Husk

"I was an Overlord once, y'know? Yeah. And, uh, it was nice to have that power. But, when you're dealing with souls, while also being a gambler, the stakes are pretty high. And losing a few hands can be more than a little dangerous. So, when you're down on your luck, you'll turn to anything to keep you afloat. Even making deals yourself. So, I know what it's like to... regret the choice you made, and...know when you can't take it back."

- Husk, to Angel Dust about his own past

Husk is a sinner demon, a grumpy gambler and magician who is one of the main characters in Hazbin Hotel.

A former Overlord of Hell who lost his soul to Alastor in a bet, he and Niffty have been summoned by him to help work at the Hazbin Hotel, with Husk being its front desk clerk and bartender.

Appearance
Husk is an anthropomorphic avian cat demon. His look is evocative of a magician, paired with a casino referencing playing card theme. The sclera of his eyes are black, with light yellow irises and slit pupils. He has large and lengthy, red feather-like eyebrows with black vertical stripes near the tips, and a small black heart above each eyebrow.

His fur is a dark taupe, overlayed with white on his face, torso, feet, and upper arms. The insides of his ears are white with a red tip at the point and red heart in the center. A black tuff of fluff protrudes from each, creating the appearance of small hearts.

He has a darker shade of his fur encircling his ankles, mimicking cuffs on a set of pants. His tail is long and dark taupe colored, ending with a large spray of plume-like feathers, which are a vivid-red with black and white stripes. He has heart-shaped, light yellow paw-pads underneath the paws on his hands.

His wings are large and red, with darker taupe on the undersides. The undersides of his wings are decorated with black stripes which feature red and white roulette wheel dot markings. The outside of his wings are decorated with more black stripes, which wrap around the joints and run around a row of white roulette wheel dots.

Husk wears minimal clothing, which consists of a black top hat with a red band and a gold button-like decoration, a red bowtie around his neck, and a set of black trousers which are held by black suspenders over his shoulders.

Pilot
In the Pilot, Husk's appearance is nearly the same, only with a few difference; his sclera was a maroon-brown, his irises, paw-pads and teeth were colored in a yellow-orange, his pupils were rounder, he has darker-colored stripes and tips on his fur-tufts and ears respectively, and insides of his ears were instead three pastel-red stripes.

In addition to his clothing, he only wore his top hat and bowtie.

Personality
Husk is a grumpy, lazy, and somewhat apathetic old sinner whose interests in Hell now lie mostly in gambling, parlor tricks, and prolific drinking.

He can be gruff, standoffish and sarcastic, with a propensity to swear. Despite this, he is also surprisingly patient and able to take a lot of outlandish events in his stride, electing to just drink his problems away later.

He is very observant, having the ability to read people and understand their problems well (even when they don't themselves), which makes him quick to notice when someone isn't being genuine with him, something he doesn't enjoy. He values authenticity and seems to understand himself and his own issues well too, openly accepting that his reliance on alcohol and gambling hasn't helped him feel better.

He is surprisingly empathetic and willing to give a non-judgemental listening ear to those who need it, he shows a sweeter and more protective side to those he forms a more substantial connection to.

Still a "husk" of his former self, he claims to have "lost the ability to love" long ago, though whether literally or metaphorically is yet unclear.

Abilities

 * Flight - Thanks to his large pair of avian wings, Husk is capable of flight. Though, it has been stated that he doesn't fly often, both because he is lazy and because he is not fond of his demon form in general.
 * Molecular Acceleration – Husk has the power to take the potential energy stored in an object and convert it to kinetic energy, thus "charging" the item with explosive results. Husk throws "charging" cards at enemies and they explode.

Skillset

 * Multilingualism - Aside from English, Husk can speak the following languages fluently: Italian, Russian, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese.
 * Musical Talent - Husk can play the saxophone to a professional standard. He can also possibly play the piano.
 * Husk Cheats.jpegGambling/Sleight-of-Hand - It's unclear whether Husk has any elevated skill when it comes to the actual playing of gambling related games, such as Poker, as he's noted to frequently cheat using his sleight-of-hand talents. Husk is shown to have skill in controlling the game, however, and has the ability to take an entire pot out from under a group of other players.
 * Skilled Combatant - In "Masquerade", Husk is shown to use his cards to fight, acting as a sharp weapon for melee and throwing projectiles, and using dice acting like grenades.

