#Sakuragi Haruto

[fc6c85]

autumn 🍂🍁

[risingsilence]

I should rot in hell

[lucisetcaelum]

Towa - Slow Damage

Dejo otra fotillo de Towa~~

[towatism]

regress

[mysteriousbp]

Hey....

I created designs for Ceroba's parents for my AU.

So here's my mentality when designing my concepts for Ceroba's parents.

There aren't a lot of people's interpretations of Ceroba's parents out there. But the ones that I saw based them on the idea of them being hard on Ceroba. Teaching her to be a strong fighter and a warrior.

But I decided to approach it another way. Through her personality before Chujin's death. She mentions how she let Chujin work himself to death (because she didn't realize something was wrong) and that she saves her tears for moments that matter.

I decided to take that information and make it that she was raised to always think of the positive things in life. To not cry when something went wrong and think positively and turn it around.

That's my explanation in my AU for why she didn't realize something was wrong with her husband until it was too late. Why she was convinced so easily by Kanako to use her as an experiment for Chujin's work. Because she used to think that everything was already and it would work at the end. But it didn't

That's why she's so emotional and has big mood swings.  She lost almost all the positivity in her life. That all her other emotions are finally breaking free. 

So with that in mind, I decided to design the concept of her father with the idea of him being a gentle dad that deeply cares about Ceroba. I decided to base his design on the theme of plants and blossom trees that Ceroba has in some of her attacks. Making him a gardener and having the family business be a flower shop back in Ceroba's old town. Decided to make him a red fox show how Ceroba got the orange hair on her design.

I decided to name him Haruto because, according to my research, it can mean "rising with warmth and positivity" to go with this gentle dad idea. His surname being Sakuragi was chosen because, according to my research, it means "cherry blossom tree" to go with Ceroba's cherry blossom theme in the game.

I then decided to design the concept for Ceroba's mother. I decided to base her with the idea that Ceroba's fur color is tan. So I decided to make her a fennec fox. There's also the irony that Ceroba, being part fennec fox and living in a place that eventually became a desert, spends most of her life in. But also because fennec foxes also have some brown on her fur, explaining where the brown color that Kanako has came from, some of it came from her grandmother from her mother's side of the family. But also because my own mom is smaller than me. So I decided that I wanted her to be small from my personal experience. Ceroba's mother being small also works because I give her the fire spirit that Ceroba has. Growing up small but not stopping her reflecting on how Ceroba didn't give up until the very end of her fights.

I decided to name her Akane because, according to my research, it has the symbolic meaning of "passion and energy" because Akane refers to a reddish hue that is often associated with strong emotions, determination, and vitality. And also because I decided to make her the one that Ceroba's red and fire attacks would come from.

I don't know if they are bad concepts. But those are my takes on Ceroba's parents for my AU.

Also. I have Akane pink eyes in reference to some sprites of Ceroba.

This one.

[carna-tia]

Part 2!

Click here for part 1!

Junko - Joanna

Honami - Honorata

Arata Fusa - Agata Fus

Toru Igarashi - Tobiasz Ignaszak

Hideyasu Sakaki - Henryk Sadowski

Masami Toono - Mieszko Tetmajer

Nozomu Kirihara - Nikodem Kiszka

Haruto Sakuragi - Hiacynt Sierakowski

[nitrochiralfan]

Slow Damage name analysis: Towa

I did a post on the Slow Damage character names before. This post is an in-depth analysis of what the names mean for the characters.

The name meaning of Slow Damage may not be important on the surface but take an in-depth look at it, it does.  Japanese culture is full of symbolism, tradition, and cultural nuances. When it comes to choosing names you need to pay attention to the context of how the names are used. When choosing a Japanese name it's important to know the context of how kanji are used in Japanese. Looking at the cultural nuances of the names reveals it does say a lot about the character in ways you wouldn’t notice. It's about the subtlety in names and needs to be seen.

I am not an expert on Japanese culture so I'll give a disclaimer since I have limited knowledge of it. Feel free to add your input to this.

Let's take a nose dive into the name with the game's main protagonist Towa.

