Los Angeles, California - Tiamat Legion Medusa isn't like anyone else, and she likes it that way. For years now she has been tattooing and modifying her body to look like a real dragon.

In a former life, Medusa was known as Richard Hernandez, a run-of-the-mill bank employee. Once she received her HIV diagnosis, however, she knew that it was time to start living life to the max.

Growing into her true self meant more than transitioning to womanhood, however. For Tiamat Legion Medusa, as she's now known, it meant becoming something more than human, becoming a half-human, half-reptile.

In a video interview for In The Know, Medusa explained why she wanted to become a dragon, saying: "I can deal with being half human as long as I'm half reptilian. What I can't deal with is being all human, because being human has not been very nice to me in my life."

On her quest to become a half-reptile, half-human hybrid, Medusa had her ears cut off, her eyeballs tattooed green, eyebrow implants inserted, her tongue bifurcated, 32 teeth removed, and scales tattooed on every surface of her body!

Medusa currently works as a fashion model, doing oddball photoshoots. She often dresses up like a demon or wears Medusa-themed headdresses, doing amazing impressions of her mythical namesake.

When asked what makes her so happy, despite all the difficult circumstances she'd had to face, Tiamat Legion Medusa says that living in the sunshine of Los Angeles as her truest self is all the reason she needs to smile.