Gentarouโs wellbeing.
He then offers Gentarou physical reassurance with a hand on the shoulder and an out to the situation, which would have allowed Gentarou to move on as if his mask had never slipped if it were not for Hifumiโs next comment. Dice also shuts down Hifumi before it can escalate any further.
Although Hifumi is attempting to justify himself because he doesnโt understand Gentarouโs reaction and doesnโt see what he did wong, Dice recognizes that this statement also denies Gentarou the right to express his feelings on something which is clearly an enormous deal to him.
By labeling Hifumiโs comments as โdisrespectโ and โhurting peopleโ while simultaneously stressing that this topic is โimportantโ, he allows Gentarou the right to feel upset at Hifumiโs comments. He also continues to use defensive posture in order to keep Gentarou physically safe (which must be an intentional choice on the artistโs part, as Hifumi mirrors this pose a few pages later as he begins to defend Doppo). Even though Diceโs reaction crosses the line when he, in turn, begins to hurt someone else, removing Gentarou from the situation, validating his feelings, and making Hifumi stop is exactly what Gentarou needed but was unable to provide for himself.
Dice is a damn good friend and an exceptional person. If you ever find a friend like Dice, donโt let them get away from you.
Saving Ramudaโs Life
Letโs switch gears for a moment to take a look at what goes on in Ramudaโs mind. As a disposable pawn for the Party of Words, Ramuda has an atypical view of the world. He genuinely enjoys the company of others and can form real bonds, but his primary motivation in life is fully self-centered: keep himself alive. Every order he receives comes with the caveat of, โFailure brings death.โ The fear of death is enough to drive him to betray his closest friends in TDD, even Jakurai, who clearly means a lot to him.
^ TDD chapter 13. Ramuda receives an order from Ichijiku to handle the Jakurai side of things in the TDD breakup and reflects on the time that Jakurai saw who his true personality and not only accepted it but welcomed it.
Bear with me if youโve seen me talk about this before, but Ramudaโs ability to feel emotions is considered a fluke. Ichijiku describes it as a โmalfunctionโ and a โnuisanceโ for his job. She also describes Ramuda himself as a โfailureโ and โworthlessโ, sometimes to Ramudaโs face.
Ramuda internalizes this. Noticeโs Ramudaโs reactions to slipping up and having an emotional outburst in TDD chapter 9 and FP/M chapter 8.
The former of these features Ramuda looking frightened (either due to concern of losing his life for revealing more than he should have done or fear that Jakurai will consider him as โworthlessโ as everyone else does), insulting himself, and self-harming. While the insults and self-harm are as stereotypically cute as the rest of Ramudaโs facade, the core idea remains that he believes showing his true personality is as idiotic and worth of punishment as everyone else believes. The lack of self-worth is ingrained in him.
The slightly more grown-up Ramuda in FP/M does not react as dramatically, but I really want to draw your attention to the question, โWas I spooky?โ Itโs worded in a deliberately silly manner because of Ramudaโs speech style, but he is asking his supposed friends if the real version of himself is frightening. Tell me, Dice. Does seeing me scare you? Do you want to run away now before itโs too late? Itโs an innocent question on the surface level, but considering the about face his last friend turned after learning more about Ramudaโs real life and job, this question demonstrates that Ramudaโs view of himself has hardly changed for the positive since then.
(Also please observe Diceโs reaction. The pause is him getting into character in order to cheer up Ramuda after a clear emotional upset.)
Therefore Ramuda is a person running entirely on self-preservation but with no sense of self-worth. He sees himself largely the same way Chuuouku does and expects everyone else to do the same. This greatly limits his worldview and prevents him from considering possible other options besides, โDo or dieโ.
If most of the other cast members found themselves in Ramudaโs shoes, they would have the knowledge and ability to consider other options such as running away, asking for help, or fighting back. Yet Ramuda never considers any of these. He does not have the life experiences the other cast members have to consider making any of these options. He has never observed them or had an outside source present them as options to him. Once the order comes down the pipeline from Ichijiku, it is set in stone. He can hate the order - take a look at another illustration from TDD chapter 13 - but he considers its execution inevitable.
This is why the order to hypnotize Jakurai in FP/M chapter 11 hits him so hard. Now โdo or dieโ has become โdie or dieโ, and his only decision comes down to the nature of his death.
Yes, this situation could have been avoided by talking to Jakurai. Jakurai gives him multiple opportunities to speak up before and during the battle, but Ramuda doesnโt have the ability to recognize those as options for help. In Ramudaโs book, people donโt help him. โHelpโ doesnโt exist.
In fact, the entire TDD situation could have been avoided as well if Ramuda had trusted his friends, spoken up, and explained the situation. Jakurai (not to mention Ichirou and Samatoki after a fashion) would almost certainly have helped, and that seems to be what Jakurai was waiting for. Once he pushed Ramuda too hard by accident and caused an outburst, he stepped back and waited for Ramuda to come forward on his own terms. But thatโs utterly foolish, because Ramuda doesnโt operate on his own terms either. Ramuda doesnโt have his own terms. He lives and thinks the way the Party of Words wants him to think, and if the Party of Words does not want him to speak up and ask for help, then he will never, ever be able to.
The beauty is that Dice is not Jakurai. As mentioned above, Dice minds his own business up until the point a friend of his is over their head, and itโs when Ramuda starts to pull out the True Hypnosis Mic in order to kill himself for Chuuouku that Dice finally acts.
As is the case with Gentarou up above, Dice acknowledges that he doesnโt fully understand the situation but offers physical reassurance, advice, and the implicit argument that Ramudaโs real strength is something of value. Dice writes the word โhelpโ into Ramudaโs dictionary with genuine love and affection.
While Ramuda still canโt consider any option other than โdo or dieโ, it is Dice and Gentarouโs intervention that imbues him with enough self-worth to even consider placing his own wants and needs above Chuuoukuโs.
It is this that lays the groundwork for The Loneliness, Tears, and Hope of a Puppet and gives Ramuda the basic agency to even consider acting for himself and, contrarily, acting in line with consideration for other people. Itโs this that allows him to avoid ruining Jakuraiโs life a second time and this that allows him to accept Gentarou and Diceโs promise of friendship. In the drama track itself, once again it is Dice and Gentarou intervening and challenging Ramudaโs preconceived notions in order to save his life.
Gentarou absolutely plays a vital role in this as well, but it is Dice that chooses to make the first move. Had he not said anything, Ramuda would have used the True Hypnosis Mic and died onstage in front of the audience.
It is sometimes the tiniest of actions and the smallest pieces of support that make all the difference. Sometimes all it takes is someone being unafraid to reach out and flip a die over so it lands on a different number.
