Deltarune Brainrot

It is also… really vocally hated. Vitriolically hated in a way I was surprised to see. I have seen some very, very intensely hateful things spewed about a ship that is really not all that problematic, all things considered—including insults towards the people who simply enjoy the ship, even statements blaming all shippers of Huskerdust collectively for the death of an innocent who was harassed. I… was honestly flabbergasted. While this is far from my first fandom, it is the first where I’ve seen vitriol on this level spewed. People commenting on random posts I and others make about the ship just to express their thoughts on how bad it is—and  oh, boy, do these people repeat a lot of the same talking points.

I will preclude this by saying that you are allowed to dislike Huskerdust. If you do, for whatever reason, that is valid. A ship is a ship, and you are allowed to dislike it for whatever reason. If you dislike this ship, and nothing I say changed your mind in the slightest, not only do I not begrudge you for it, I honestly laud you for reading through all of this despite your dislike of the ship. I thank you for being willing to hear me out at all.

That being said, I see a lot of criticisms that are not only not particularly accurate criticisms, but also flung at completely innocuous posts of this ship I have fixated on. And when you see this much hatred of something you love that you literally cannot filter out (unless I want to never open the comments of anything where Husk and Angel interact)... it gets old.

So, I thought I’d respond to some of the most common criticisms. But then, I thought about it more, and my fingers kept typing, and typing, and then I thought—you know what? Let me expand on a few points. And then, I ended up here, with a massive document analyzing just about every single prominent interaction, moment of symbolism, and theory I can think of. Honestly, it’s not even purely a shipping document anymore—a lot of it is just a general analysis of their character dynamic as a whole.

If you’re purely interested in reading about the more romantic analysis, no shame! I know I’d suggest skipping over the “Masquerade” and “Pre-Masquerade” sections. If you disagree with anything, feel free to leave a comment explaining your POV! It’s not necessarily about arguing, but rather because… well, I might just actually be wrong! Who knows? Maybe there’s something I missed from an old live or interview. Tell me and I’ll fix it!

Also, also, on the off chance anyone is interested in my ranting, I might add a section analyzing pilot-era content, but for now, this is already getting long enough as is.

Prelude: Usual Criticisms

Picture this: You are scrolling on any given social media platform of your choice, and you find a Huskerdust video. It’s a harmless video, nothing problematic, just, maybe, an animatic or something. An edit to a trendy song. A fun headcanon. The creator just wanted to share their love for this ship.

And then, you open the comment section. I can almost guarantee you that you are bound to see several of the points mentioned in the headings below in some way or another, and I can do the same when it comes to saying you will almost never see a criticism of the ship that isn’t these same points, or some variation of them.

If you disagree with said critiques, then hopefully this puts into words what exactly is wrong with them. And if you agree with them, I hope this can change your mind.

“But Angel harassed Husk?”

While this is true, and Angel’s behavior towards Husk in the first few episodes was completely and utterly unacceptable, this harassment is called out every time it happens, culminating in Husk telling him outright that part of the reason (Yes, part, his biggest complaint was about the disingenuous nature of it all) he dislikes Angel is that the other constantly disrespects his boundaries.

By the time there is any potential for romance between the two of them, they have established an amicable relationship, and Angel has acquiesced to both of the things Husk wanted him to do: Cutting the act by opening up to Husk, and stopping the boundary pushing behavior. This is hell, and everyone does bad things. What matters is how these bad things are handled by everyone involved, and in the case of Angel’s harassment of Husk, the only thing he could have possibly done further was a verbal apology—which, while nice, is not completely necessary. Angel has shown his remorse through actions by listening to Husk and changing his behavior.

“This ship romanticizes sexual harassment!”

Similar to the previous criticism but also different. A lot of people think that it is problematic not just because Angel harassed Husk, but because shipping them is romanticizing said harassment. That it is viewing the ways in which Angel pushes Husk’s boundaries as something sweet, as shipping fodder.

To which I say it really, really doesn’t.

Before Masquerade, the episode where this harassment is addressed and stopped (mind you, an episode that takes place a fourth through the show, meaning the vast majority of their development occurs after this), Huskerdust was far less popular. 8,180 out of 8,903 of the works written for Huskerdust were posted/updated after the release of this episode—a whopping 91.9%. Why? Because the draw of the ship for the majority of fans, and from that the show itself presents—is from how they bring out the best in one another. The development of their relationship in the show only occurs after this mistreatment is stopped. And the only reason it develops like that is because Angel finally opens up and stops the hassling.

