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
Hedeon Kotov, more commonly known as 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. Now, 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 yellow irises and slitted pupils. He has long, red eyebrows with black vertical stripes near the tips, and a small black heart above each eyebrow.
His fur is taupe-colored, 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 taupe encircling his ankles, mimicking spats. His tail is taupe and long, ending with a large spray of "plume-like" fur or feathers, which are dark pink with black and white stripes. He has yellow-orange hearts underneath the paws on his hands.
His wings are large and red, with dark taupe on the undersides. The undersides of his wings are decorated with black stripes which feature red and white roulette wheel dot markings. His 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 black pants with black suspenders over his shoulders and a red bowtie. He also wears a black top hat that has a red hat band and a golden button-like decoration.
== 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.
Surprisingly empathetic and willing to give a unjudgemental 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.
Though grumpy and hostile at first, he appears to have a deep sense of love for his three daughters, Ara, Crymini, and Auggie, as well as for his best friend and crush, Angel Dust.
== Powers and Abilities ==
=== Natural Powers ===
* Immortality ― As a sinner who has already experienced death, Husk is incapable of dying via conventional means, such as aging or illness, and is eternally stuck at the age he died in.
** Regeneration ― As a sinner, Husk can regenerate from horrifying injuries. His regeneration was best displayed when Vox mutilated him by tearing his wings from his body, only for his wings to grow back a mere day after the injury was sustained. Later, while fighting the Vees' goons, Husk regenerated from a shotgun blast to the abdomen at point-blank range. While the attack was enough to severely hurt him and leave him suffering from the effects of shock, the wound still regenerated in under several minutes.
** Nigh-Invulnerability ― Husk, as an undead sinner demon, is able to take a lot of damage before being actually hurt.
* 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.
=== Unique Powers ===
* 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.
* Creation ― Husk can produce poker cards and chips from his hands.
* Electrokinesis ― Husk can release streams of yellow electricity from his paws. However, he is not very skilled at using his ability at all, and is rarely able to concentrate enough to project a stream powerful enough to destroy structures and send his enemies flying several feet back.
* Probability Manipulation ― Husk's primary supernatural ability is affecting probability in his favor to save himself and/or his allies from certain death, make accurate decisions even if he does not truly know the answer, and give himself the advantage in any situation.
* Telekinesis ― Husk possesses the power of telekinesis and can, at the very least, make poker cards float and move in intricate motions.
=== Abilities ===
* 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.
* Gambling ― 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.
* Brewing Mastery ― As a bartender, Husk is fantastic at brewing alcoholic beverages of many kinds.
* Purring ― Husk has the ability to purr like a cat, especially when he is doing something greatly satisfying to him such as being praised or when Angel Dust scratched him behind the ear.
=== Weapons ===
* Exploding Cards and Dice ― Using his molecular acceleration abilities, Husk is able to weaponize regular playing cards and dice.
== Songs ==
=== Season 0 ===
* Smile Like You Mean It ― Background Lines (with Alastor); Before "That's Entertainment!"
* We're Sure to Drown ― Duet with Charlie; Between "That's Entertainment!" and "Overture"
=== Season 1 ===
* Loser, Baby ― Duet with Angel; Season 1, Episode 4 - "Masquerade"
* Finale ― Group Song with Charlie, Vaggie, Lucifer, Alastor, Valentino, Vox, Cherri, Ara, Niffty, and Kahlani; Season 1, Episode 9 - "The Show Must Go On"
== Trivia ==
* Husk's Hogwarts House is Gryffindor.
* Husk's Godly Parent is Dionysus.
* His name "Husk" is symbolic of his character, reflecting how he has become a mere remnant of the person he once was, dried up and devoid of worth.
** In the Danish language, "Husk" (Skaller) translates to "remember," which is particularly apt as a significant aspect of Husk's arc revolves around recollecting the hopeful and passionate man he once was.
*His theme song would either be "House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals, or "Take It from an Old Man" from Waitress the Musical.
*Husk has various traits similar to that of an actual cat:
**He purrs whenever he is pleased or enamored by something, and hisses whenever he is angry or threatened.
**According to Angel Dust, he secretly has a fondness for milk.
**He has a fondness for mozzarella cheese, much like how cats love cheese.
**He is terrified of cucumbers, as shown by his reaction to Angel pranking him with one.
**He instinctively hates water, as shown by his reaction of being in the Envy Ring. He also committed suicide in life by drowning himself, possibly explaining his cat-like form.
**He has a sour exterior but a soft and sweet interior.
**According to Charlie, Husk likes to sleep in high places with good vantage points, like many cats do.
*As a child, Husk grew up in a casino, thus all he really knows is that kind of life.
*Husk regularly shares his recipes, such as the renowned Holiday Grog cocktail drink, with the residents of the Hazbin Hotel via emails. Given his advanced age and limited familiarity with technology, he frequently seeks assistance from Angel Dust, though this leads to Angel incorporating suggestive innuendos into the hotel's newsletter, to Husk's frustration.
*He has always wanted to go to the Greed Ring, which is known for its abundance of casinos.
*It is comically implied that Husk has attempted suicide while in Hell; when telling Niffty to quit dancing on the hotel's clean, slippery stairs, he tells her to stop trying to break her neck, because he tried once and it "didn't work".
*He can play the piano and saxophone at a concert level.
*As of Season 1, he is Ara's adoptive father. As of Season 3, he is also the adoptive father of Crymini.
**He also has a biological daughter named Auggie from his marriage on Earth.
*Husk is indeed a person who enjoys cuddling, yet this affectionate side of him is a privilege reserved for someone special. Only a significant other would have the privilege of experiencing this tender aspect of his personality.
*Husk was born on March 27th, 1900, making him the oldest member of the hotel biologically.
**This makes him an Aries and makes his Chinese zodiac sign a Rat.
*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 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.
*Husk is fluent in 7 languages: English, Russian, Italian, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese.
**This is due to the fact that he traveled quite a lot in his life
*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.
*Vivziepop agrees with Mick Lauer's assessment of Husk as insecure in certain ways, adding that he would need "a lot of validation".
*Husk is great with children.
**Additionally, by the end of Season 3, he has three daughters, further emphasizing this fact.
*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.
*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.
*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.
**This is emphasized in the Season 2 episode "Cake", where he gets Ara to open up about her abusive relationship with Velvette, and Alastor to hesitantly open up about his past with Vox.
== Other Links ==
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