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"I may only have a brain the size of a peanut... wait what was I saying again?"
Traumador the Tyrannosaur

The Tyrannosaur Chronicles is a blog written by Traumador the Tyrannosaur about his many exploits.

Traumador is a tyrannosaurid who hatched from an egg that magically survived the K/Pg Extinction Event and was discovered in Alberta by Craig, an aspiring paleontologist (and the mastermind behind the blog in real life). He eventually gets a job at the Royal Tyrrell Museum and things get interesting from there. His attempts to fit in with modern society and get along with humans as well as fellow living dinosaurs (known as Vivus specimens) have landed him in many adventures over the years in several parts of the globe, some of them mysteriously dangerous…

Unfortunately, it is now on official hiatus due to Craig deciding to focus on his other projects for the time being.


This work provides examples of the following tropes:

  • 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: All the dinosaurs except Traum (who is a puppet) are visibly CGI, as are some of the effects (like the Olympic torch).
  • Acceptable Breaks from Reality:
    • Traumador can write and post blog entries during situations in which it would logically be inconvenient for him to do so (such as while being trapped inside a backpack and menaced by dromaeosaurids). He has even been known to respond to comments while supposedly being caught in these mishaps. Additionally, the posts sometimes end on cliffhangers, despite the fact that it would make little sense for Traumador to either have been blogging in real time or to leave the readers hanging had he made the posts after the events described.
    • There are occasionally posts by characters other than Traumador that provide insight into plot points to which he is not privy, often with no in-universe explanation as to why they are posted on his blog. There is also no reason given as to why Traumador presumably cannot or does not see these posts.
  • Accidental Truth: When Traumador is trying to discourage Larry from killing him, he claims that a certain someone wouldn't be happy to hear about his death. By chance, he picks Professor Paradigm to be that someone, and the lie works. Professor Paradigm happens to be among the Pack's greatest opponents, but at the time Traum wasn't aware of it.
  • Action Girl: Amanda, who easily subdued a fossil poacher that beat up Professor Paradigm.
  • Affably Evil: Most tyrannosaurids are this to humans. To keep up their image they enjoy scaring humans, but because they are also celebrities they can't actually kill anyone. Their attitude towards other dinosaurs, however, is a different thing.
  • all lowercase letters: Traumador writes in this manner.
  • Alternate Animal Affection: Muzzle nudging in tyrannosaurids.
  • Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Some of the dinosaurs are depicted with very vivid colors.
  • Ambiguous Gender: Boom and Rang the Leaellynasaura, according to Traumador. The rules of the paired ice skating competition in the Dinosaur Winter Games imply that one of them is male and the other female at least, and Rang is said to be a male during the ski jump competition, suggesting that Boom is female.
  • Amplified Animal Aptitude: All the dinosaurs appear to be able to understand what humans are saying, even though most of them can't actually speak human languages. Dip the Serendipaceratops even has a PhD. (She's the first literal dinosaur paleontologist in the world!)
  • Alliterative Name: Traumador the Tyrannosaur, Desdemona Deinonychus, Valor Velociraptor, Lance the Lambeosaur, Sternberg Styracosaurus, Gloria Giganotosaurus, Samson Spinosaurus, Elinor Einiosaurus, Helma Hypacrosaurus, Theodore Thescelosaurus, Teresa Tyrannosaur, among others.
  • All of the Other Reindeer: Traumador and Norman generally don't get along with other tyrannosaurids and ceratopsians, partly on account of their friendship.
  • Anonymous Benefactor:
    • No one knows who gave Traumador his plane ticket to Canada for his fifth hatching day.
    • “Ruffled Feather”, a mysterious informant of Traum’s who claims to be a displeased member of the Pack of the Primordial Feather.
  • Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Averted. Larry is quite willing to kill Traumador, and would have if Traum didn't have the protection of Paleo Central.
  • Arch-Enemy: The “Germ Man”.
  • Art Evolution: Extremely prominent. Craig himself keeps track of this on his other blog.
  • Artistic License – Paleontology: Mostly averted. Lampshaded by Layla Oviraptor, who mentions that Desdemona Deinonychus and Larry the Tyrannosaur shaved off their feathers so they could star in Jurassic Park.