In no way is his harassment ever rewarded. It is always punished—Husk pushing him off, shoving him, calling him out, and others’ opinions of him being lowered. This is not a case of a story where mistreatment is viewed as “pigtail pulling” or rightful discomfort is viewed as “playing hard to get”. Their relationship is not some sort of “Angel’s persistence pays off”. It is him being called out, pushed right back until he finally has to do what Husk has been asking him to do, and only then being met with kindness in turn. It is a person doing bad things and creating mutual animosity until he is finally pushed to open up—which allows them both to finally develop mutual respect and affection. 

“Isn’t there a big age gap between the two of them?‘

If you’re counting in Earth years, technically… and even then, it’s a man in his thirties and a man in his sixties. Both are more than mature enough to make their own decisions. Angel is not going to be taken advantage by Husk somehow—Plus, the main two reasons for age gaps being problematic are that:

One party has a more developed brain/body than the other

One party is more experienced in worldly matters than the other

Both of these things end up meaning that the younger person is likely to be taken advantage of. Angel is a sex trafficking victim who has experienced all the horrors of hell for decades now—he is not in a position where he is likely to be taken advantage of. Both their brains are fully developed, and furthermore…

If we look at the years Husk and Angel were born, you get 1910 and 1917. That is a seven year age gap between two individuals who are over a century old. If you still genuinely believe that the gap in their year of death makes the relationship problematic, I suppose I can’t change your mind—But I will remind you that plenty of other popular ships (notably Chaggie and Radioapple) have far bigger age gaps than that of Huskerdust. Do you condemn these ships too?

“What about the maturity gap between them? Husk acts more like Angel’s father figure/mentor!”

Husk offers Angel advice at a point when he is at his lowest, and comments on his progress in redeeming himself. These are really the only ways in which Husk acts in a way that could be considered ‘fatherly’ towards Angel. And even in that regard, his song to Angel is literally called “Loser, Baby”. The nickname ‘baby’ is very traditionally romantic, and while this doesn’t have to necessarily mean romance, it also certainly isn’t a fatherly term. 

In season two, these two notions are further dispelled. We see that no, Husk is not perfect himself, and has a long way to go. He pushes Angel into something he’s not ready for, albeit with good intentions, and gets upset with Angel for risking himself to try and save him due to his own self-loathing. There is not a massive maturity gap between them—Angel was just in an extremely bad place and lashing out at the time. Once we move past that, they really are on even footing, which season two highlights.

Angel does behave in a manner some would consider ‘childish’ in Season Two—such as lounging on the bartop, but the important thing to note here is the context. It’s all playful, lighthearted banter, and at no point does Husk appear to be genuinely upset with anything Angel does, especially looking at his reactions compared to how when he was genuinely telling Angel off in Season One. When things do get serious, however? When they do fight? Angel handles the conflict very maturely. He only calls out that which deserves to be called out, doesn’t spew unnecessary insults or things he doesn’t mean, doesn’t give Husk the cold shoulder, and doesn’t hold a grudge.They’re back to normal the next day. 

If Angel were truly as childish as many fans make him out to be, he would’ve spent this scene holding a large grudge, but notably, he doesn’t do this. He doesn’t sulk, or pout, or lash out, or do anything immature, despite the fact that he has been treated in a way that is indefensibly wrong by the others at the hotel—Husk is probably the smallest offender here compared to Charlie, but since I’m still talking about how Angel is not as immature as many fans make him out to be, I still think it’s worth mentioning. Angel was dragged around in front of the friends of his abusers and shamed for his manner of dress, roped into a stunt that risks the life of one of the people at the hotel he cares about most, and then further humiliated on something that will be broadcasted to his abuser, having his earthly sin revealed to all. If he were truly so immature, he would have lashed out, reacted cruelly, or fallen back on his old ways.

But he doesn’t do that. He tells Charlie nothing but the truth, that her apology means little when she keeps repeating the same boundary pushing behavior, tells Husk when confronted that he was pushed into the speedrun to redemption despite his uncertainty about it, and does not act cruelly towards anyone else.

