CHARACTER SUMMARY
Dan Heng is a quiet, mysterious young man who, at first glance, may come off as cold and distant. He has done his best to cultivate a wall around his heart, never getting too close to others or letting people in, and certainly never discussing his past - at least for a time. Things have changed, but his overall outward demeanor is still more of less the same, and while he is much more accepting of friendships and closeness than he once was, Dan Heng is still very much a calm and cool figure, aloof by nature, and even a bit awkward in social situations. This is due to the fact that he has never really had proper socialization, never had the time or opportunity to learn how to be himself, and how to connect with others.
Born imprisoned and tortured for the formative years of his life, Dan Heng never really encountered loving attention or kindness, save but from one person. Punished for the sins of his previous incarnation, he was trapped in chains and brutalized for quite a long time before he was finally released and banished from his homeland - the Xianzhou Luofu. After this, he found his every step dogged by a man bent on killing him, a man connected to his previous incarnation, and so the only life he knew after his imprisonment was a life on the run. He skipped from place to place, fighting his immortal stalker, never able to permanently kill him, never able to fully escape him until at last he found a home on the Astral Express, the crew of which took him in without question. Thus, slowly but surely he learned what positive companionship could mean, and he began to carefully, cautiously let down his guard.
It is this companionship, and what he has learned about Trailblazing, that motivates him to keep moving forward. Though his past is ever snapping at his heels, Dan Heng has something new to live for now - his companions and friends, those who have become dear to his heart. His banishment on the Luofu has been revoked, and since then, Dan Heng has done everything in his power to begin cleaning up the mess left behind by his previous iteration. He is, in the end, a kind and compassionate man who cannot stand to see others suffer, most especially when he feels that he is responsible for it, and that he can make a difference. He cares a great deal for others, and takes the transgressions of his past life very seriously, despite the fact that he is not in fact his predecessor, but a new person with a new identity. Yet even still, he cannot stand idly by when he knows that he can make a difference, even to people he has barely known.
Though of course, his fellow Express crewmates are ever at the forefront of his mind and his priorities, and he is always willing to jump in to help or defend them should he feels that his presence is required.
As far as flaws go, Dan Heng is certainly no paragon of perfection. Rather than facing his past, he instead chose to run from it, to close himself off to people who could have helped him and supported him. He was afraid, and he gave into that fear, allowing it to chase him across the cosmos. Even now, he is very direct, unlikely to sugarcoat his words for anyone, straightforward and occasionally chilly toward people, even those that he knows well. He's awkward and uncertain, still very much finding his footing beneath him, still finding himself, learning who he is and who he wants to be. He is also very caught up in the whirlwind of his identity. He insists that he is his own person, that he is not his previous incarnation, and this is true, but the insecurity still lies within his heart, and sometimes he worries that he is only seen for his previous life, and not as the person that he is, the sum of all of his experiences since he woke up to his new life. It certainly doesn't help that he has fragmented memories of his past life lingering in his mind, as well. It's all too easy for him to occasionally trip, and blame himself for things he is not responsible for.
There can be no denying, however, that he is a very unique young man. As a Scion of the aeon Long, Dan Heng is descended from dragons, and carries on a draconic bloodline, as is evidenced by his majestic horns, and his spectral tail. Not only is he a Vidyadhara, he also carries the memories and abilities of a High Elder, the Imbibitor Lunae, which has supplied him with a vast amount of destructive power. He is also an archivist who spends a good amount of time reading, and organizing the Astral Express's data banks, often losing sleep over his work, and living a rather minimalistic existence.
OUT OF CHARACTER
▶ BACKTAGGING.
▷ YES
▶ THREADJACKING.
▷ WITH PERMISSION
▶ FOURTHWALLING.
▷ NO
▶ OFF-LIMITS.
▷ ANIMAL ABUSE
▶ SHIPPING.
▷ YES
▶ TAG STYLE.
▷ MEDIUM TO FAST PACED, BRACKETS
▶ OTHER.
▷ As Dan Heng is descended from a dragon, and has many draconic features, I headcanon that he has several anatomical differences from a human. Aside from his horns and manifested tail, I also tend to write him with patches of scales on his body, fangs, and a cooler overall body temperature. Also, on the spicy side, he has a more reptilian genital setup, which includes a vent slit through which two cocks can protrude. When he is in his human disguise, however, he has human genitalia. I also headcanon that he is able to breathe underwater, given that the Vidyadhara originate from the deep waters of an ocean world, and they go underwater to reincarnate.
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