Gallery

 * Husk/Gallery

Concept & Creation
Husk was originally designed by Vivziepop's younger sister, Maritza, also known as "Razz", who conceived the character as a winged cat-like humanoid, then gifted him as a character to her.

Vivziepop developed Husk with the intention of him joining her demon gang and being a close friend for Angel within the planned "Angels and Demons" arc of her then-running webcomic, Zoophobia. Vivziepop eventually realized that the collection of misfit demons she had designed to appear within the comic had the potential for their own self-contained story, and shifted them, including Husk, over to the first draft of what would eventually become Hazbin Hotel.

Vivziepop first redesigned Husk in August 2014, where she began to lean much harder visually into his magician theming, changing his fur from pure white to a mid-grey and white tuxedo pattern.

In 2015, Husk received one of his final redesigns, which streamlined him into a more animation-friendly character with better posture, a more cohesive color-scheme, and a simplification on his patterning. This design would only see relatively minor tweaks before heading into the pilot.

Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty was an influence on how Vivziepop originally envisioned the tone of Husk's voice, although Vivziepop noted that, aside from being "grumpy old people", it was funny how little else Rick and Husk had in common. Using a sample of Rick's voice as an example of what she was looking for did not play out favorably for subsequent auditions however, as many that were sent in were mere impressions of Rick rather than a unique voice of their own.

Vivziepop met Mick Lauer prior to his eventual casting as Husk's pilot voice actor. After Vivziepop's Die Young music video became successful on YouTube, she was contacted by Lauer, who brought her into his fold of Newgrounds artist friends, inviting her to feature on the MAGFest 2016: Animation Panel with him.

In October 2023, it was announced that Keith David was voicing Husk for the Amazon Prime show.

Trivia

 * Husk's name means "a dried-up, and subsequently worthless exterior of something", which is descriptive of his character, as he's shown to be merely what is left over of the man he once was.
 * When a fan informed Vivziepop that husk means "remember" in Danish, Vivziepop replied that it "kind of fits him, when you get to know his story".
 * Husk was stated to be from when he was alive.
 * Husk grew up in a casino and really likes "cheesy old magic shows" with unironic enthusiasm. As a child, he would watch the magic shows that took place in the casino. His love for magic is something he's retained, with it being described by Vivziepop as "the one thing that melts his crusty heart".
 * Husk can play the saxophone and would play for lounge bars in Vegas a lot while living.
 * Vivziepop describes Husk as the most befitting of the title "has been", in the literal definition of the phrase, more so than any of the other characters from the main cast.
 * The episode "Masquerade", may partially reference this, as Husk reveals via flashback how he lost his status and power after selling his soul to Alastor.
 * Husk’s Magic.jpeg Vivziepop describes Husk as a magician.
 * His love of magic and possible past career is also reflected in his design, the patterns of his fur being evocative of an old-fashioned magician's outfit, complete with tuxedo and spats, accessorized with a banded top-hat.
 * He has been depicted in Vivziepop's development illustrations performing card tricks with his demon powers, as well as being accompanied by a magic wand motif.
 * Husk doesn't really like the form he has taken in Hell and does not embrace it, although he has accepted it. He especially dislikes his more cat-like mannerisms, like purring, which he has no control over. He doesn't utilize his powers of flight as much as he could due to his unwillingness to truly step into his Hell-form.
 * According to Faustisse, Husk traveled a lot during his living life.
 * Faustisse confirmed Husk's orientation to be pansexual and also elaborated on the manner with which he expresses it, implying him to be gender-blind. They jokingly referred to his attitude as "any hole is a goal", adding that "If you just hid every person's upper body, all butt cheeks are up for game". This seems to be in reference to Husk's general openness to possibility as he is not shown to be promiscuous on the show.
 * In the episode "Welcome to Heaven", Husk comments that the name of the sex club they visit being "CONSENT" is a good one, which, following on from the episode "Masquerade", makes it clear that Husk understands and values boundaries.
 * Husk insecure.jpeg Vivziepop agrees with Mick Lauer's assessment of Husk as insecure in certain ways, adding that he would need "a lot of validation".
 * During a development stream for the pilot, Vivziepop mentioned that Husk's love-heart motif was in part a reference to the fact he is something of a softy on the inside, and "kinda sweet" deep down.
 * Vivziepop stated that Husk is a cuddler and "a very fluffy, cuddly animal", but, that it's not something that just anyone gets to see, and that ultimately the only person who would get to experience that about him would be a significant other.
 * According to Faustisse, Husk is great with children.
 * According to Dave Capdevielle, Husk is "very deeply emotionally troubled", which is why he drinks a lot.
 * VivziePop describes Husk as "definitely one of the most jaded characters on the show".
 * Husk is a surprisingly patient character. Contrary to what could be assumed of him, it takes a lot to push him to the point of explosiveness and he can endure a lot. Vivziepop described him as "the (proverbial) straight man" of the group in the sense that he is constantly having to deal with the other characters' drama, as they are often bickering with each other, where Husk will just take himself away to drink.
 * Vivziepop described Alastor as having a fairly uncharitable view of a lot of his male acquaintances, and that he would acknowledge them as an unflattering collection of their most basic traits. She said Alastor sees Husk as "sad", "lonely", "alcohol", and "gambling".
 * When discussing the characters' cooking abilities, Vivziepop said that Husk just eats "shitty bar food".
 * Husk is described as the "protective, grumpy, drunk, angry uncle of the group", who loves gambling and cigars. He is a gambling addict and an alcoholic, who is described as actively fighting his gambling addiction in Hell.
 * Husk utilizes his love of sleight-of-hand magic to frequently cheat at gambling. This is demonstrated in the pilot episode when Alastor teleports Husk to the hotel and he is shown holding both duplicate and non-existent cards when announcing his "full house" win.
 * Husker by Vivziepop.jpeg While Husk has yet to show any unique demonic powers, Vivziepop confirmed that Husk indeed has powers of his own; when asked who would win in a fight, Husk or Angel, Vivziepop was unsure, saying it would be an intense battle if they were both really trying to win, with Angel being faster, more agile and more accurate, but Husk having more power.
 * She has previously drawn illustrations of Husk wielding a yellow electricity-type power from the hearts on his paws when manipulating cards during Husk's development.
 * Faustisse does not think that Husk is physically strong in a bodily sense.
 * Although, Husk initially appears very distanced from those around him and no longer interested in meaningful relationships beyond his usual bottle of booze, he is shown to be forming a connection to the residents at the Hotel. Particularly with Angel Dust, and the two can often be seen with each other at the Hotel after resolving their tension in the episode "Masquerade". Vivziepop has described Husk as Angel's "best friend" during her later development streams for the pilot. She also implied that Husk may begin to take responsibility for the younger and more delinquent members of the hotel in the future.
 * According to Vivziepop, Husk's casino lifestyle, alongside his pilot voice actor, Mick Lauer's, fluency in Mandarin, was an influence on his multilingualism.
 * On December 20, 2022, a recipe for Husk's Holiday Grog drink was given out to people who signed up for the official website's newsletter.