Towa

The name "Towa" is a nickname that is revealed in the short story,

it came from “daredemo towazu” meaning "to sleep with anyone.” This is an insult to his promiscuity, which later turned into the name he uses. Towa himself doesn’t care what he is called. He kind of stuck with it since he hated being called by his other name. He doesn't want to be stuck with the name his mother chose for him as a way to own his autonomy. The word usage of Towa comes up again but it is used differently.

Towa's real name is Haruto Sakuragi ( 悠斗 桜木)

Haru (悠)

“Haru,悠” means “permanence, much far, distant, long time, leisure, quiet, calm, composed, far-off, boundless, endless, eternal”

The meaning in the kanji sums up Towas personality in that he comes off to other people as cold, apathetic and distant with both himself and others. He is quiet and calm, completely stoic, never reacting in distressing situations. He blends in the background and fading in it he is closed off and in the dark about his past and himself. If you look at the narration of the game he is not much of a character because of how he acts in the story he is put on the sideline as a side character in the routes not having any focus giving it to the love interests. The meaning “permanence” refers to how he is locked in a permanent self-destructive state by his mother.

The kanji for “悠” is used in Japanese “悠々自適” meaning "living a life of leisure with dignity; living quietly and comfortably free from worldly cares;"

This infers Towa lives a hedonistic lifestyle and seems unconcerned about what would happen to himself.

To(斗)

“To,斗” means "a unit of liquid measure.” It's used for the used in the “Big Dipper from a star constellation, ladle.” something you used to pour in like a ladle.

It refers to the hourglass mechanic in the psychology segments and Maya's words to Towa.

"相手の望みを叶えれば叶えるほど、心が自らこちらへ流れてくるわ。 砂時計のようにね”

"Grant their wishes and their hearts will flow to you... like an hourglass.”

In Japan, children are named after their parent's expectations of what their child should be. Towa’s given name references a certain idea that his mother wanted from him. The reason why she gave him Haruto as a name references what she thought of her son. Maya treated Towa like property to shape and mold into the image she wants disregarding her son's will like the sand in the hourglass. Maya wanted to convert her son to her image that she believes is the best version of him she thought she was doing it in Towa’s best interest but it was her own.  

In the end, it is revealed that she harbored warped love towards her son but is unable to love and form connections due to how broken she is as a human. which resulted in her feeling distant from her son citing she feels far away from him

二度と届かない　あなたはずっと so far away It will never reach you again, you’re always so far away

遠く響くあの日のララバイ 愛しさが今戻ったとしても 二度と届かない　あなたはずっと so far away Resounding from the distance, the lullaby of that day Even if the love returned now It will never reach you again, you’re always so far away

though she loved Towa, she was never able to connect with her son in her last moments.

Haru is a Japanese homophone of spring referencing the month Towa is born. Spring is associated with light, and warmth. Towa was locked in a permanent winter by his mother but in the end, he finally lets the warmth of spring thaw his frozen heart.

Towa lets the light in by letting others in opening himself up accepts compassion and kindness. Towa is surrounded by people who genuinely look out for his well-being and see what life can offer him. He finally sees the world for what it is and enjoys living. If you think back to how he is introduced, Towa does change a lot in the true end compared with when he was first introduced. the name represents the transition Towa's character goes through in the game. Towa achieves happiness in a way Maya couldn’t see with his love interests.

Another example of the change is seen in the use of Towa,

トワに鳴る心臓亀裂の海

Towa ni naru shinzou kiretsu no umi

A heart beating for eternity, a sea full of cracks

despite it being an insult that people choose for him. Towa transforms it into someone beautiful in the song. It changes from being a derogatory term to using a word change in eternity. This shows the peak of Towas character development.

Sakuragi (桜木)

“Sakura” means “桜, cherry blossom” and “Gi” means “木, tree” When put together it's spelled “cherry blossom tree”.

