Basic Trope: An ending where a character reacts negatively to something that reminds them of a recent adventure.
- Straight: After spending part of a week warding off an attack by Emperor Evulz' pet dragon, Bob vehemently refuses to see Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon with Alice at the theater.
- Exaggerated: After part of a week warding off attacks by Emperor Evulz' pet dragon, ferocious dogs, giant man-eating clams, and poison-filled balloons, Bob refuses to see Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon, pet a stray dog, eat clam chowder, or go to Alice's brother Charlie's birthday party.
- Downplayed: After spending part of the week warding off an attack by Emperor Evulz' pet dragon, Bob goes to see Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon with Alice, but he enjoys it less than he would have another day.
- Justified: Bob can't just turn off his memories of what happened.
- Inverted: After part of a week spent warding off an attack by Emperor Evulz' dragon, Bob goes to see Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon with Alice and enjoys it more than usual.
- Subverted: Bob spends part of the week fighting Emperor Evulz' dragon, and when Alice asks him to see Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon with her, he says, "No!" However, then he tells her he's exhausted from the day's battle and just wants to go home and rest.
- Double Subverted:...But then Alice puts on Firedrake: Origins back at the house and he screams.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: Bob isn't at all affected by seeing reminders of recent adventures.
- Enforced:
- The executives want a last laugh before the credits roll, so they have Alice accidentally remind Bob of something traumatic in the adventure he just went through.
- The executives or the writers want to show that some things don't get resolved in a snap and use this trope to start off Bob's Recovery Arc.
- Lampshaded: "No way! No dragon movies for me after what I've seen this week."
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: Emperor Evulz puts up items that remind Bob of recent adventures around his lair, his henchmen's hangouts, and other places he doesn't want him snooping.
- Defied: Bob refuses to hand Evulz any victories, even something as tiny as allowing the traumas he suffers from battling him ruin his enjoyment of what he does off the clock.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Bob comes in after fighting Emperor Evulz' dragon earlier in the week, sees Firedrake: Origins playing on the TV, and immediately about-faces and runs back outside.
- Played for Laughs:
- When Alice says the title of Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon, Bob goes all "Dddddddrrrraaagggooonn! Sloooowwwlllyyyy I turned… step by step… inch by inch…"
- One of the major Running Gags of the show is the humongous barrage of Absurd Phobias Bob has, which are all "trauma button endings" to a myriad of Noodle Incidents. After the fifth or sixth time Bob begins to tell the dreary tale of how he got the trauma-of-the-day, the rest of the cast do their damnedest to make him stop.
- Played for Drama: After spending time fighting Emperor Evulz' dragon earlier that week, Bob vehemently refuses to see Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon with Alice. Alice wasn't around for the dragon fight and takes the refusal as a sign she may have lost Bob's affections, because he loves watching movies with her.
- Played for Horror:
- Bob fought Emperor Evulz's dragon and is on the edge of a complete Freak Out when he arrives home. Alice plays Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon - in 3D! as a surprise. Bob is scared straight into a heart attack.
- Bob reacts to Apocalypse of the 50-Foot Dragon by undergoing a murderous case of Sanity Slippage and killing Alice.
- Bob freaking out when Alice plays that film has a more dire reason to exist than just being a Trauma Button: the film (all versions of the film) became the can Bob shoved that evil in and now Alice has released it, with Bob now having even less of a chance to beat it.
- Alice thinks Bob being afraid of the film is an Absurd Phobia until Bob explains, and the explanation sounds like Quint talking about his experience in the U.S.S. "Indianapolis".
Aauugh! I don't ever want to see Trauma Button Ending again as long as I live.
