Val vs. V.A.L.
A rundown of the minibot Val from the #Con AU vs the AI V.A.L. in canon.
V.A.L., from Canon
Val, from the #con AU
Species / Nature
An AI liaison from the Autobot Network. The fact she can still talk to Hashtag while offline and considers her files "local" suggests she runs entirely on Hashtag's hardware.
A Terran minibot/"cassette" originating entirely from Hashtag, who never even connected to the Autobot Network in this AU.
Name
Full name is Virtual Assistant Liaison, shortened to V.A.L.
Full name is Val, derived from the initial nickname "VA" short for "virtual assistant". She got that nickname because of her voice and her general desire to be helpful, and Hashtag wanted something to call her. The 'l' has no set meaning.
Design
Comes from the buttons in Hashtag's Cyberspace, possibly suggesting she either didn't come with a built-in graphic design and instead developed one based on Hashtag's mind somehow, or that those buttons were somehow connected to Teletraan-1 even when they controlled the GHOST Network.
Comes from the buttons in Hashtag's Cyberspace, which was just how she envisioned various signals she could send. It would all be code on the other end; this is just her imagination interpreting it in a sort of techno-'headspace' [I tend to call this her 'cyberspace'].
Personality
Seems to be fairly typical for a Virtual Assistant, including the typical snark they give them for some reason.
Shy and polite with everyone except for Hashtag, who she's much more open with. She can be a bit of a tease with her, even.
Age
It's unclear whether she is a copy of an existing AI, which could be thousands of years old, or an entirely new AI made specifically to keep an eye on Hashtag, which would be around a year or two younger than her.
Having split off from Hashtag, it could be argued she is the same age as her. Otherwise, she is around maybe half to one year younger.
Relationship with Hashtag
Unclear, but likely platonic. Sometimes lightly antagonistic? Snarky? Rude?
Complicated, but leaning romantic [comparable to that Greek myth about soulmates from The Symposium]. She teases her sometimes, and can get a bit jealous – particularly at the idea of Hashtag having another minibot.
Okay, and?
This is mostly to establish why I consider my Val essentially an OC, and yet why she still resembles the canon character with a similar name. They come from different backgrounds, but get a lot of aesthetics from the same place [Hashtag's sensibilities & mind], with Terran Val simply sharing her tastes and Canon V.A.L. trying to appeal to her or adjusting to her mind somehow etc.
It's also to establish that whatever may be true about canon V.A.L. means absolutely nothing about my Val.
And for the FAQ:
- Any future reveal about Canon V.A.L. would have no effect on my Val because, at their very base, they are different characters who share aesthetics.
- Canon Hashtag getting a different love interest would not effect my willingness to "ship" my Val and her Hashtag. They're poly anyway.
- "Ship" is in air quotes because this "ship" is just me and my girlfriend. We're fictives btw <3
- Our fictive memories can't tell you anything about canon because we're from an AU, sorry.