Words Are Hard

According to his Wiki page, his name refers to Tangyuan, a Chinese sweet dumpling.

With this in mind, I was curious if his head was based on some type of traditional Chinese doll or something like that. Because it’s quite distinct-looking.

Nothing came up when looking at dolls, but I did find Wamao (瓦猫, or “tile cats”).

They are clay or ceramic figures found in the southern regions of China, like Sichuan and Yunnan. And, as the name implies, they’re placed on rooftops.

Apparently in Chinese folklore, cats are believed to have the power to ward off evil spirits, so Wamao are like protective talismans.

They kind of look similar... maybe. My boy should have some fangs. And why is his head covering black when Tangyuan can come in some cool colours?

So tell me...

So I was looking through the One Piece Wiki (got so distracted that I don't even remember why I was doing that), and I came across the name:

Charlotte Tablet

One of Big Mom's brats. But my Scottish ass immediately zoned in on the name "Tablet" because that's the name of a Scottish sweet. I don't know if you get it outside of Scotland because I don't travel much, but for the uninformed, it's like fudge, except less chewy, more grainy, and it melts in your mouth. It is so god damn sweet that it's sickening. You really can't eat too much of it in one go.

So—STUPIDLY—I excitedly clicked the link to see what my boy looked like, only to find this:

I don’t know what I was expecting.

They named him after one of the sweetest things known to mankind and then made him look like a Super Saiyan LEGO Minifigure.

He gives the vibes of that one kid you know who bites. Which, that part, I’m not complaining about; I expect nothing less from the spawn of Big Mom.

But I think the saddest part about him is that he’s so boring. Granted, he’s a background character, so giving more effort to his design would be pointless...

Unless you’re me. I’m gonna redesign this little shit.

First things first—I like the messy hair look, but not this plain blond mane. I’m gonna make his hair like a thistle—purple and spiky. It just fits. His teeth feel too nice. He’s from an island made of sweets, so I want to mess up his teeth. I like the earrings; we’ll give him more. He’s kinda pale and the good kind of Scottish tablet is a butterscotch or light golden-brown hue, so I think that will be a better fit for skin tone. I can’t tell if that’s bags under his eyes or makeup—either way, I like it and we’re keeping it.

Les Machines de l'Île

Le Manège d’Andrea

La Princesse

Le Manège Carré Sénart

If you are struggling with coming up with names for your fictional currencies, this might help to know. Also, this is just info I found online, so if any of it is wrong, my bad.

Real World Currencies

Many early currencies’ names were tied to weight because coins had real precious metal in them. Before the Euro, the Deutsche Mark and the Finnish Markka drew their names from units of weight. Peso means “weight” in Spanish, and the British pound comes from the Latin word “poundus” (weight).

Some currencies got their names based on what they looked like. The Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, and Korean won all come from the shared Chinese character “圓,” meaning “round” or “round coin.” And American slang for the $100 bill is “Benjamins” and “Benjies,” referring to Benjamin Franklin’s image on the banknote.

Other currencies are tied to sovereignty. Many Scandinavian countries use a currency that comes from the Latin word “corona,” meaning “crown.” Like Sweden’s krona, Norway’s krone, Denmark’s krone, and Iceland’s króna.

Every currency has its own slang terms. “Bucks” originated in 1700s America from the common use of deer hides, or buckskins, in trade. The British quid might come from the Latin phrase “quid pro quo”, or from “mo chuid” which roughly means “my portion” in Irish. One myth says that in ancient Britain, a common form of currency was squid, and over time the pronunciation changed to ‘quid’. But this is not true.

Fictional Currencies

Fictional currencies often borrow names from actual ones. Cens (also called Sens or Cenz) from Fullmetal Alchemist are based on the real 1 sen coin, a Japanese coin worth one-hundredth of a yen. There is also Jenny from Hunter x Hunter, which is a one-letter difference from the English word “penny”.

Unlike real currencies, the names can be picked to best reflect their settings. Bells, the currency in Animal Crossing, work with the village setting. Likely because of the association with church bells.

They can be named after materials, which is just everything. Pick up a rock—that’s your currency now: rocks, stones, and pebbles. Or a clam, which is what The Flintstones did. There are also the Rupees from The Legend of Zelda games, based on rubies. (They also share a name with the real Indian Rupee).

Writers often just pick a name from a different historical period. Florens in The Witcher are based on the florins used in Medieval Europe. And Zeni from Dragon Ball gets its name from the bronze coins used in 17th-century Japan.

There are a few names that just sound like other words. Which helps them not to sound outlandish or be hard to pronounce. In Cowboy Bebop, the currency is called Woolong, which sounds like Oolong, a type of Chinese tea. And the “W” probably comes from the Woolong’s shared symbol with the Korean won. Beli/Beri from One Piece sounds like “belly” or “berry”, which is short and simple.