YMMV / Total Trauma

• Abandon Shipping: Discovering Courtney and Cecily were an Age-Gap Romance turned a lot of fans off of the ship, though Cecily remained popular.
• Angst Aversion: The comic is divisive within the fandom because of the deconstructive Cerebus Retcon applied to the show, with several characters expressing suicidal tendencies and other severe mental health issues. Many avoid reading it because of how heavy the themes are compared to the show's original light tone (Black Comedy aside).
• Angst? What Angst?: Despite everyone previously being distraught about Duncan's suicide attempt as soon as Courtney speaks to Duncan for the first time the pair immediately begin flirting and bantering like old times, acting as though the incident and Duncan having both his legs amputated is a mere inconvenience rather than a life altering event. The rest of the cast act similarly, only being happy to see him.
• Common Knowledge: Fans with a vague familiarity of the comic often make fun of Cody's anime hoodie by calling it an "ahegao" hoodie. The print on Cody's hoodie isn't actually pornographic at all, but a panel from Love Live!.
• Crosses the Line Twice:
  • Duncan attempting suicide by throwing himself in front of a truck? Horrifying. The comic's creator hosting a "Killed The Bitch Celebration Stream" the day after? Guiltily hilarious.
  • It's terrible that Duncan's mom leaves the hospital without even staying to check on her son, who's in critical condition after his attempted suicide. But it's darkly funny and audacious that the title of this comic is "Girlboss."
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Courtney's girlfriend Cecily, one of the few original characters in the comic, was quickly beloved for her cute design and dynamic with Courtney before she even gained a significant narrative role, garnering a lot of fanart.
• Fanon Discontinuity: According to Wyatt, the comic disregards Ridonculous Race and "like 90% of All Stars."
  Wyatt: It's on its own weird continuity.
• Funny Moments: Despite it being a darker take on Total Drama, there are still moments of funny:
  • “Old Habits Die Hard” show that all former contestants now have the urge to speak out their feelings in the bathroom.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • All the cute moments between Courtney and Cecily are a bit iffier to watch after learning about the power imbalance later discussed in their relationship.
  • "It's Courtney!" is a Breather Episode about how Courtney doesn't have a "sob story" comic because she's doing so well, including having a happy relationship with Cecily. Then down the line came "Perspective Shift" and her relationship with Cecily comes into question, keeping her awake at night with anxiety. She's also gleeful that Duncan's in jail in this comic, but several comics later, she learns he attempted suicide and is completely shocked.
  • "What a Mess" has a cameo from Joan and JFK from Clone High, in which Joan gives Gwen advice on how to come to terms with her feelings for Heather, describing how she knew JFK was right for her. When Clone High was later Un-Cancelled, Joan and JFK realize they aren't quite compatible after all and have a difficult breakup.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • The middle of "Heather's Lament Part 3" where Heather recounts how Alejandro encouraged her to outgrow her mean girl persona, and she gave him a reason to be a better person. She then fantasizes about hugging her younger selves and giving them the reassurance they need to be better.
  You aren't broken. It's okay to cry. I love you.
  • "Perfectly Imperfect," the conclusion to the Justin/Owen/Noah story in Volume One. Justin, Noah, and Owen are all cuddling in bed. Owen wakes up and confides in Justin that he's been worried about Noah, and Justin reassures him not to worry, and that they'll gently tell Noah tomorrow that if there's a problem he's having, they're willing to help him through it. They thought Noah was asleep for this whole conversation, but in reality he's been listening in, and the last panel shows him blushing with absolute love for his boyfriends.
  • "Love You Like Your Brand New" has a sweet moment with Vito comforting Zoey.
  Vito: Zoey, listen. Your body is your own, and just because you were comfortable with something at one point doesn't mean you have to keep on doing it. You don't owe that to anyone. If you don't want to do something anymore, you can absolutely go back.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In one of the story's pages published in 2020, when Heather and Gwen call Courtney out for being in a relationship with Cecily due to their age gap, it's shown in a flashback montage that Courtney had a younger boyfriend called Caleb before meeting Cecily. Three years later, when the Total Drama revival gets released, it's stated that it has been fifteen years since the first season and one of the new contestants is a handsome boy named Caleb.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Wyatt has been mentioning wanting to make Gwen fat since Volume 1, however Gwen's "chubby" design from Volume 2 barely looks any bigger than her usual figure. Gwen's hips and waist are slightly bigger but she's definitely not chubby, let alone fat, her body is merely curvy like Courtney or Zoey's. A later picture on Wyatt's behind-the-scenes blog (containing spoilers) shows Gwen with a larger figure in a future design, which may be a response to this criticism.
• Iron Woobie:
  • This comic's interpretation of Vito. He exists because a young Mike was molested and needed somebody "capable of withstanding hell with a smile on their face" to take the abuse for him. Vito tells the story without more than some snarky comments and a frown, but he's clearly repressing major discomfort, refusing Zoey's offer for a hug.
  • Upon leaving prison, Duncan can't find a job or anywhere affordable to live, he has no friends waiting for him, and his parents don't want to see him. He endures this all with a straight face and no tears, far too used to this treatment. However, it ultimately gets to him, and he jumps in front of a truck.
• Misaimed Merchandising: An early sticker pack had a Courtney/Cecily sticker available despite the comic later portraying said relationship as flawed due to the age gap. Wyatt removed the sticker from prins store due to concerns about this.
• Moe: Cecily's occasionally childish personality and tooth gap can make her this at times.
• Narm:
  • While the writing itself is generally regarded as good, the use of the original series’ blocky art style makes it difficult for some readers to take certain scenes seriously. The fact that the artwork also tends to be traced a lot doesn't help.
