analysis on candy apple and black sapphire dynamics cuz i want to share thoughts about them outside of their attachment to smilk & i need them out of my head 🫶
their backstory is never stated directly and a lot is unknown yet, but it's implied that shadow milk gave baby candy apple (who might be his creation) to black sapphire so he would take care of her while he's absent. imagine your employer dropping a random baby at you and disappearing forever that's wild...
"Black Sapphire Cookie claims he practically raised Candy Apple Cookie... Whether it's true or not, she doesn't buy it!"
an important part of this context is not only that black sapphire has been the primary caretaker of candy apple but he has been the only one, as shadow milk was absent for a long time. it's unclear how much of shadow milk she has seen before the main story, but I believe that he has not been much more than a vague presence in her life (which contributes to why she sees him as a literal god). while shadow milk and black sapphire are both people who candy apple depends on and sees as authorities, there's a contrast in how she approaches them: with shadow milk, she severely idealizes him, thinks the whole purpose of her creation is to serve him, and desperately wants approval but ultimately sees him as unachievable (which is where the desperation comes from in the first place, and why her feelings on him are so exaggerated and detached from reality). with black sapphire, she can be very mean and unmanageable, and comes off as that she doesn't acknowledge his authority whatsoever. the way they can stand each other's terrible emotional management and bullying indicates a very casual (for the lack of better word) relationship, but there's something else about it: she can easily act demanding and spoiled with him because she sees him as her direct caretaker. she knows he will listen to her and will do whatever she wants anyway, as long as she keeps on being stubborn.
(the year end show is funny because not only she tried to disrupt his show (and succeeded at this) so he would pay attention to her but she also attempted to drag cream ferret into it which implies she was being jealous that he's paying attention to cream ferret instead of her)
she also sees him as a role model, in the way she wants to match his appearance or learn the skills he has:
despite acknowledging him as her caretaker in how she behaves, she denies that he raised her, and disobeys and mocks him a lot. I think a big reason for this is that candy apple wants to be shadow milk's "creation" regardless of her actually being one or not, and the fact that she was in practice raised by another person ruins everything. but also considering their background, I wonder if for her it's a way to gain her independence. others see her as the weakest and youngest one, and someone who is mostly capable of not helping but interfering with "adult" business; her desperate need for attention and approval comes from her feeling like a bother. she wants to prove she's also capable and deserves to stand on an equal ground with black sapphire as fellow servant of shadow milk, that she's not a little child who can only be dismissed.
what adds more into it is that black sapphire is easily angered by her disobedience (and sometimes the fact she's around him in general but i'll mention it later) and is harsh when trying to take control of her. he orders her around in ways that make sure she gets reminded of her lesser position, even at times when he's trying to protect her for her own sake, and restricting the expression of herself and her emotions, only further confirming that she's being a bother by being herself. he has some really really bad parenting strategies
so she sees him as someone who meets her needs but also as someone who is constantly controlling and trying to suppress her. she draws him as being mad at her happiness 😭
from black sapphire's side, his frustration with candy apple is caused by that he didn't ask for this and didn't learn how to manage a child, it was a duty given to him by shadow milk so he didn't have any choice, and he probably still formally presents it as something that shadow milk asks him to do rather than something he does out of his own will (the same way that candy apple doesn't admit that he raised her because they are normal about their emotional attachment to each other). he does also acknowledge himself as her caretaker and genuinely worries for her safety, which is why he gets over-controlling at times and spoils her at other times. shadow milk also thinks of him as someone directly responsible for candy apple so everyone here is in agreement that it's part of his job
(one of his tap interactions is "Candy Apple Cookie!!! Oh, it's you.", in korean voiceover, he says the first sentence in an irritated tone and the second sentence in a laid-back tone, brushing it off. it is cute that his immediate thought was that it's candy apple cookie bothering him for attention)
there's something else about why he's frustrated with her, and the general way these two fight with each other. the whole deceit trio is very emotionally defensive. black sapphire and shadow milk are both obsessed with keeping up an impressive image, and both are entertainers who are supposed to control their emotions and choose which ones they show to the audience rather than letting them flow. shadow milk is very straightforward with viewing needs and emotions as a weakness, although is not known for his self-control very much; while black sapphire is more subtle due to having a generally calm demeanor and from time to time has to act as the only "rational" one, but it becomes prominent in how he interacts with candy apple, someone who he sees as highly emotional and dependent. he gets angry at her being "unmanageable", and she can very easily make him lose his cool, much easier than anyone else, which he sees as a threat to his image. in this sense, it's not just that emotions are a weakness but candy apple cookie herself becomes his weakness. candy apple learns this emotional defensiveness from these two, and it contributes to why she's acting that demanding with black sapphire. she can't show herself as vulnerable or needy so when she wants something she bosses him around and picks on him.
when black sapphire picks on her, it's because he wants to make her feel better but doesn't want to do it in a honest way,
"Whenever Shadow Milk Cookie is absent for a long time, Black Sapphire Cookie plays tricks to annoy Candy Apple Cookie!"
and sometimes he's mean because he gets tired as he's much more emotionally reserved and independent than her. he considers it his job to look after her and gives her gifts to show his attachment but finds it overwhelming to physically have her around because she wants attention all the time.
this frustrates her in turn, she knows he will respond to her requests and can be nice to her out of his own will, but he is also dismissing much enough to make her feel like she forces the good treatment out of him. there's also a level of him seeing her as lesser and wanting to remind her of her place when she's being "cocky" (which usually means her being happy and having fun). that becomes really an endless loop of them being upset with each other because they can't interact with theirs and each other's emotions normally
i find their relationships interesting because they're very attached to each other and it comes through in many ways that they like each other, but they also have a lot of reasons to be genuinely frustrated and upset with each other beyond lighthearted fighting. while shadow milk put them in this kind of situation in the first place, these dynamics are present even outside of their attachment to him and are a consequence of them being in a guardian-charge relationship, and i think it's a nice portrayal of the complicated feelings that can come with it. that is all 🫶