Valentina “Val” Romanyszyn is a character in Rooster Teeth's gen:LOCK. They are a retired Russian special forces operator who thought that they were finished fighting.[1] Valentina is voiced by Asia Kate Dillon.
Valentina was involved in special operations in the Eastern European theater before being recruited into the Experimental Science Unit's gen:LOCK program.
Appearance
Valentina is a tall human of currently female biology, having physically altered their gender performance several times. They have pale green eyes, black hair that is dyed two differing shades of purple and styled in dreadlocks and commonly wears black lipstick, both in and out of uniform. They also have a narrow jawline, high cheekbones and wear purple nail polish at all times. There is also a purple facial tattoo in a spiral design on the left side of their face.
As seen in their Mindscape, as a male, "Val" appears with similarly black hair, though much shorter and spikier, and with the sides of their head shaved.
They wear a black trench coat, combat boots, an amethyst crop top, and black gloves, all accented with purple as their casual attire.
Their ESU prototype body suit is a form-fitting black suit with purple and gray armor plating over the black body glove, which is highlighted by violet lighting across the suit. Draped over it is a long, purple and gray hooded cloak. They also wear knife holsters on both sides of the hip.
Valentina's Ether avatar uses Val with red streaks across their right eye and white across their left. They wear a dark suit with matching gloves, rolled up sleeves and no undershirt. The suit itself projects a space background depicting moving stars and nebulae.
Valentina in Siege appears as a soldier dressed in steampunk fashion and armed with a handheld gatling gun.
Personality
Valentina expresses a rather cynical mindset, only engaging in battles they are sure to win and believing that the Union will always follow its enemies no matter how far they run. Because of this, they are reluctant to fight on the front line, only agreeing to partake in the gen:LOCK program in the first place because they believed it to be a purely scientific endeavor.
Valentina feels as though they owe the world nothing after a lifetime of battling the Union in eastern Europe. they originally joined the ESU's gen:LOCK program as an entirely scientific effort, wishing to leave the battlefield far behind and intend to leave behind "a beautiful corpse, an open bar tab, and no regrets." However, after witnessing injured civilians evacuated to the Anvil from a battlefield and realizing the potential for the gen:LOCK to change things, Valentina becomes more invested in using their Holon to participate in rescue duties and contributing to gen:LOCK.
Valentina can become frustrated at times but typically maintains a good nature. They chase after Cameron MacCloud during their initial Holon training when Cameron initiates a game of tag under Rufus Weller's orders, clearly enjoying the chance to have some fun with their new tech.
Valentina in their current sexual configuration tends to present as physically male when uploaded to the Ether or their Holon while presenting as female in their physical body. For one such as Valentina, this likely makes it easier for them to switch between binary genders without having to go through the process of physically altering their bodies, which while easier in their era, is still likely quite a jarring process. In fact, Valentina enjoys teasing Kazu Iida about their ambiguous origins, stating that they will never tell him what sex they were born as.
Valentina holds a great deal of personal resentment towards the Union, directly towards Yasamin Madrani for what her "perfect Union" did to them. They imply that those within it severely punish people like them.
Profile
The following information accompanies Valentina's profile in the Character Reveal Teaser #4:
NAME: ROMANYSZYN, VALENTINA P.
RANK: SR SGT (RET)
FORMER ASSIGNMENT: VANGUARD FORCE RECON, UKR
DETAIL REPORT:
SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNIT ████████. RESISTANCE AND INSURGENCY EFFORT SUPPORT, UKRAINE 20XX to 20██. HIGH APTITUDE IN LONG-RANGE MARKSMAN SUPPORT AND STEALTH/CLOSE RANGE COMBAT.
Retired 20██.
Abilities
gen:LOCK Compatibility
Valentina is one of the few people in the world capable of undergoing gen:LOCK. By having their mind digitized, they can be placed inside a Holon and operate it as if it were their own body, giving them a much greater degree of control than traditional pilots.
Marksmanship
Valentina is a skilled sharpshooter, capable of making fast, accurate shots while on the move, even managing to incapacitate three union soldiers with a single shot of an energy rifle. Their profile, formed during their time as a force recon for the Vanguard, states that they have a high aptitude in long-range marksman support. During their training for the gen:LOCK program, Valentina was able to hit practice targets with ease with both an SMG and a sniper rifle to the astonishment of their peers. Valentina is also able to operate the turret of an armored car. Their talent is so great that by using gen:LOCK phase two, Valentina is able to shoot Nemesis while seeing through Cammie's Holon after Nemesis blocked Valentina's line of sight with Nanotech.
Combat
Valentina is also proficient at melee combat, having been noted as such in a Vanguard profile and has sparred with Yasamin in their Holons on equal grounds. During the Union's attack on the Anvil, they use gen:LOCK phase two to guide Kazu through fighting with dual-wielded swords against multiple targets.
Valentina is also skilled in knife throwing, and when enhanced by their body suit is able to throw them hard enough to embed them blade-first into walls. Valentina carries throwing knives on their person and was able to incapacitate a Union soldier behind them by throwing a knife through his helmet. This talent was conferred to Kazu's Holon's swords while Valentina and Kazu were linked in phase two, helping to direct his physical power with deadly aim to hurl one of the large blades into an enemy mech.
Stealth
Valentina operated as a force recon for the Vanguard and has participated in reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions before joining the gen:LOCK program. Their profile, formed during that time, states that they have a high aptitude in stealth, and they were shown using a sniper rifle and cloaking technology. During their first training exercise for the gen:LOCK program with the goal to capture the flag, Valentina is the closest to doing this after they utilize a truck to sneak close to the flag.
Holon
After the events of "It Never Rains...", Valentina's Holon is equipped with lighter armor than the others, along with a retractable cloak with active camouflage capabilities. They also have a specially made heavy energy sniper for use with their Holon, in addition to a shortsword for close combat.
Trivia
- Valentina's callsign is "Wraith", which refers to a wisp or ghostlike image.
- Valentina's surname "Romanyszyn" may hint that their sex at birth was male. "Romanyszyn" is a male form of surname; for females, in the Russian language, the correct form would be "Romanyszyna".