Cherry blossoms are the flower of spring in Japanese culture and have prominent symbolism to them. Cherry blossoms are symbolic of ethereality, transience, renewal, death, rebirth, and new beginnings. They are short-lived flowers that only bloom for an amount of time because of their short life spans in Buddhist philosophy. Cherry blossoms are fragile and known for being gentle, delicate flowers. cherry blossoms imply everyone can change anytime change themselves teaches them about happiness

The cherry blossom symbolism has a lot to do with Towa, referring to Towa's hedonistic lifestyle and apathetic demeanor, apathetic to living and not caring if he lives or dies. People compare Towa to a walking corpse close to death day by day that can fall dead any moment.

Towa's surname is Sakuragi meaning cherry blossom tree which references the history associated with it.

In ancient times it has been believed that trees are inhabited by gods. gods came down and inhabited cherry blossom trees. When cherry blossoms bloomed it was a sign that god came down. The basis of hanami is to leave offerings of rice and sake to the kami inside the trees which people believed inhibited cherry blossoms. Towas name means cherry blossom tree might not be far-fetched since the whole god inhibits cherry blossoms; it foreshadowed sakakis plan for Towa used as a vessel to hold Maya's spirit for the second coming.

The last thing to say is the cherry blossom symbolism notes Towa’s character, Towa finally gets a new life after a cold winter and rejects and moves on from Maya's influence. Gets to experience a new beginning since he gets rid of his last name and finally lives Towa gets well-deserved closure with his past, sees what life has to offer and loves himself.

Towa’s name goes through numerous transitions in the game that correlate to his character development

Towas character goes through a transition in the game and his name references that.

[yukirayu]

Cherry Blossoms: Their Connection to a Forsaken Name and to a Treasured Person

There's yet another significant little detail in Taku's route that I had noticed and wish to point out as coherently as I can. And yes, it involves yet again the final scene from Taku’s route, but damn if it wasn’t so layered with meaning.

To start, there’s the fact that Towa's real name is Haruto Sakuragi. His last name, Sakuragi (桜木), translates to "cherry blossom tree", which is a common motif in almost every Japanese work. 

Cherry blossoms carry plenty of symbolisms. One mainly being the impermanence of human life since cherry blossoms bloom only for a short while every year. Cherry blossoms also tend to bloom specifically around the time winter ends and spring begins. 

As such, the flowers can also symbolize the end of one life and the beginning of another. The cycle of death and rebirth - but even that symbolism is also synonymous with the concept of change itself. Nothing stays as is forever, hence everyone longs for what was. 

A longing for the past, or the wistfulness one feels when they remember the past, is usually defined by the word "nostalgia", which is also the title of Taku's chapter.

But back to the previously mentioned symbolisms. Again, cherry blossoms represent change and mortality. 

If there's one thing that has been haunting Towa for the longest time as a result of his torturous past, it’s stagnation. For years, he had drifted by life whilst in a near-endless state where he stands in the middle of complete apathy and self-destructive desire. 

For all those years, not much had changed for him. While he has gone through some highs and lows (e.g. losing his right eye), his life has been stagnant because he hasn't taken one step to healing from his trauma. He did lose his hot-blooded edges, which technically counts as an improvement, but it doesn’t necessarily push him any closer towards finding closure or recovery. 

The degree of how much he heals (or reforms his trauma yet also essentially regresses in a certain route) depends on who is his chosen love interest. Towa’s healing is most apparent in Fujieda's route, naturally, but he still goes through a significant amount of healing in Taku's route. 

Yes, he never confronts his mother's ghost nor does he ever know more about his past. At least, he doesn’t know anything else besides the vague hint Taku gives him about how his childhood wasn’t all that great. 

Even then, Towa still finds love with someone who unconditionally cherishes him even after seeing him mostly at his worst. Because of this, in time, he no longer feels inclined towards violence and pain and debauchery. 

Given what he had been through and what it had done to him, that's already a lot. So this development encapsulates the symbolism of change. 

But then, there is also the symbolism of mortality. And it's in this symbolism, plus another, where his mother plays a greater influence. 

Putting aside the fact that Towa's apathy has him not care about whether he'd die today or not, mortality usually refers to death. 