  • Author Avatar: Craig, of course. Unlike most examples of this trope, the character is deeply involved with the plot.
  • Badass Crew: Paleo Central might be one (we don't really know how big an organization it is), particularly the divison known as the "Taskforce".
  • Badass Bookworm:
    • Valor Velociraptor, who appears to be the most level-headed of the Crimson Talons. She helped Desdemona Deinonychus come up with and carry out a plan to defeat both Traumador as well as their political rivals. She was also the only member of the Crimson Talons to do any significant damage to Lance the Lambeosaur. (Lance was momentarily letting her do so in order to buy time for Tramador and Tony to escape, but still.)
    • Razi Saurornithoides is said to be one, although we haven't yet seen her in action.
    • Dr. Paradigm and Dr. Spectre.
  • Badass Labcoat: Professor Paradigm and Dr. Spectre both count.
  • Battle Cry: Uttered by Lance before his smackdown on the Crimson Talons in an attempt to call Sternberg Styracosaurus to his aid. Sternberg comes too late to fight the Crimson Talons, but is just in time to fend off an Albertosaurus that's menacing Lance and Traumador.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Craig. Norman also has shades of this. For that matter, so does Traumador himself. He's small, not always too bright, just wants nothing more than to settle down in the modern world, does his best not to fall into the "tyrannosaur stereotype", and probably knows less about the dark side of paleontology than any other main character, but is still willing to personally take action against the Pack.
  • Bilingual Bonus:
    • Lao-Gui the Pinacosaurus's name means Ancient Turtle in Chinese.
    • Whiro sometimes speaks in Maori, for example addressing Traumador as Kauwheke Te Kura, meaning Ancestor of the Moa.
  • Blood Lust: In spite of Traumador's attempts to overcome his tyrannosaurid instincts, they still tug at him from time to time.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall:
    • Craig and Dan call Traumador a puppet a few times in the Royal Tyrrell Museum training video, even though Traum is meant in universe to be a real tyrannosaurid, to the point that Craig even denies that Traumador has a voice actor on Facebook.
    Craig: "I don't know where you'd get such an odd idea in your head. Traum is clearly a real T. rex."
    • In the earlier posts on his other blog, Craig often portrayed Traumador as being a real dinosaur that he lives with, even having an online "chat" with Traum. More recently, however, he's decided use his blog to showcase the behind-the-scenes work he does to create The Tyrannosaur Chronicles instead. This transition is even lampshaded by him in a post called "Dropping the Fourth Wall".
  • Buffy Speak: Traumador uses this rather frequently.
  • Butt-Monkey: Traumador. Gangs of theropods, fossil poachers, a Mad Scientist, a German, and an evil Maori god all want a piece of him. And he doesn't even fully know why!
  • Carnivore Confusion: Lampshaded by Traumador regarding his friendship with Norman.
  • Character Blog: The entire point of this project.
  • The Cavalry: Traum often relies on these to get him out of a jam. A (so far nameless) Maori god, Professor Paradigm, Dan and Amanda, Lance, and Sternberg have all had their moments.
  • Chekhov M.I.A.: Norman. Hints of Zendin making an actual appearance as well often get dropped but the Series Hiatus has prevented him from yet making an appearance.
  • Childhood Friends: Norman and Zendin for Traumador.
  • Civilized Animal: Traumador is trying to be one.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Professor Paradigm claims to be this during his battle with Dr. Spectre.
  • Dark Action Girl:
    • Jo, a fossil poacher who can defeat Professor Paradigm in single combat.
    • The highest-ranking dinosaurs in the Pack of the Primordial Feather are all females.
  • Darker and Edgier: Traum's adventures have been largely going this way.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Dan.
  • Dead Person Conversation: Fossil dinosaurs (such as Traumador's mom) can still communicate with Vivus dinosaurs, at least to some degree.
  • Deep Cover Agents: Craig and Dan work for Paleo Central. Mike the Librarian is a member of a secret organization of librarians that apparently archives confidential information.
