Hello! I finally finished the reference sheet for my gator OC, Syrus. I finally have a mascot for my online presence :) Hope you all like him as much as I do! Now I just need to commission an icon for him (or make my own ig)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KrocoMaw

Lore/Story:

Syrus grew up in a poor village that was under terrible rule by a greedy king, whose guards often terrorized citizens who couldn’t pay his ridiculous taxes. They would often steal food for the king and would jail anyone who spoke out against the king. In an attempt to end his wicked rule, Syrus reached out for forbidden power beyond the mortal plane. His only wish was that the king could for once feel the hunger and starvation his citizens had to suffer through every day. His powerful call caused him to come in contact with an otherworldly demon of gluttony. The entity offered to give him a portion of his power, at a cost. Syrus was hesitant at first, but after a gruesome display where the king's guards torched a section of his village, he agreed to the demon’s conditions.

He felt the terrible power course through his veins and he began to grow until he towered over the buildings in the village. The demon had granted him immeasurable strength, but his thoughts were overrun by a primal urge to consume anything in his path. Friend or foe, he gobbled up all of the men that stood before him. The maddening hunger wasn’t just present in him though, as anyone nearby was driven into an uncontrollable frenzy. He left a path of destruction as he moved through the village. Any building that wasn’t reduced to rubble was raided by the corrupted villagers around him.

Eventually, he raided the palace and came before the corrupt king. He was even fatter and lazier than Syrus had imagined. He made a futile effort to get up from his throne but before he could rise an inch of the velvet throne, the monstrous Syrus used a gigantic clawed finger to squash him back in place. Syrus narrowed his eyes and used his newfound powers of suggestion to plague the king's mind with an incredible feeling of starvation-induced mania. The feeling was agonizing and it felt like his stomach was being painfully squeezed by a pair of chilling claws. Through the pain, the king struggled to raise his blurring vision to his adversary. The last thing the king saw was the ravenous maw of the gigantic beast.

Syrus’ rampage lasted for a little while longer before he was able to calm down and return to his normal size. He was eventually able to have a counter-curse put in place that reduced the effects of the demon. While he no longer destroyed things mindlessly, the hunger always remained, no matter how much he ate. He also involuntarily passed a small amount of this hunger to those near him. He learned that the hunger he felt would lessen as long as those near him were giving into gluttony. The citizens wanted to crown him as the new king, but he refused. He was not fit to be ruler, and even if he was able to make sure everyone in the kingdom was fed, his cursed energy would still cause them to feel hunger. While he didn’t become king, he wanted to find a way to help his community. This led him to move to the outskirts of the kingdom and open his spa.

Over the next couple of years, Syrus was able to grow the small location into a famous and wealthy resort. It was not uncommon for royalty and higher-class people to frequent his place, but despite this, he always kept his doors open for anyone that needed help. He learned how to control his powers more, but found that many of the visitors preferred being under his effect. It allowed them to eat more of the delicious food and they swore it enhanced their sense of taste. Syrus was happy to oblige, as his guest’s gluttonous tendencies caused him to feel less of his perpetual hunger, but he always had to try to not get carried away. He found that it was harder to fight against the demon if it was absorbing too much sinful energy.

As time passed, people began to associate Syrus’ spa with hedonism. It wasn’t uncommon for people to leave several pounds heavier after staying there for only a couple of weeks. Syrus was all too pleased, as he was happy that people could experience what it was like to live like the greedy king he toppled all those years ago. Besides, in his eyes, the growing waistlines of his guests showed that they were well cared for. None of his guests would ever have to feel the suffering and starvation he endured growing up. They would always have something to eat.