Here's where Maya enters the picture, as the flowers can also be connected to her as well, given that she shares a similar situation with her son about using a different name instead of her real name: Yuma Sakuragi. 

Maya is already long dead. But as the final route reveals, she has yet to truly be gone. At least… not as long as there is the chance of her "resurrecting" through her son. While roses are Maya's main flower motif, cherry blossoms can also reflect her nature in some ways. 

Cherry blossoms are often associated with gentleness and feminine beauty, both of which capture Maya…

Or how she appears on the outside, at least. 

In the end, like a thorned rose, Maya’s crimes paint her as anything but sweet and kind, and her fair looks mask a remorseless monster.

And like how cherry blossoms do not live for long, Maya's life was cut short via an accidental but nevertheless karmic end. 

Even then, she sought to not truly "die", hoping that Towa would (willingly) take after her and continue where she left off. This way, she would "defy" death and be “reborn” through him, an extension of her. 

She, a harbinger of corruption and death, sought a twisted form of immortality. 

Because of everything Maya had done, Towa would rather never be associated with anything reminding him of her, such as his true name. Fujieda’s drama CD even has him expressing disinterest towards the idea of adopting even just his legal surname.

He also remarked in the last track that he no longer likes the color red because it was the color Maya liked to wear the most. Not to mention, it was also the color of the room that was his hell. 

Thus, it should have also been easy for Towa to associate cherry blossoms with the one person he both fears and detests, and thus feel uneasy around those flowers. 

It isn't the case in canon, however. Though it still doesn’t downplay the significance of the presence of cherry blossoms in the background of Taku’s Euphoria ending. Sure, they definitely help paint a romantic image, but I don't think that's all there is to it.

Cherry blossoms still have a connection to a past, or an identity, that he would rather not remember or reclaim, but that is overshadowed by its more positive symbolism that plays a great role in Towa’s story. 

Towa is an artist and his synesthesia causes him to see many colors at once, yet his life is ironically dreary and dark and cold (winter). 

But all that slowly fades away when Towa accepts and reciprocates someone’s warmth and love. 

He changes, and - especially on the day that he and Taku finally reunite - his life markedly becomes softer and brighter and warmer (spring). It's why he no longer does his work as 'euphoria', why the others can notice a positive shift in his demeanor.

Whenever Taku is beside him in bed, Towa is no longer haunted by nightmares of his childhood. Then there’s the cherry blossoms gracing the scenery when he sees the man and how they coincidentally represent how his life had changed for the better.

And it’s all thanks to a man that had cared for him since childhood. This fact alone overshadows how those same ephemeral flowers can also remind him of a name that’s yet another connection to a horrifying figure of his life. 

That’s how important Taku had become to him. 

Comment: Speaking of Towa and Maya’s surname, there is a post that goes into more detail about its meaning, since I just summed up the information in my post, but credits to said post for helping inspire the idea. I was rewatching the good ending (of course I was) and then I suddenly remembered this post… then it all clicked. 

[praeteritus-memories-muses]

Name: Haruto Sakuragi Towa

Series: Slow Damage

Continuity: Visual Novel True Ending

Age: 26

Height: 5'7"

Birthday: March 7th

Birthplace: Japan

Orientation: Homosexual

Species: Human

Occupation: Heir to the biggest mafia group in all of Japan Clinic receptionist and freelance artist

Father: Ryuujirou Takasato (deceased)

Mother: Maya (deceased)

Bio:

TRIGGER WARNING FOR: CSA, SELF HARM, ADDICTION, ASSAULT, ETC ETC

Born as Haruto Sakuragi, Towa is the son of a major yakuza boss and his mistress. Towa was deemed illegitimate and his mother wasn't able to receive compensation so she forced her son and a girl she later brought in named Mei into sex trafficking. On top of his mother selling him to 'clients', she was often emotionally abusing her son by neglecting him of love and manipulating him into doing every thing she said.

He and Mei lived in hell but planned an escape, except in failed which resulted in Towa getting beaten by his mother and Mei getting killed. This deeply traumatized Towa, who viewed Mei like a sister and his only source of comfort between the hell he had to endure as a child, and he never has forgiven himself for this.

