Arkadya Altunyan

### Relatives

Kristina Serobyan Altunyan (mother), Smbat "Sam" Altunyan (father), Stepan Altunyan (elder brother), Edgar Altunyan (younger brother), Tamara Altunyan (younger sister), Lyudmila Altunyan (paternal grandmother), Hakob Altunyan (paternal grandfather)

### Occupation

student, masked justice as the current Russalka

## Biographical information

### Place of birth

New Moscow Hospital, New Moscow, New Jersey, USA

## Physical description

### Eye color

mid brown, hooded

Arkadya Altunyan is the child of Christian, Armenian-minority Russian-American immigrants. At the beginning of the story, her parents do not know of her role as the Russalka. Her story arc revolves around her grappling with her future and dealing with major questions. Does masked justice have a place in the modern world? Can a double-life be sustainable? How long can a Magical Girl stay a Magical Girl? What happens when a Magical Girl grows up?

When confronting the different heroes and villains in this world, the Magical Girls of New Jersey are faced with their possible futures, the paths unfolding before them faster than they can handle. Will they reach their breaking point? What will they become?

Until they age out of high school and confront their future, the Magical Girls of New Jersey are the beloved mascots of their home town, their state, and their cultures, as well as hyphenated Americans as a whole. Like ambassadors, they represent the ideal versions of themselves to the world. How will they measure up to this challenge and still get good grades?!

As a foil to these young, new masked heroes, Tetra Hedron and The Lacer are two nearly middle-aged, disillusioned New York City Magical...Women. Tetra Hedron is a badass woman in STEM who made the audacious choice to discard her anonymity and become a public figure, knowing the danger that this entails. The Lacer is a full-time Masked Justice who sleeps through most of the day and tells her family and friends she works nights, which is technically true. Whatever money she earns is from her superheroics, which is inconsistent and relies on the perseverance of supervillainous activity. Having income from this secret identity is a form of tax evasion, legally, and thus the stakes are much higher than they were in high school.

## Description

Arkadya is a tall, chubby girl with a good amount of muscle and a good amount of fat. As a superhero and as a member of the swim team, she works out a lot. Her long black hair is usually in braids, pinned up at the back of her head. Her elegant roman nose and warm brown eyes are offset by a wide, crooked smile.

When in her civilian identity, Arkadya can usually be seen in sweaters, button-downs, and skirts with athletic shorts under them. A blend of comfort and fashion, she favors materials with some stretch to them, and warm colors with browns and jewel tones. When swimming, she usually wears a sports bra and floral printed board shorts. She accessorizes her backpack with numerous jingling keychains and her embroidery in traditional Armenian patterns.

Her backpack and locker are a mess of papers, disorganized but never crumpled or dirty. She says, "I have a system," and she may well be right. There's nothing she can't find, and nothing anyone else can find. The mess is like an invisible lock on her things.

Her phone isn't too old or particularly new. It's not a trendy brand, but it's in a slim and pretty floral case and a nearly invisible screen protector. The background is a selfie with her friends at school, which also serves as her lock screen. The password is the day and month of her birth, as she's "too sweaty for a fingerprint lock."

## Family and Cultural Interactions

Arkadya's mother, Kristina Serobyan Altunyan works at a local bank. She cares a lot about Arkadya and tries her hardest to ensure that her daughter has strong, Armenian, female role models and a grasp on her potential and aspirations. She encourages her to straighten up, clean up, to the point of discouraging her fashion sense and instead recommending more formal, scholarly outfits such as slacks, ties, and even blazers. To Arkadya, this is scrutiny and disdain. To Kristina, this is a mother's love. Kristina is of a similar build to Arkadya. Because of this, she tends to project some of her insecurity at times. She can be critical of Arkadya and her father's eating habits and portion sizes, and of hair styles that she thinks are unflattering on her and Arkadya's shared face shape. She discourages ponytails and other tied back styles that don't frame the face with their shape. This is to the point of reaching out and loosening strands from her daughter's hair to frame her face, then smiling over how pretty Arkadya looks after this.

Arkadya's father, Smbat "Sam" Altunyan is in the management of a local grocery store, one of many in a chain. Arkadya's parents have coordinated their hours somewhat so that Arkadya isn't alone in the morning or for too long after school. Kristina leaves for the bank early in the morning and comes home a few hours after Arkadya on non-swim days, and picks Arkadya up from any evening swim team practices and meets when needed. Smbat is there for Arkadya in the morning, usually preparing a sweet breakfast for her and making sure she has everything she needs for school. He returns home from work late, often eating after his family has already finished. The grocery store is open fairly late, so at times he won't return until after 10pm. Smbat is a quiet, soft-spoken man with a firm disposition and tendency to notice detail. He isn't anxious like his wife, and he generally tends to be less emotional than her, struggling to empathize and facilitate comfort.