#deltarune device

The Grand Fountain has mystified the fandom since chapter 2's release, yet I feel we've been largely overthinking it. Creating a regular ol' dark fountain requires determination, right? So it would follow that a grand fountain, capable of hosting any darkner, simply necessitates a significantly higher level of determination from its creator. From Ralsei's utter lack of concern about the Grand Fountain's existence, we can also surmise it's far less destructive, if not outright healthy, for the balance between light and dark. TLDR: Grand fountains are an infinitely more concentrated and less dangerous version of dark fountains. They are the domesticated golden retriever to the ravenous grey wolf that is regular dark fountains.

So what was the point of creating such a clear distinction between the two (known) types of dark fountains? Simple: to highlight the fact that less determination = more volatility, whereas more determination = less volatility. It's almost as if grand fountains are the only variant of dark fountains that are supposed to exist. And if that's even slightly true, then what does that imply about the existence of regular dark fountains...?

ENTER: THE DEVICE

If you're reading this post, you likely already know what The Device is, but TLDW: it's a machine that W.D. Gaster designed to facilitate key aspects of Deltarune's plot: From Kris's soul to the Goner Maker sequence to even the game's UI, The Device is somehow responsible for all of it. The Device is also notably a physical object that resides somewhere within Hometown (but most likely the Shelter).

This theory suggests yet another potential function of The Device, one that I've never seen anybody else propose: thinning the barrier between light and dark within Hometown, thus lowering the determination threshold for the creation of dark fountains. In other words, The Device's activation allows for the existence of more volatile dark fountains within its Hometown-spanning radius, whereas only grand fountains could exist prior.

Not only does this proposal solve the years-long mystery that is the Grand Fountain's nature, but it also patches up a plot hole that's acted as a long-standing fandom meme: The fact that dark fountains, to our knowledge, have gone undiscovered up until the game's events despite their ease of creation. After all, if creating fountains were always as simple as "feeling a bit determined while stabbing the ground," Deltarune's world would've ended several times over by now.

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