  • Defensive Feint Trap: Lance pulls this on the Crimson Talons so Tony and Traumador can escape to a safe distance.
  • Deus ex machina: Literally. Traumador is saved by a Maori god from another (evil) Maori god.
  • Dinosaur Talk: All dinosaurs have a common language, although they prefer not to speak it if possible.
  • Direct Line to the Author: A given considering the format of the project, being Traumador's blog through which he reports the events of the plot.
  • The Ditz: Traumador at times. Also, Dollie Stegosaurus.
  • Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: Against Ms. Rhonwyn's instructions, Traum opens one of the baskets that he has been told to dispose of. The magic that emnates from the open basket attracts Whiro, who proceeds to chase Traum all over New Zealand...
  • The Dreaded: Dr. Spectre is considered to be among the most dangerous individuals in the entire setting.
  • Dumb Dinos: A few dinosaur characters, such as Dollie Stegosaurus and Traumador himself, are shown to be slow-witted at least on occasion. However, this is not true of all dinosaurs in the setting; the maniraptors in particular come across as being more eloquent and cunning, and Dip the Serendipaceratops was able to earn a doctorate. Additionally, all Vivus dinosaurs are portrayed as being more intelligent than their real life counterparts, being able to understand humans and hold jobs.
  • Dumb Muscle: Dollie Stegosaurus isn't all that bright, but she can really play hockey. Her thagomizer can send the puck at such high speed and accuracy that it's extremely difficult (and painful) for an opposing goalie to block it.
  • Early-Bird Cameo:
    • Norman A Centrosaur was first mentioned when Traumador did a post on his pre-blog life. Zendin the Troodon, who was also featured in that post (and occasionally referenced now and then) is likely also one.
    • Hogan the Muttaburrasaur first appeared in a list of names. He's now a player in the Dinosaur Winter Games, although not yet a significant character.
    • Professor Paradigm was mentioned briefly when Traumador encountered Bigfoot in 2006, years before his major role in the storyline became clear.
    • The mosasaur, which appeared once in 2007.
  • Emotionless Girl: Valor Velociraptor is thought to be one by many others in the Pack of the Primordial Feather.
  • Enemy Mine: Layla calls on Desdemona to help get rid of Traumador, even though they generally think of each other with disdain. Ultimately, they still don't get along, leading to Desdemona and Valor's plan.
  • Evil Counterpart: Dr. Spectre to Professor Paradigm.
  • Evil Laugh: Dr. Spectre has one, which is described as being extremely disturbing and malicious.
  • Exact Words: Traumador often interprets metaphors literally and gets confused by them. Peter Bond does the same on occasion.
  • Face–Heel Turn: Dr. Spectre used to be a close friend of Professor Paradigm.
  • Fantastic Racism: The various theropod Packs (gangs). Traumador wants nothing to do with any of them, but by turning down his cousin's coelurosaur-only Pack of the Primordial Feather, he is not only becoming their enemy but also attracting the attention of rival Packs.
  • Feathered Fiends: The Pack of the Primordial Feather. All its members are coelurosaurs, the fuzzy and feathery dinosaurs that also include birds. (Incidentally, birds are the only coelurosaur lineage who aren’t part of the Pack.)
  • First-Name Basis: Professor Alvar Paradigm and Dr. Jaden Spectre address each other this way.
  • Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: Traumador regularly interacts with readers in the comments of blog posts.
  • Fragile Speedster:
    • Boom and Rang the Leaellynasaura. They are athletic enough to easily take first place in the first couple of events in the Dinosaur Winter Games (especially taking into account that their homeland Australia was one of the snowy areas during the Cretaceous), but were defeated by Team America's power play during ice hockey and are forced to drop out when Bronko the Stygimoloch gives Rang a particularly hard-headed check.
    • Traumador himself to some degree. Being a diminutive tyrannosaurid, he is very fast, but he is small and inexperienced enough that it doesn't take much to subdue him.
  • Friend or Foe?:
    • Up until Paradigm himself confirmed the reality of Paleo Central, Traumador had remained very uncertain about the motives of Professor Paradigm. Additionally, the feeling was mutual between Traumador and Lance the Lambeosaur, at least until quite recently.
