going crazy over cookies

I hope the quality is decent. . .

Animation version of this post by @rockxgal as I promised here my delivery! My hands are sore but I had so much fun making this animation I hope yall like it!!!

My understanding is that Diverged is a what-if centered around Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla swapping which halves of the Virtue of Knowledge they possess, and nothing more. This reflects upon their social roles in ways that make it seem like there's also a rather drastic difference in personalities on the surface, too, though on the Sage's part I'm of the firm belief that this is an intentional misdirection. His presentation is meant to lure others into a false sense of security; the air of mystique and seemingly boundless wisdom he carries himself with is his performance of Truth, wielded with probably just as much malintent as the Beast's embrace of Deceit. I suggest all of this because of one crucial detail in the costume story: At the end of the day, cookiekind doesn't know ANYTHING about either version, of their own volitions.

Just as Shadow Milk is the mask that the broken and spiteful once-Fount of Knowledge wears, proudly wielding contradictory information and over-the-top lies to sow insecurity in others (while shielding himself), the Sage of Truth is a mask of poeticisms and a friendly disposition designed to subtly redirect away from what lies underneath, instead leading the masses down mysterious rabbit holes towards mind-breaking revelations and despair, all the same.

Both of them are larger-than-life and untouchable in the ways they carry themselves, with the simple difference being in just how outwardly cruel they are to cookiekind. While through different lenses, I think they likely pursue the same goal of paying forward their thousands of years worth of resentment, and where Shadow Milk pulls the strings and orchestrates one's psychological torment directly in their face, the Sage of Truth leads others towards their suffering on their own terms with not but a warm smile and encouraging nudge. It is a betrayal that nobody ever sees coming, and that he will furthermore never take the blame for - it's not his fault that one finds these revelations so painful, after all.

Crk furries once again and an inverse version of this