I remember learning about the ocean.gg thing in a YouTube video and going on a frenzied search for any other potential water stuff in DeltaRune. In addition to the old song from the sea (which the video also brought up) and the fountains, here were my findings:
This line from if you beat Jevil by fighting him: “SOON, THE “QUEEN” RETURNS, AND HELL’S ROAR BUBBLES FROM THE DEPTHS…“ We now know this was foreshadowing Queen and the end of Chapter 2, but the phrasing of the roar bubbling from the depths definitely catches my eye.
The shadow crystals are described in your dark world inventory as ”A sharp shadow moves like water in the hand.“ Other than the naming of the fountains, it’s the most direct association I’ve found of darkness/shadow with water.
Character-wise, I can’t help but think of Gerson and Alvin, two monsters based on turtles (animals that live in the ocean and on land), and wonder if they were made turtles for the sake of a metaphor about them dwelling in both the dark and light worlds. There are certainly hints that Gerson was involved in dark worlds in the past (the bench in his honor which encourages students to dream, his old classroom being the first proper dark world we visit, his knowledge of the Delta Rune in UnderTale, and him having been an author in a game where dark worlds seem to be a metaphor for fictional stories), and considering Alvin is involved with the light world’s Angel-based religion, and is apparently planning something with Gerson’s hammer, I’m fairly sure they’ll play into the history of the Dark Worlds.
While we’re on the topic of suspicious ocean-related characters, there’s obviously Onionsan, but also, Clam Girl. You know, the one who teased “Suzy” in UnderTale, who can become a Goner in the switch version with a line that teased DeltaRune’s release, and who you get faked out for in Chapter 2 if you fail to talk to Onionsan in chapter 1.
It’s also worth considering that both Gerson and Clam Girl come from UnderTale’s water-themed area, Waterfall, which itself is one of, if not the, most mysterious areas in UnderTale. @you-can-always-come-home has some great posts about this: [1] [2] [3]
And then, there’s this bit from UnderTale: “humans are made mostly of water”.
Which, yes, is just a true fact. But it’s pointed out in comparison to monsters being made of magic. And considering everything here, with water potentially = darkness and dreams…
If we then look to our friend Kris, who turns pale blue in the dark worlds, and who, if they look at themself through the shadow crystal, briefly finds their hand to be transparent…
Perhaps there’s something concerning there.
In regards to what the purpose/meaning of this connection is, I had two thoughts I left in the comments of that vid that I’ll share here too.
Theory 1: The dark worlds are maybe meant to parallel (or be foreshadowed by) the trash dump in Waterfall. An area full of discarded items, flowing down into an unknown depth. A place where at least one of those items (thanks to Mad Dummy) gets new life. A place Frisk falls into, much like how Kris initially falls into the dark world. idk what would actually be being said by such a parallel, though. Unless Deltarune is literally taking place at the bottom of the waterfalls in the trash dump. Somehow.
Theory 2:
The dark worlds are reflections of the light world. Both in how they’re based on the light world locations, and with certain characters seeming to parallel light world characters (like Queen seemingly paralleling Noelle’s mother in some ways).
And, well, you can see reflections on the surface of bodies of water. But those reflections disguise the true natures of what’s under those depths.
You know how there’s a weird dissonance between Queen saying the Cyber World fountain was just made the day of chapter 2, but the characters seem to have a history older than that, including stuff like Tasque Manager somehow recognizing Jevil’s items even though he’s from a whole other dark world?
Maybe the *versions* of the dark worlds we see, reflections of the light world maintained by the fountains, are new… but the “depths” of the dark worlds are both older and connected to each other, in ways we are so far unable to perceive or explore.
This could mean, depending on the actual mechanics of it, that we could seal all the fountains, saving the world and cutting off the light and dark worlds, without completely destroying the dark worlds and darkners. Assuming that’s the resolution DeltaRune is building to.