    • At one point Traumador suspected Peter Bond of working for the Pack of the Primordial Feather.
  • Functional Magic: Some form of magic appears to be attracted to dinosaurs, which is what allowed some of them to survive their extinction.
  • Furry Reminder: Frequently with the dinosaurs.
  • Gender-Blender Name: Traumador thinks this of Jo's name.
  • Genius Ditz: Traumador (with his “peanut-sized” brain) often has trouble understanding human concepts or metaphors, but is fairly knowledgeable about paleontology thanks to his training at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and can speak six languages (being one of the few dinosaurs we’ve seen so far who actually speaks English, even though other dinosaurs can still understand it).
  • Genus Surname: All the dinosaurs. And most of the middle names happen to be “The”, with the exception of Norman A Centrosaur.
  • God of Evil: Whiro.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Lance the Lambeosaur is very gruff and distrusting towards Traumador, but he works for Paleo Central, the main group responsible for fighting evil in paleontology.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Lance the Lambeosaur is heavily scarred from his many encounters with theropods, which he often defeats in battle.
  • Grievous Harm with a Body: Dr. Spectre knocks out both Traumador and Professor Paradigm by using Traumador as a battering ram. Lance is also shown doing this in his fight against the Crimson Talons.
  • Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Traumador typically wears just his staff uniform from the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
  • Hand Wave: The real-life Traumador was known as "Trogador" when he was used as an educational prop at the Tyrrell museum. Therefore, Traumador's videos that were filmed during his Tyrrell days use his older name. Traumador has said on his blog that this is because the camcorder "picked up his name funny".
  • Handicapped Badass: Both Professor Paradigm and Dr. Spectre need to wear breathing masks due to one of their past encounters, which involved Paradigm being forced to blow up a chemical tank.
  • Hard Head:
    • Dr. Spectre defeats Professor Paradigm when he grabs Traumador and bashes Traum's and Paradigm's heads together.
    • Pachycephalosaurs.
  • Headbutting Heroes: Norman and Lillian, much to Traumador's consternation.
  • Heart Is an Awesome Power: Traumador is very insecure about his small size, especially when Paradigm informs him that he won't grow any larger. However, Paradigm points out to him that he would not be nearly as comfortable in human civilization if he were the size of a typical tyrannosaurid and, in addition, his size will allow him to keep his considerable running speed throughout his life.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Lance to Traumador. Lance has always been on the good side, but until the Crimson Talons attacked he had thought that Traumador was The Mole.
  • Hope Spot:
    • Twice Traumador expects Professor Paradigm to bring forth an awesome weapon that will oneshot Dr. Spectre, but Paradigm instead takes out a digging awl or a scientific paper. Subverted in that in both cases Paradigm actually put these to good use. Double subverted with the digging awl. Even though Professor Paradigm succeeds in disarming Dr. Spectre, Dr. Spectre still beats him eventually.
    • Played straight with Professor Paradigm's timely arrival when Traumador is captured by two fossil poachers. Paradigm knocks out one poacher but is ambushed and handily defeated by the other.
  • Howl of Sorrow:
    • Traumador when he discovers the contents of the mysterious "Crate" the Pack of the Primordial Feather have been preparing. The Series Hiatus prevented us from finding out the reason why in the story itself, but Word of God reveals that the Crate contained a time travel device invented by Zendin, who had been tortured into working for the Pack.
    • Traumador also does this after he and Craig had a fight.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Traumador just wants to live a normal life as a Civilized Animal. Too bad he keeps getting dangerous adventures thrust upon him.
  • Idiot Ball:
    • Traumador's agent Peter Bond is a well-meaning guy who tries to make Traumador famous through varied (and sometimes extreme) methods. Sadly, he has a tendency to overlook crucial facts, and as a result his plans aren't always the best.
    • Traumador himself doesn't always make the best decisions.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Professor Paradigm uses a tiny digging awl to fight Dr. Spectre, who is using a katana. Paradigm actually succeeds in disarming him, but then Spectre resorts to using Traumador as a weapon, knocking both Traum and Paradigm out.