Although Towa did manage to escape at some point after his mother's death, he came out of it with crippling mental illnesses. Towa not only developed severe PTSD and depression but developed selective memory to the point where he doesn't remember the trafficking for the most part and thinks Mei was his actual sister.

Along with what happened after his mother died, he still held trauma from before his mother died of the abuse he suffered with her. This led Towa to fall off the deep end and join the yakuza and worked under a man named Madarame. To hide from his traffickers, Towa dyed his hair and entered an abusive relationship with Madarame as well as falling into alcohol, drugs and self harm. The self harm stems from trauma from his childhood due to what some clients would due to him as well as harming his face so he doesn't look like his mother. Anytime anyone remarks he looks like his mother, it sends Towa into a spiral.

His time in the yakuza and his abusive relationship deeply effected Towa and left him at a rock bottom, until Madarame "died" fighting off the yakuza which gave Towa the opportunity to quit and eventually meet with his childhood friend Taku who helped him get clean from drugs and got him a job at his clinic. However, an incident within the yakuza did cause Towa to permanently lose his eye. He can't afford a glass prosthetic so he doesn't frighten anyone with his gaping socket so instead he wears an eyepatch or keeps his damaged eye closed.

However, Towa still has not recovered from his other issues. He's an alcoholic, smokes heavily, self harms and doesn't take care of himself at all to the point where his friends have to tell him to eat or drink something. While Taku knows about his self harm and drinking issues, what his two friends don't really know is that Towa has a pain fetish and sleeps around recklessly.

This has effected his only proper passion, painting. Towa is deemed a talented artist among his friend group, having wanted to become an artist ever since his mother took him to an art gallery when he was a child, but struggles with artists block to the point where he often feels like he can only paint after a night of binge drinking, reckless sex and/or engaging in self harm.

Towa is pretty quiet and many call him depraved and aloof, but the reality is that he's a deeply broken man who often needs people to help lift him up. Even with all his issues, at his core, Towa can be really caring and even pretty funny when he wants to be as he'll often crack sarcastic jokes or quick remarks.

[sewers-headmates]

ill accept a shorter towa alter that's fine!

alright here you go! hope you enjoy him!

Name: Towa, Sakuragi Haruto

Age: 26

Gender: male

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: gay

Species: human

Source: slow damage

Roles: protector

cisIDs: black hair, green eyes, scars, pisces, red aura, painter, receptionist, mute, asocial, GAD

transIDs: transOCD, transBPD, transHOH, transHearingAid, transGapTooth, transHarmed

Paraphiles: merinthophilia, traumaphilia, serviphilia, plumaphilia, hybriphilia

Other Labels: polyamorous

Appearance:

hope you enjoy him! i hope i didn’t make him too ooc

-mod martyr

[il-giardino-del-castello]

Il databook di Slow Damage ha rivelato i kanji dei nomi dei personaggi (Svariati erano in katakana), quindi si può vedere se c'è qualche Significato Profondo/Gioco di parole! Jisho alla mano, vediamo cosa risponde.

Bene, Sakuragi vuol dire "ramo di ciliegio" ma Haruto, contrariamente a quanto pensassi, non ha il kanji di primavera ma quelli di "permanenza, lontananza, lungo tempo" e "Grande Carro" (Sicuramente ha un significato simbolico. Credo.) - che però è anche "ciotola di sakè" (!).

I cognomi Murase e Izumi, a quanto pare, hanno entrambi a che fare con l'acqua - "Torrente, fiume" da una parte, "Sorgente, fonte" dall'altra (In questo caso, poi, già "izumi" da solo vuol dire "sorgente", quindi il primo kanji è lì per bellezza-). Vista l'opposizione acqua-fuoco nella storia, suppongo stia a significare (SE NON SI FOSSE CAPITO) che Taku e Rei sono persone positive nella vita di Towa - E, come storia di per sé, che sono due personaggi positivi.