Development

 * Husk made his first animated appearance in Vivziepop's animatic short, Daddy Issues, where he watches with amusement from the audience as Angel roasts his father and brother on stage.
 * On April Fool's Day 2018, Vivziepop's channel released a short comedic fake trailer for the Hazbin Hotel pilot, in which Husk drunkenly rambles about how bad modern trailers are. Within the ad-libbed dialogue, Husk makes a joke about having fought in Vietnam (world boxing tour).
 * Despite the obvious comedic tone of the fake trailer, the idea of Husk fighting in Vietnam, or just being a war veteran in general, became so widespread within the fanbase that it prompted Faustisse to clarify with Vivziepop that she had not, in fact, made this part of his canon backstory, to which Vivziepop replied, "No. I have no idea what that is. I've never heard of it".
 * Vivziepop had mentioned in a pre-pilot art stream that she had been playing with the idea of Husk as being of of Russian or part Russian heritage. However she also stated that she hadn't decided this for certain, so it's unclear if this has since changed with Husk's further development and recasting.
 * On a much older development stream, Vivziepop talked about it being a potential long-running joke that, while the other characters are all always arguing, Husk could constantly be found lying on the couch completely dispassionately watching the TV. The joke was that there would always been porn on the TV as it was viewed as just the regular entertainment in Hell, and also serve to illustrate Husk's lack of interest in things as he wouldn't react to it in any way. This idea seems to have been abandoned within the show itself, although called back to in the form of Angel showing the hotel residents his porn on the living area TV in the episode "Masquerade", and Husk being completely unimpressed.
 * Vivziepop joked that Husk is one of the easier characters for her to write as he doesn't really care much about anything anymore and is almost always grumpy, causing him to have similar deadpan reactions to everything.