  • Improvised Weapon: Related to Improbable Weapon User, Professor Paradigm is an expert at utilizing the digging tools he finds at crime scenes in fights.
  • Interspecies Friendship: Traumador, Norman, and Zendin, among others.
  • Interspecies Romance: Traumador and Lillian.
  • Jerkass:
    • Larry the Tyrannosaur is said to be this by Traumador.
    • The Germ Man.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Dan acts like this to Traumador.
  • Knowledge Broker: Mike the Librarian helps Traumador get intel on the Pack of the Primordial Feather.
  • Kudzu Plot: Seeds of new plot points were planted at a rapid rate, but many did not reach their full payoff by the time the Series Hiatus struck.
  • Land Downunder:
    • At one point Traum went to Melbourne on vacation. (By chance, he also avoided a yet-to-be-revealed trap that the Pack of the Primordial Feather set for him in New Zealand.)
    • Traumador's boss Ms. Rhonwyn is Australian.
    • Team Australia in the Dinosaur Winter Games.
  • Left Hanging: There are still many, many plot threads left hanging, but it'll probably be a while (if ever) before they are wrapped up.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: Lance, Professor Paradigm, and Dan all have their moments.
  • A Lighter Shade of Gray: While Professor Paradigm is the top-secret guardian of all paleontology, he has been described by Craig and "Ruffled Feather" as emotionless and in some respects as self serving as his opponents.
  • Literal-Minded: Traumador. Sometimes Peter Bond as well.
  • Locked Out of the Loop: For a long time, the existence of Paleo Central was (rather unsuccessfully) kept a secret from Traumador.
  • Log Fic: Besides the blog being framed as Traumador's postings, occasional posts by other characters use other framing devices (such as Professor Paradigm's personal log, Layla's diary, and Desdemona's reflections).
  • Love Interest: Lillian the Albertosaur.
  • Mad Scientist: Dr. Spectre. Consider the fact that he claims that his service as a former ally of Professor Paradigm justifies his attempted murder of Bob Bakker. His madness is implied to have been the result of his experiences in Paleo Central.
  • Meaningful Name: Professor Paradigm and Dr. Spectre. Many of the dinosaurs also have names based on real paleontologists and paleontological formations.
  • Mistaken for Badass: The Pack of the Primordial Feather regards Traumador as a serious enemy even though he was absolutely clueless about their "Crate" plan until almost at the last minute, and is still unaware of a trap they set for him in New Zealand. The fact that Traumador turned down the Pack and survived has made him somewhat famous among all Vivus dinosaurs.
  • More than Meets the Eye:
    • Craig and Dan have been working for Paleo Central ever since Traumador hatched.
    • Lance is more than just a grumpy hadrosaur, he's also a dinosaurian martial artist.
    • Professor Paradigm is a surprisingly accomplished fighter. Lampshaded when Lillian the Albertosaur doesn't believe Traumador when he tells her about "Professor Paradigm's kung fu".
    • Megan, previously shown as a regular museum worker, turns out to be a fossil poacher.
  • My Future Self and Me: Had the series gone on, Professor Paradigm would have eventually turned out to be an older Craig who had gotten lost in a time travel accident.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Traumador does his best not to fall into the "tyrannosaur stereotype".
  • Mysterious Mercenary Pursuer: Dr. Spectre.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Dr. Jaden Spectre.
  • Nearly Normal Animal: Most of the dinosaurs.
  • Nerd Action Hero: Dr. Paradigm.
  • Non-Action Guy: For all the dangerous adventures he gets into, Traumador relies a lot on luck and The Cavalry to get him out of jams. Justified as he's been sheltered his entire life and has next to no experience in combat.
  • Noodle Incident: The reason both Dr. Paradigm and Dr. Spectre need to wear breathing masks. All we know is that it involved a chemical tank being blown up during one of their conflicts.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Dan pulls this off to distract a fossil poacher.
  • Odd Friendship: Traumador and Norman.
  • Official Couple: Traumador and Lillian would have eventually gotten together and had eggs, according to Word of God.
  • Old Friend: Norman A. Centrosaur. Also, many others from Traum's days at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
  • Older Than They Look:
    • Professor Paradigm. Lampshaded by Traumador.