"Rei" è scritto con il kanji di "saluto, inchino, cerimonia, ringraziamento". Considerato che il primo kanji del suo cognome significa "armonia, stile giapponese, pace, addolcire", direi che il suo sia un nomen omen che indica quant'è buonobravocuteadorabile- Also, visto che è metà inglese, a sottolineare che il suo essere haafu non lo rende meno giapponese.

"Takuma", invece, è scritto con i kanji di "abile, ingegnoso" (... O ingenuo?) e-

“Vero, realtà“.

... Ssssssì. Alla N+C hanno senza dubbio un gran senso dell'umorismo. (Se invece vuol dire "vero ingenuo", N+C, wtf-)

Andando da Fujieda. "Yuzuki" non ha il kanji di "luna", come credevo, ma-

-"ramo di cedro". E "ramo" è lo stesso kanji (木) sia in Sakuragi che in Yuzuki. Sto per vomitare arcobaleni.

Allo stesso modo, pensavo che "Minato" avesse il kanji di "estate" (... Non chiedete) ma, beh, CILIEGIO E CEDRO fanno già abbastanza primavera-e-estate. No, "Minato" è scritto con il kanji di-

Okay. Dunque, fatemi capire: - Mammina ha il kanji di "sorgente", quindi qualcosa che inizia; - Papino ha il kanji di "fiume", quindi qualcosa che scorre, che continua; - Marito ha il kanji di "porto", quindi qualcosa che arriva o che parte.

E tutto a tema acqua! Credo andrò a vomitare doppi arcobaleni.

Ma cosa significa l'altro nome?

RAMO DI GLICINE! Avrà cambiato il kanji, ma tranquilli, si è adattato: invece del cedro, abbiamo il glicine, che fiorisce a marzo come i ciliegi! Ma qual è il significato del glicine, nell'hanakotoba?

Capisco il trauma di vomitare e vedere arcobaleni.

(Considerando che Towa ha il cognome di Taku, praticamente i loro cognomi diventano “qualcosa che parte” “qualcosa che continua” “qualcosa che arriva” - ripetere in eterno, come il glicine. Io non-)

Ah, "Ryou" è scritto con il kanji di "aria fresca". No, sapete, per come stiamo messi-

BONUS:

"Kei" è scritto con il kanji di "gioiello quadrato, angolo, spigolo" (Cose molto appuntite, insomma), e-

... Seriamente. Okay, Towa lo dice proprio con enfasi (MadaraME), ma non avevo collegato fosse proprio il me di occhio (目).

Mi sono accorta che non ci sono altre CG di 'sti due che NON si stanno lanciando limoni e/o sono entrambi vestiti. E no, il fatto che questo sia un interrogatorio non c’entra niente, bicos Ikuina. Avete degli hobby, uno dipinge e uno molesta gatti, andate a fare altro! Su!

Tra l’altro, a parte che la N+C sente il bisogno di mettere un personaggio di nome R×× in ogni gioco (Tranne Sweet Pool? Vabbè, tanto SP è strano.), che non sfugga che qui c’è Kei ➝ Rei ➝ Ryou. Dato che così rimaneva fuori gente, hanno provveduto con Haruto e Minato. E poi ci sono Taku e Towa - All’inizio, faticavo a ricordare chi fosse Taku e chi Towa. È una storia piena di assonanze. (!)

[ribbonstein]

your lifeline has shortened some (and it’s all mine. and it’s all mine)

[ twitter ]

[lucisetcaelum]

Bueno, otra de las fotitos que me saqué de Towa! Hope you like it!

[towatism]

little towa

[suikyounamegami]

Personajes de Slow Damage

Esta es una lista con los comentarios y "análisis" que he hecho sobre algunos de los personajes de SD, análisis a los que también llamo "misterios de SD"

como no pensé que el tema del vampiro me tomaría tantos post 😵decidí hacerla para que sean más fáciles de encontrar

El Vampiro

Parte 1 / Parte 2 ／ Parte 3 ／ Parte 4 ／ Parte 5

Ikuina Takashi 🛐 ♥.♥

Inada Hiroo

Kirihara Megumu

Towa

Maya

[iconsofanimes]