Root Canal For The Soul

Yes, well, if I can just distract you from Dento’s unexpected Stunfisk capture for a minute...

As you know, we’re only a few short weeks away from Cabernet’s dub debut, and with that knowledge comes a lot of anticipation. Who’s going to voice her? What will she sound like? Most importantly of all, what are they going to call her? I think it’s a safe bet that the name Cabernet won’t stick, not just because the wine connection is less pertinent what with sommelier being swapped for connoisseur, but because it appears that the name isn’t exactly rolling off the tongue for a number of people (I watched one video review of BW019 where the guy kept referring to her as “Carbon-Net”). Pronounciation was never really an issue for me, which I can probably credit to the many hours of my formative years spent watching episodes of Frasier. Thanks to that show, I have quite a good knowledge of the different wine names. Which isn't bad for a tee-totaller.

Yesterday at work, I found my mind wandering and decided to do a google search on the various names for herbs and spices in an effort to prepare myself. I am, of course, going by the assumption that they’ll name her after a culinary ingredient, a la her nemesis and his brothers. They might not, of course, making my predictive work here completely worthless. But I thought it would be fun to compile a list of the possibilities all the same. So, without further ado...


Nutmeg – This would be my number one choice, since I have an odd little affection for this spice which goes all the way back to my first year at university, when I became fascinated with the concept of lucid dreaming. I read somewhere that taking a tea spoon of nutmeg with your tea could increase your chances of awareness in your sleep, so I tried it for a while. It didn’t really work out the way I’d planned, in that I didn’t experience any lucid dreams. What I did experience, though, were more vivid and sensational dreams. I later discovered that nutmeg is actually renowned, in some circles, for its hallucinogenic potential. This friend of mine – we’ll call him Johnny the Pyromaniac for the purposes of this blog – had a whole database upon ostensibly harmless household plants with psychoactive properties, which was quite the eye-opener. Nutmeg may seem harmless, but it has its deadly side. It is possible to overdose on the stuff. I also read somewhere else (from a quiz book, so that’s a reliable source) that it is VERY TOXIC if taken intravenously. In other words it's perfect.

Rosemary – Another good choice, though of course it would be very difficult not to think of Rosemary’s Baby. If this happens, expect a lot of snide comments about Cilan impregnating her with the anti-christ.

Rue – This would be a very good choice, since not only is it the name of a bitter-tasting plant which was popular in Middle Eastern cuisine, but the term “rue” can also be used to denote “regret”. As in, Cilan will regret the day he ever messed with her. This is another plant you need to be cautious with – it has medicinal uses, but has been known to cause blistering.

Oregano - Haha. I don’t see this one as very likely. But I like it all the same. It has a nice little ring to it.

Cinnamon – An adorable name for an adorable character. I freakin' love it.

Ginger – Unlikely, since she’s not. It would work if she was a dancer, though.

Mace – Nutmeg’s happy little bedfellow. This would work because the name has violent connotations too, it being the name given to two types of weapon – firstly, that stuff you can spray in the eyes of would-be attackers (I’m sure Cabernet wishes she had some of that on her when she first met Cilan), and also that spiky club-type thing they used for bludgeoning purposes in medieval times (I’m sure Cabernet would love to use one of those on Cilan too).

Caraway – Has similar vowel sounds to her original name. So that might give it the edge.

Myrtle – I quite like this one, though I’m sure a few Harry Potter readers would insist on comparing her to Moaning Myrtle (notable for her self-pitying, and her apparent soft spot for Draco Malfoy), so maybe it's not so ideal. :P

Marjoram – This was apparently a symbol of happiness in Ancient Roman times. I'd like to think that Cabernet is ultimately destined to be happy, even if she has to suffer for a bit first.

Parsley – My dad tells me that one of my aunts used to swear by sandwiches of this stuff (apparently with a glass of cooking oil on the side, if you can believe such things). I don’t think it’s as cute as “Oregano” or “Cinnamon”, but it could work, given that parsley is used in a similar way to cilantro, albeit with a milder taste (I don’t know if my aunt ever sampled cilantro sandwiches, but I’m pretty sure they’d taste foul).

Paprika – I like this, though it makes me think of that weird (but wonderful) movie about the girl who goes into people’s dreams, and travels through advertising billboards and t-shirts.

Carob – Also known as the “locust bean”. Again, this has quite a cute little ring to it, but Cabernet is possibly a mite too energetic to be named after something used to make a caffeine-free alternative to chocolate.

Cayenne – A chilli pepper used in hot sauces. Cabernet is quite a hot-blooded little creature (it's one of the reasons why we love her so), so this could be quite good for her. I can't see it rolling off the tongue any better than "Cabernet" though.

Angelica – Not so hot on this one. Mainly because she’ll inevitably get compared all the time to that little bitch from Rugrats. And we certainly don’t want that.

Saffron – True, we did have a city with this name back in the Kanto region. But that was a long time ago. And they’ve used the name Flint upon multiple occasions.

Wasabi – I like this stuff on dried peas or broad beans, though Hannibal evidentially disagrees with me. I was once eating some dried wasabi beans, and dropped one by accident, at which point he seized it before I could pick it up, but instantly spat it out again. At any rate, I don’t see this as a likely candidate for Cabernet’s dub name, but I do like telling that story.

Tarragon – Maybe they’ll just call her Tarra and spell it with two “r”s, as a little nudge.