    • Traumador might also qualify. He stopped growing much earlier than is normal for Tyrannosaurus, which usually grow into their teens. The reason for this is because he's not a Tyrannosaurus rex but his own species, Tyrannosaurus traumadori. Lampshaded by Lillian.
  • One-Man Army: Dr. Spectre, according to Layla.
  • Only a Flesh Wound: In spite of their best efforts, the Crimson Talons could inflict only these on Lance. According to him, carnosaurs and tyrannosaurids can (somewhat predictably) cause far more serious injuries.
  • Painting the Medium: Although Traumador writes most of the blog entries, we occasionally see the thoughts of other characters, too, as indicated by a change in the color of the text. Different characters have varying degrees of grammatical accuracy and distinctive styles of wording. (For example, Traumador's green text never contains any capital letters and is often rather conversational in tone, while Professor Paradigm's white text is not only more grammatically correct but also carries an air of seriousness and and greater literacy.)
  • Parental Substitute: Craig to Traumador.
  • Partially Civilized Animal: Vivus dinosaurs. One of the few cases of this trope where the animals also integrate themselves into human society. The dinosaurs can get jobs (usually at museums) and at least some of them occasionally use human facilities, to the point where the Pack of the Primordial Feather claims they have control over certain museum collections. This may well be because the dinosaurs, being prehistoric animals, no longer have natural habitats to live in.
  • Proud Warrior Race: Dromaeosaurids. Desdemona feels underused and disrespected when Layla and Razi's "Crate" plan (the details of which have yet to be fully disclosed) is being carried out.
  • Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: The three remaining Crimson Talons that Lance hasn't dispatched outmaneuver and begin tearing into him with great gusto. Then Lance reveals that he had intentionally allowed the raptors to attack him successfully to cover Traum and Tony's escape. Once Traumador and Tony are safe, Lance proceeds to kick more raptor butt.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: Desdemona and Valor are the only Crimson Talons to not get flattened by Lance when he comes to Traumador's rescue.
  • Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • Real Time: The blog is generally meant to run approximately in real time, though Schedule Slips often throw a monkey wrench into this. For example, Traumador's birthday is consistently celebrated on August 15th, whether or not it seems plausible that in-universe events could have plausibly covered an entire year. Additionally, this is evidently not a hard-and-fast rule, considering that some posts made over the course of several days clearly take place during the same day in-universe.
  • The Reveal: Happens quite a bit. See More than Meets the Eye.
  • The Mole: "Ruffled Feather" is presumably this. Word of God has revealed their identity: the therizinosaur matriarch.
  • Rule of Cool: In real life, Craig does not really agree that dromaeosaurids had a highly complex social structure, but he still makes the Crimson Talons coordinated group hunters because they're "more fun" that way.
  • Science Hero: Dr. Paradigm saves Trauamdor by beating Dr. Spectre to the punch on publishing a description of Traumador's species.
  • Separated at Birth: Though the Series Hiatus prevented him from making an actual appearance, Traumador was meant to have a brother named Dismalious who had been stolen by the Pack of the Primordial Feather as an egg.
  • Shout-Out:
  • Shown Their Work: Traumador occasionally inserts “Fossil Facts” in his posts to expand on a certain tidbit of information he mentions. He also frequently brings up discrepancies between human and theropod anatomy or culture when appropriate. (For example, he notes that hugging can be painful to theropods due to them carrying their vertebrae horizontally instead of vertically.)
  • The Smart Guy:
    • Zendin the Troodon. Word of God has said that he is the smartest Vivus dinosaur in the world.
    • Mike the librarian, who Traumador often turns to if he needs to look up any specific information.
  • Spirit Advisor: Downplayed. Vivus dinosaurs can hear "echoes" from fossil dinosaurs, usually interpreted as the preserved last thoughts of those fossilized specimens, but coherent communication is generally not possible. However, Traumador's mother once apparently manifested these echoes to warn him about impending danger (which turned out to be the Crimson Talons).
