Tianlong

Tianlong is an agent in the Department of Internal Affairs. He is written by SkarmorySilver.

Appearance
Named after the highest order of Asian dragons, Tianlong is a Yinglong, a winged variety capable of powered, non-magical flight. Like other such dragons, he has a typical chimeric mixture of various animal parts: the head of a camel, the eyes of a demon, the antlers of a stag, the ears of an ox, the neck of a snake, the belly of a clam, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, and the feet of a tiger. Thirty feet long from snout to tail, his color scheme is primarily black and purple, with bright golden eyes, large fin-like wings running down the length of his back, and a long whip-like tail with a paintbrush-like tuft. His forehead is adorned with a pearl-like jewel, called a chimu, from which typical dragons project a magical field to ascend to the sky.

Like other Asian dragons, Tianlong is capable of assuming a human form for convenience. As a human he has pale skin, and dark purple hair in a ponytail. He usually wears a tuxedo which splattered with paint of various colors, varying depending on the circumstances.

Abilities
Much like others of his kind, Tianlong is capable of using powerful magic, and in keeping with the legend that dragons introduced writing to humans, he can channel it in the form of calligraphy. By secreting paint in various colors from his tail, he can draw various symbols in the air and perform spells as great in variety as a typical Potter-verse wizard. The main limitations are that he can only cast one spell at a time, preventing him from abusing his magic, and that the only way he can use it in the first place is with his tail; disabling it therefore cuts off his most important ability.

Because of his history (see below), Tianlong is functionally immortal. However, he is also relatively fragile in combat despite his scales, and is generally reluctant to engage in close quarters unless necessary as his only melee skills are his bite and constricting with his long body. Generally he prefers to keep his distance, using his magic and his incredibly long tail to fend off opponents.

Personality
Tianlong's kin are a symbol of good fortune in his home territory, and naturally he has to live up to his lore however he can. As with other dragons, about two-thirds of his scales are of the yang essence (positive) and the remaining third are yin (negative). He is benevolent, patient, and understanding, willing to serve as a sounding board for the problems of others as well as offer advice in return. His history as a PPC agent has rendered him generally aloof, and he does not like doing typical officer things, but he feels that his capability of doing them is what matters, and it's once he bonds with people when his supportive demeanor shines through.

Behind this altruism, however, Tianlong hides guilt for the failures he has previously experienced, and one of his main faults is that he has a habit of pretending they don't exist, attempting to focus on the future while screening out the past and the potential lessons it could contain. He especially likes being in control of the situation and it is often hard to steer him away from a direction that could harm himself or others in the long run. This is because his greatest fear is his failure to meet expectations, especially being unable to stop or control catastrophes such as the incident that led to his former partner leaving the DIA - a fiasco which he can never forgive himself for.

Agent History
Tianlong comes from the same original continuum as his former partner, Rashida Mafdetiti. Like her, he was one of the major characters and a fragment of the creator deity in corporeal form; also like her, Tianlong sought the PPC as a means of validating his identity. Knowing that their power would be too great to risk going into badfic on a regular basis, the two of them agreed to join the DIA as a team, and for a time they were able to work together to protect Headquarters and help agents in need.

Unfortunately, things went wrong in early 2014, when a disastrous attempt to save a DMS agent team from a bloodthirsty character replacement lead to the death of one of the participants as well as the injury of everyone else including himself. Not long after their recovery, the two officers had a falling out, and Rashida transferred to the DF, leaving Tianlong to continue working as a solo officer for at least a year.

In early-to-mid-2015, Rashida would be placed in FicPsych for anger issues, whereupon Tianlong met her again and reached a tenuous rapport with her. At the same time, he adopted a new recruit, Suta, as his trainee, in the hopes of making up for the debacle that had led to Rashida leaving in the first place. Meanwhile, Rashida herself had her first prophecy, and Tianlong would come to reconcile with her and work together with her to figure out its meaning. Tianlong is currently doing double-duty continuing Rashida's work and attempting to keep his rowdy trainee under control, in the hopes that he can prevent another cataclysm before it begins.

Appearances

 * "A Bad Taste in the Mouth" - Debut.
 * "Shenanigans at FicPsych" - Discusses Rashida's prophecy with Sarah Katherine Squall and Violet Rose Greenfield.
 * "How To Train Your T. rex" - In which Suta learns a little more than she bargained for about her DIA instructor.
 * "Open The Door, Get On The Floor" - Cameos in the post-mission.