  • Cody's default outfit, while it's merely a hoodie with a manga print, is very reminiscent of (and often mistaken for) the infamous ahegao hoodie◊. And he wears it even during serious scenes. Considering the ahegao hoodie tends to be considered laughable and associated with the most unflattering depictions of Occidental Otaku, it just comes off as hilarious.
  • The reveal of Duncan having both his legs amputated started circling online due to how nonchalant Duncan looks about it and the cheesy dialogue, seemingly being completely unaffected by losing his legs. Various edits have circulated online with the dialogue changed making fun of the situation, one of the more popular ones being Duncan donating his chest to Courtney.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The comic's interpretation of Alejandro's time in the robot exploits the Fridge Horror in the show for all it's worth. In short: Chris put the burnt Alejandro in the suit and essentially kidnapped him to protect Total Drama's reputation, used him as a slave, then left Alejandro in Chef's care after Chris was arrested, where he was mostly locked up in a basement. The claim in All Stars that Alejandro's voice chip broke was a lie, as in reality, Chef removed the chip to prevent Alejandro from complaining, something even Chris is shook by. Oh, and Alejandro walking on his hands in the canon and then revealing he was able to walk by the end? His legs are actually permanently damaged; Chris refused to give him a wheelchair out of pure spite, then forced him to claim that he was able to walk all along. Even though Heather and Alejandro sue the hell out of Chris for this, the comic shows that Alejandro has severe PTSD as a result of this torture. "Casket" is especially creepy as it offers a look at what the inside of the robot looked like, with Alejandro strapped to the robot, badly scarred, and crying.
  • The reveal of Mike's abusive foster mom Angela in "Memory Lane Part 2◊" and the confirmation that she's the source of his sexual trauma. The dim lighting and the sickeningly lustful look on her face gets the chilling implications across quite effectively.
  • "Dissociation" is a disorienting read, as it makes it clear that Lindsay/Donna is no longer aware of what's happening around her, and the audience can't tell exactly where she is either. It ends with her fading into the bathtub, laughing nervously with Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises as she claws at her face.
• Tear Jerker: Much of the comic is heartbreaking for anybody who grew up loving these characters, since most of them have some serious trauma as a result of their time on the show.
  • "Just Checking In!" While not very detailed, it's a reminder of the characters (Duncan, Alejandro, Ezekiel, and Dakota) that ended the show in the worst conditions, and suggests a lot more tragedy to come once we delve deeper into their stories.
  • Duncan's been in and out of juvie since he was young and spent several years in adult prison. Once he got out, instead of seeing his old friends from the show waiting for him, he was completely alone.
  • "No Felons" shows Duncan try to reintegrate into society after being in jail for so long, but can't even find an affordable place to stay that accepts felons. He goes back to his parents' house, and his mother is shocked, begins crying, and rejects him as well, saying she doesn't want his father to see him.
  • In "A Question of Worth", Zoey opens up about her mental health issues on Instagram, and gets a message from a fanboy offering to cheer her up. She opens it...only to find a dick pic instead. Shocked and appalled, she breaks down crying, feeling like nobody cares about her.
  • Everyone's reactions to Duncan's suicide attempt but especially Alejandro, who begs to know if he pulled through and Courtney, who tries to claim that Duncan would never do that, but is later shown to be speeding with tears in her eyes to reach him.
  • True, Cecily and Courtney's relationship was kinda morally grey to begin with, but in "The Right To Love", there's something saddening about watching Cecily break up with her.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: While Volume 1 was still being released readers found it difficult to feel any sympathy for Chris when he found out about Duncan's suicide attempt, largely due to the fact that one of the previous comics depicted him sexually harassing Lindsay while she was still a minor. During the planning for Volume 2 Wyatt decided to retroactively change the comic so that Chris wasn't the one assaulting a minor but instead an unnamed producer.
• The Woobie:
  • Zoey adopted a sexual image to soak in the affection of her lecherous fanboys, because she never had any sort of positive attention until then, and when she finally speaks out about her mental health, the fanboys still just want to fuck her.
  • Sierra broke up with Cody because he, as a transgender man, couldn't give her the baby he wanted, only for her to imply she saw him as a baby instead of a boyfriend. In "Hydrangeas," he's left struggling to cancel all the wedding payments and sobbing to his mom to not to let the press know.
  • Mike was raised by his grandpa in his early years (with no mention of what happened to his parents); however, the old man passed away and he was thrown into the foster care system. His first two alters, Chester and Svetlana, were created out of a desire for a new guardian figure (Chester as a sort of replacement for his grandfather, Svetlana as a parental figure to help support him); his third one, Vito, came about when he got placed in the "care" of Angela, who was (in Vito's words) "a sick, perverted monster who liked little boys".
• WTH, Costuming Department?:
  • Cody's anime hoodie, which he wears even in serious scenes, bears an uncanny resemblance to the infamous ahegao hoodie associated with unflattering Occidental Otaku stereotypes.
  • Later chapters show Tyler (who'd previously dressed in his usual sporty clothes) inexplicably wearing a white puffy shirt like the one Kramer foisted upon Jerry, which combined with his much longer hair makes him look like something from the cover of a romance novel.
  • Justin's floral print romper also takes some getting-used-to, especially since it's something Justin wouldn't typically have worn.
  • There was a significant amount of backlash from the fandom while Courtney's outfit was being designed due it the combination of a floor length skirt and turtle neck sweater that left Courtney's chest exposed. Wyatt made it clear pri liked the design and wouldn't be making any alterations but that didn't stop the wave of complaints from readers.
  • Wyatt is unable to remember what Gwen's hair is supposed to look like after Gwen dyed half of it bleach blonde and the other half blue. The end result is that the colours in Gwen's hair will constantly change sides between panels and comics.

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