  • Special Guest: Dr. Alan Hildebrand, Dr. Donald Brinkman, Dr. François Therrien, Darren Tanke, Dr. Phil Currie, Ryan North, Brian Cooley, William Stout, and Dr. Scott Sampson, among others.
  • Stereotype Flip: Dr. Spectre to the Pack of the Primordial Feather. While the Pack views most humans (and mammals in general) as being weak, they acknowledge Spectre as being on par with their top hunters (warriors). It's been said that even though any of the various theropod Packs could overwhelm Spectre with their superior numbers, he'd be able to cause such damage in return that any Pack who tried would be left too weak to defend itself from the other Packs.
  • The Strategist:
    • Razi Saurornithoides is this to the Pack of the Primordial Feather.
    • Also Layla, to some degree. She prefers to be a tactician and monitor battles from the sidelines instead of getting into the thick of things. Alternatively, according to Desdemona Deinonychus, she's just a coward.
  • Take That!: When Traumador is told that only luck or intervention by God can save him from the Crimson Talons, he replies that, first of all, he doesn't know anyone named "God", and if they mean supernatural gods then he still disagrees on account of them making dinosaurs go extinct, and lastly the last god he met was a "very un-nice dude" who tried to kill him. He prefers luck instead.
  • Talking Animal: Traumador can speak English due to him being raised by humans. (Most other dinosaurs can understand English, but not actually speak it.)
  • Tap on the Head: Jo does this to Traumador when he tries to investigate a fossil-poaching incident.
  • Taxonomic Term Confusion:
    • Traumador is upset when the local news media calls a large marine reptile (a mosasaur) a “dinosaur”.
    • The Germ Man calls Traum, Lillian, and Larry “lizards”.
  • Team Spirit: Subverted. Traumador's team in the Dinosaur Winter Games hasn't been working together too well. Double subverted by Team Gondwana, who are similarly divided amongst themselves but appear to be able to cooperate when they must. Played straight with the other teams, especially Team America.
  • Those Two Guys: Boom and Rang the Leaellynasaura.
  • Time Travel: This was intended to become a significant part of the plot, but the Series Hiatus struck before it could be introduced.
  • To Serve Man: Subverted by the tyrannosaurids. Due to being movie celebrities they can't actually kill anyone in real life. However, they should still be scary.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Some of the Crimson Talons (as well as Traumador) to Lance. Averted by the higher-ranking Pack members, who know perfectly well what he's capable of.
  • The Unreveal: Traumador finds "the crate", opens it, and howls in anguish. He's about to say what he found inside... and then Peter Bond suddenly calls him on his cellphone to ask him to go to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics. Until Word of God revealed that the Crate had the Pack's time traveling device, we still didn't know what was inside the crate.
  • Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Traumador's plan to take the mysterious "Crate" from the Pack of the Primordial Feather. Subverted as it works mainly because Desdemona Deinonychus and Valor Velociraptor have been pulling a few strings.
  • Unusual Euphemism: Coelurosaurs use "scavenger" as a major insult.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Desdemona Deinonychus and Valor Velociraptor use Traumador this way in attempt to overthrow their political rivals.
  • Vlog Series:
    • Not true vlogs per se, but Traumador does put up videos of his life on occasion.
    • In early 2011 Traumador tried to launch a new feature on the blog, "Studio Traumador", but it has yet to take off.
  • We Used to Be Friends:
    • Professor Paradigm and Dr. Spectre.
    • Traumador fears that this may have happened between him and Zendin due to the Pack of the Primordial Feather's interference.
    • May or may not have happened with Traum and Craig. Craig's mysterious disappearance ruined any chance of reconcilation.
  • Why Did It Have To Be Ankylosaurs: Traumador fears many things, including gorillas, ghosts, mosasaurs, explosions, balloons, and rodents, but ankylosaurs must be near the top of the list.
  • The Worf Effect: Professor Paradigm is shown to be extremely skilled in physical combat. Sadly, most of his battles we (and Traum) are witness to were with even stronger opponents.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Professor Paradigm has no qualms about fighting against women if he has to.
  • Zerg Rush: Whiro's minions are a swarm of mosquitos and sand flies that attack by doing this. They can even cause severe damage to other gods.

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