Pure Vanilla says neither him nor Shadow Milk will know loneliness ever again, (in the kingdom interaction), english isn‘t my first language, so I was wondering; was PV ever described as lonely before that? I‘m aware that you can be 'alone in a room of people', bit he also has strong bonds with his friends. So I always wondered about that dialogue.
He was never described as lonely, but it's kind of implied with some of his previous dialogue.
It is a consistent theme of his character; he feels solely responsible for the tragedy of the first Dark Flour War. (Even though I was the only one who could...) Where this dialogue had taken place (Cookie Odyssey), he had believed in telling the Truth (tm) and that he must not lie at all. Of course, this has resulted in the other two Heroes and having to hear it from Clotted Cream Cookie. As much as Pure Vanilla wants to maintain a sense of camaraderie, it is a bit of a cowardly thing to do.
He places a lot of emphasis on himself trying to understand Willy. "Why was there nothing I could do to help..." "Whether I should've insisted more on stopping her..." "I shouldn't have let her take on such a big burden all alone."
All of these questions with no answers... It does kind of remind you of Fount of Knowledge in a way.
Pure Vanilla is also a bit of a hypocrite.
Take his gacha quote (not the Awakened one):
"HARDSHIPS ARE MEANT TO BE SHARED."
Yet, he doesn't share his hardships. He doesn't tell the Ancient Heroes about this guilt that he is wrestling with. He doesn't let them share the burden of his. He only opens up to Gingergang about his fears when he's faced with the possibility of seeing her again.
Come Beast Yeast 7 and once again he does not share what is going on with Gingergang.
It is a character flaw at this point. That the burdens he has must be dealt by him alone as to not disturb the peace. It is why Shadow Milk was able to manipulate him so easily by isolating him. He preys on those doubts and confusion, knowing that Pure Vanilla would just shoulder the burden alone and not say anything.
And Shadow Milk takes the opportunity to EXPLOIT that. He places the blame on Pure Vanilla, implying that their sufferings were all because of him (Pure Vanilla) and reaffirming his own self-doubt about the events of the Dark Flour War.
"YOU had the chance to stop her." "YOU didn't." "YOU didn't stop her back then."
By letting go, he would not make the same mistakes again. He would not make decisions that would doom his friends again.
If he lets go, then perhaps they would be happier.
But of course. Gingergang clutches. Because Pure Vanilla has also made decisions that saved his friends. It is a reminder that he has people to support him and that they need him too.
Thus, he was able to free himself from the cycle of Truth and Deceit. Where the Fount of Knowledge falls from the self-doubt, because there was no one who had supported him, Compassionate Pure Vanilla rises. He grows to understand that everything that has happened so far is a step towards the Truth. He grows to understand and accept his inner flaws and love himself again. It's no wonder after his Awakening that he has visions of his uncorrupted past, as a means of healing and a reminder of what he sought out to do in the first place.
And Shadow Milk cannot accept that.
He screams at Pure Vanilla and tries to diminish him, unable to fathom the idea of being able to accept both. How DARE Pure Vanilla ascends when he falls? It SHOULD have been inevitable to fall into Deceit. (Look at him absolutely deflecting here + that's not mentioning the manipulation of the LoD)
Then, his emotional constipation. Take your pick of which flavour you like more: him doubling down on denying his self-loathing through his projection on PV and screaming 'I hate you...I will destroy you' (EN version) OR him wanting to destroy it all (KR, CN ... version). Both versions just show how scared he is of vulnerability that he's willing to tear it all down.
uhh so TLDR: Shadowvanilla are foils of each other. Pure Vanilla learns to love himself again. Shadow Milk hates himself.