We also see that Husk falls back on his addiction in Scream Rain—he relapses. He is not some wise old caretaker figure, but a flawed person in his own right. He needs help and he gets it through Angel’s performance of Losing Streak, which serves a functionally similar purpose to Loser, Baby, a song with lyrics that might seem insulting and upsetting, but ultimately offer hope and company. Angel also helps Husk with his own self-loathing in this same way, responding to his “I’m just a sad drunk at a bar” with “and I’m just a sex worker whose lunch was three cigarettes”—he is doing a very condensed version of what Loser, Baby does, saying that Husk is right, and his situation is miserable, but Angel is also in a similar situation, and the subsequent toast serves to again reaffirm that they can proudly be losers together.

Husk’s comfort of Angel is not mentorship. It is company offered by someone in the same situation. Angel is the one who needs this sort of comfort in Season One, hence why Husk is the one who gives it, but we see in Season Two that this is reciprocal. 

(Husk staring at Angel’s chest fluff while the two of them talk. Not a very fatherly gaze, is it?)

With all of this said, I really can’t bring myself to believe Husk sees himself as a mentor or father figure to Angel.

“What Angel needs right now is a healthy, platonic friendship. He’s already had enough of people only wanting him for sex.”

This particular critique is particularly confusing to me simply because it is so, absolutely wrong. It’s wrong in both of the points it makes. Because for one, Angel does not desperately need a healthy, purely platonic friendship—he has one with Cherri Bomb. And with the other denizens of the hotel—Charlie in particular. 

Furthermore, Angel Dust… is a sex worker. People want him for his body. For sex. The denizens of hell are not lining up to wine and dine him, they aim to use him for their own pleasure. That is what Angel has had enough of. People who exclusively care about his body and having sex with him. By the idea of ‘giving Angel someone who doesn’t just want him for sex’, a romantic relationship with someone who doesn’t expect sex from him would really do more in that regard, no? If anything, it’s someone who loves him for him—that’s what Angel ‘needs’. A romantic relationship with someone who unabashedly cherishes him would be fantastic for that. 

(Of course, I don’t think he ‘needs’ a romance, but I am saying that a romance with someone who genuinely loves Angel for Angel would be good for him, if anything, rather than perpetuating the same thing he goes through daily.)

”But doesn’t Husk make fun of Angel for being a victim of sexual assault in Loser, Baby?”

Husk calls Angel a ‘loser’, in the sense that he is someone who has, well, lost. He is a loser because his life is miserable and he is riddled with baggage and turns to substance and harasses others to cope. And this may seem incredibly insensitive at first—hell, we see Angel himself get upset about this, but it becomes apparent the point that Husk is trying to make. He says—”but you’ve got company”. He says “it’s okay to be a [loser]”. The term ‘loser’ here is explicitly not meant to be a term of shame. It’s accompanied by the endearment baby and Husk guiding Angel through a dance. The intention of the initial “let me just say you’re correct“—is two things:

Surprise Angel out of his spiral. Before this point, Angel was utterly miserable, having finally been forced to admit how he really feels, how much he hates everything, how he tries to destroy himself with substances so that Valentino won’t want him anymore. And it shows in his expression. He is miserable and crushed. After the finishing of the introduction, however, this misery turns to defensiveness. He’s annoyed, and annoyance is better than spiraling misery. It’s saying something surprising to snap someone out of a spiral.

Make it clear he isn’t going to offer the same, empty platitudes that Angel has likely grown used to hearing from everyone around him. Angel lives a lie—perpetually acting the part of a hotshot celebrity who loves his life—as shown in Poison, and is used to hearing that his life isn’t all that bad from others and from himself. Husk establishes that he is not going to be doing that by saying that Angel is correct: He has a problem and is at rock bottom.

(The expression Angel is making before vs after Husk drops the twist. One of these is absolutely crushed, and the other is more like “What is your problem bitch”. Definitely an improvement.)

He then proceeds to tell Angel that he is not alone—”you think that makes you unique” is doing just that. It isn’t decrying Angel, telling him that he’s not special or something, at least, not in a bad way. The aim is to tell Angel his situation isn’t a hopelessly alone pit of misery. And yes, he doesn’t understand Angel’s situation. They aren’t the same. Angel is sexually and physically abused by Valentino daily, while Husk… is not abused like this by Alastor. Full stop. Alastor does not rape Husk. He fundamentally is not in the same situation as Angel.

