So my read on the recurrence of the phrase βhere we areβ through Undertale is that itβs sort ofβ¦ the βGood Twinβ for βBut Nobody Cameβ, in a way.
βBut nobody cameβ is a sentence used in instances of isolation and loneliness. Sometimes because one has been left abandoned and helpless in a traumatizing way
Or it could be because one is deliberately cutting themself off from human Monster connections and also killing Literally Everyone.
βHere we areβ, is the opposite of this. Itβs all about the βweβ, itβs about that experience of companionship, about the act of making friends. Thatβs why it appears in every Dating Sequence in the game and other important bonding moments.
As well as our encounter with Asgore, as itβs basically the climax of the New Home/Undertale Story Time sequence that exists to make Asgore sympathetic to the Player and he has this sense of companionship and community with all of the Monsters.
Itβs the title of the True Lab music track both because, well, on the one hand, despite how creepy it is, it is a Pacifist-Route Exclusive Location. Actually, itβs the location that βlocksβ you into the Pacifist Ending. By reaching the True Lab, a Player has already proven their commitment to making connections and bonds with all of their monster friends.
But on the other hand, the True Lab can also kinda be said to represent the darker side of βHere We Areβ. The Amalgamates are βbondedβ together, βconnectedβ on such an extreme level that they are stuck as one being. Incapable of ever alone again, incapable of being their own individuals again.
Of course, the True Lab and the Amalgamates is also the main appearance of the βBut Nobody Cameβ motif for a Pacifist Playthrough. The horror of the Amalgamatesβ situation is that they suffered through the worst parts of both βHere We Areβ and βBut Nobody Cameβ. Both bonded on such a level they cannot ever be themselves, but also hidden, lonely and isolated from their loved ones.
The Amalgamatesβ happy ending is the game reinforcing the importance of bonds and the horror of isolation. Even the worst, most horrifyingly literal manifestation of βHere We Areβ is better than being hidden and isolated and lost. And the right bonds can always improve the situation, make it not just tolerable, but good.
Thereβs kind of a Yin-and-Yang thing going on here too, the Pacifist Run embodies the idea of friendship and connections that βHere We Areβ represents, and so that phrase appears over and over in that run. But the Amalgamates and the True Lab gives one a taste of the horror and isolation and loneliness of βBut Nobody Cameβ.
The Murder Run is the embodiment of this disconnection of βBut Nobody Cameβ, but there is just one little mention of βHere We Areβ, the one and only connection the Player does make.
The only connection a Player has in the Murder Route is with this corrupted echo of Chara.
So with all of this saidβ¦
I dunno how I feel about the fact that βHere We Areβ has such a small presence in βDeltaruneβ so far. As of Chapter 4, past the halfway point, these words have only been spoken twice. Once during Asgoreβs introduction, seemingly just because this scene is directly quoting from his introduction back in Undertale.
Which leaves the only βrealβ Deltarune-specific use of βHere We Areβ to be just this scene from the start of Chapter 2.
Of course, thereβs at least some level of βbalanceβ being maintained, since βBut Nobody Cameβ has also been used extremely sparingly so far (and also only on Chapter 2, interestingly enough).
But this relative lack of βHere We Areβ still makes me worry on some levelβ¦ Are we still waiting on a deeper level of interpersonal connection we havenβt reached yet? Is the amount of secrets the Fun Gang is keeping from each other stopping them from being truly genuinely connected?
Do βHere We Areβ and βBut Nobody Cameβ truly cannot exist without the other? The bonds being made meaningful due to having and rejecting the Choice of cutting yourself off from them? Is this why βHere We Areβ is only mentioned on the Chapter that introduced the Weird Route?
