History Webcomic / Handplates

* BeserkButton: Being called, or even implied to be, stupid for Papyrus, due to his treatment under Gaster. When Sans hides the fact [[spoiler: they live in a video game]] from him, he's furious, and it nearly destroys the skeleton's relationship.

''Handplates'' is an ongoing web comic by zarla-s based on ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}''. Beginning from a short comic of Frisk wondering why Sans and Papyrus always cover up their right hands, it is an AU that provides a hypothetical scenario that Sans and Papyrus were experiments of Gaster's, and suffering ensues. The focus is usually on the brothers' perspective, wherein they try to survive and adapt to the things Gaster puts them through, with the story providing explanations for why they are the way they are in VideoGame/{{Undertale}} proper. However, just as much time is devoted to Dr. Gaster's perspective as well, where he forces himself to continue with his experiments despite the emotional and physical toll such cruelty is taking on him, convinced that it's necessary to win the monsters' freedom.

* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: Afraid that Sans and Papyrus might use blue magic against him, Gaster traumatizes them to the point where they're both incapable of using it[[note]]According to Gaster's notes, upon being told to use blue magic, Sans would completely shut down while Papyrus would burst into hysterical tears[[/note]]. This comes back to bite him when, after [[spoiler: he's pushed into the CORE by Sans, Papyrus tries to catch him with blue magic, the TraumaButton activates, and Papyrus loses his grip]].

* RetGone: Gaster gets wiped from existence after [[spoiler: Sans pushes him into the CORE]]. Nobody remembers he existed, all written mentions of his name are blanked out, and Sans and Papyrus lose almost all memory of their childhood.

** ''…Reap the whirlwind'', as the finale of Part One, has [[spoiler: Sans push Gaster into the CORE, removing him from existence and erasing all memory of his life.]]
** ''Haha remember when'' has [[spoiler: Gaster return all of Sans and Papyrus's memories of the lab to them, allowing him a part of existence to cling to.]]
** ''Nailed it'' has [[spoiler: Gaster return to existence with Sans and Papyrus.]]
* WhamShot: In ''I sleep where the lady fox sleeps'', [[spoiler: Sans sees Frisk holding a knife and attached to the soul of [[AuthorAvatar Zarla]][[note]]the author's appearance as the game's player character[[/note]]. This shot announces the official beginning of the ''No Mercy'' run.]]

* ItIsDehumanizing: Gaster intentionally refers to the boys as "it" at first, and for a long time after also refers to them as "things". This is purely to keep himself from becoming attached to them. [[spoiler:He also refers to the ''player'' as this, in their case it's the "EldritchAbomination too alien to empathize with" variant.

* ItIsDehumanizing: Gaster intentionally refers to the boys as "it" at first, and for a long time after also refers to them as "things". This is purely to keep himself from becoming attached to them.

* TheTalk: In the OptionalCanon side-strip ''[[https://www.deviantart.com/zarla/art/Is-there-a-stork-involved-606056654 Is there a stork involved]]'', Frisk asks several characters where baby monsters come from. Grillby explains that fire monsters clone themselves by using a matchstick. Undyne and Alphys (a fish and a reptile, respectively) say they come from eggs. Papyrus starts to explain before realizing he and Sans have no idea where baby skeletons come from.

While the story began with several [[AnachronicOrder out of order]] comics just focusing on the brothers' lives as Gaster's test subjects, as the AU progressed a clear chronological narrative began to emerge. The AU also goes beyond just backstory, carrying on to Sans and Papyrus's lives after Gaster inevitably falls into the Core and is erased from existence, and eventually, the fallen human's various runs of the game. Zarla has also occasionally written mini-comics and done illustrations for alternative scenarios where Gaster backed out of his experiment and raised Sans and Papyrus as his sons (either from infancy or sometime before or after first drilling the titular hand-plates onto them, for varying levels of angst) and one scenario where the boys escaped to the ruins and were adopted by Toriel.

* WhamShot: In ''I sleep where the lady fox sleeps'', [[spoiler: Sans sees Frisk holding a knife and attached to the soul of Zarla (the player character). This shot announces the official beginning of the ''No Mercy'' run.]]

While the story began with several [[AnachronicOrder out of order]] comics just focusing on the brothers' lives as Gaster's test subjects, as the AU progressed a clear chronological narrative began to emerge. The AU also goes beyond just backstory, carrying on to Sans and Papyrus's lives after Gaster inevitably falls into the Core and is erased from existence. An early FlashForward comic of debatable canon to the comic also suggests that the story will eventually feature a [[HeelFaceTurn failed]] No Mercy route like in the game. Zarla has also occasionally written mini-comics and done illustrations for alternative scenarios where Gaster backed out of his experiment and raised Sans and Papyrus as his sons (either from infancy or sometime before or after first drilling the titular hand-plates onto them, for varying levels of angst) and one scenario where the boys escaped to the ruins and were adopted by Toriel.

* ArtEvolution: As the comic went on, Zarla's style for Gaster and the brothers got less blockier, and Gaster in particular became more slender and less square-shouldered. Zarla's take on his Lost Soul head also gradually became more shaped like a candle flame. Even when the comics are put in chronological order, it's easy to tell which comics were released earlier because of this.

** Flowey acts cheerful and encouraging towards Papyrus, but only when he feels that he may gain something from the encounter. It is heavily implied through several images that Flowey has killed the skeletons in different timelines.

* SymbolSwearing: [[https://www.deviantart.com/zarla/art/Oh-NOW-you-re-listening-617702220 When Gaster hurts himself]] and says an unknown swear word (represented by "@#$%!"), they immediately start repeating it, to his frustration.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Gaster is sociable towards most of the monsters, and is in fact good friends with Asgore and Alphys, but is exceedingly cruel to Sans and Papyrus. The dissonance between how he acts towards his friends and how he acts towards the boys starts wearing him down later in the comic.

* SurvivorGuilt: Gaster has been haunted by survivor's guilt for years from being the last skeleton monster left alive after the human-monster war. Feeling he doesn't deserve to continue living while others suffer and die is part of his motivation for wanting to be the one who breaks the barrier.