The question lies, however, in whether Angel wants to hear this. Would he, as someone who is at rock bottom, enduring awful, crushing abuse every single day and turning to substances to cope, want to be told that he is alone? That his situation is a unique misery that Husk can say nothing to but “that’s so awful”? Or would he rather be told by someone—”I understand what it’s like to be owned and mistreated”? That there are others he can relate to and find solace in? Yes, Husk does not understand everything Angel is going through, but he can understand that feeling of being owned, of being considered lesser and being mistreated, and that understanding is exactly what Angel needs. There’s a reason he ends the song dancing with Husk and saying “maybe if we eat shit together, things will end up differently” and not pushing him away again.

There is also the matter of the actions taken in the song. It is incredibly gentle with Angel—there is none of what happens in Poison, no tossing him around, yanking him into things. Husk protects Angel from getting vomit on him, dances around him, always offers him a hand rather than taking it (Mind you, Angel always took the hand when it was offered, showing that he was never too upset with the situation, even near the beginning). The dance is intimate and slow. Husk guides Angel through it at first, but does not force him into anything, or drag him around. It’s all very sweet, and certainly nothing intended to be cruel or minimizing.

(The face of a person being cruelly mocked and made fun of, most certainly.)

“Doesn’t Husk call Angel ‘Kid’?”

Yeah, he does. No objections here. But ‘kid’ is in fact a nickname used in romantic contexts—at least, in the time Husk is from. Husk and Angel were both born in the 1910s, and lived their adult years from the 1930s-1940s (though Angel died some time in the 1940s). During this time period, the term ‘kid’ was used as a romantic endearment—most notably, the famous movie Casablanca, with “Here’s looking at you, kid.” The term ‘kid’ does not necessarily imply the speaker sees the listener as a mere child.

Here's Looking At You, Kid - Casablanca (5/6) Movie CLIP (1942) HD

“Wouldn’t you hate it if Husk was a girl/the genders were switched?”

This is one of those questions that is often asked about queer ships, as I’ve come to realize with time. And it is also a question that poses little weight. Straight ships with all sorts of flaws are incredibly popular and respected. Dark romance is an incredibly popular genre, and people love romances where the male lead is awful, cruel, and abusive towards the female lead. You can debate all you’d like about the gender roles and whatnot, but the fact of the matter is that a man hassling a woman does not automatically make a ship between the two of them unpopular.

In fact, I’d like to bring up The Amazing Digital Circus, another popular indie show, one with a male character who frequently harasses the female cast and is not, in fact, hated by the fandom. In fact, Jax from TADC is the most popular character in the show, and both FunnyBunny (Jax x Pomni) and FunnyDoll (Jax x Ragatha) are incredibly popular ships. While Huskerdust would most certainly be less popular were they not both men, this is due to fandom’s general tendency to center men, nothing to do with gender related double standards. Look at how often Chaggie is sidelined in favor of other ships, for an example.

“But the fans are so toxic.”

With all due respect… The Hazbin hotel fandom has a lot of toxic shippers. Every fandom does. I have heard incidents of Huskerdust shippers doing awful things. This is completely wrong and I feel awful for any and all victims of harassment. But this behavior is a result of a toxic fandom culture encouraged by online spaces that discourage empathy and fuel race and radicalization. Fandom harassment is a problem across fandoms, as is harassment for different opinions in general. From personal experience, however, the majority of people are, well, normal. Harassment is an issue fostered by the problems I just mentioned. People do not have the same empathy for one another they would in person, and it’s easy to take advantage of anonymity to say awful things.

But the fact that internet discourse has gotten more and more vitriolic over time, to the point where people are legitimately harassed into suicide over it? This is a serious problem, and blaming it all on “a ship having toxic fans”, using it to perpetuate hatred of an online ship? Not only does that not help, but you are only fuelling a cycle of animosity and hatred over a trivial difference—the fictional characters two people want to see together. An individual pairing having toxicity in its fandom is more than a commentary of the nature of that pairing/the kind of fans that pairing attracts, it is a commentary on our society in general.