Literature / Palae-oh-no

Palae-oh-no is a series of stories on DeviantArt by paleontology enthusiast and fellow troper Tyrannotitan. The stories feature a Late Cretaceous society run by troodonts in Laramidia, the main characters being two friends studying at university, Sampson Pterygius and Lora Anuscler. Both of them have relatively unusual interests, with Sampson advocating against the Fantastic Speciesism that is present in this society (troodonts are the only maniraptors granted full rights) and Lora being interested in synapsids, which are considered little more than food by most troodonts. The two are often joined by Jeff Breud, Sampson's high school science teacher.

Sampson shares his home with two other friends, Kollin the Albertonykus and Corrie the Epichirostenotes, who are forced to stay permanently indoors due to the Fantastic Racism. Kollin spends much of his time on the internet ranting at trolls and pseudoscientific fringe groups, while Corrie, being more level-headed, tries (often unsuccessfully) to get him to relax.

The series frequently satirizes pop cultural depictions of paleontology and references paleontological facts.

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This work provides examples of the following tropes:

• Action Girl:
  • Lora RPRs a Beelzebufo and kills it.
  • Kim-Lee, especially if you push her Berserk Button.
• Amplified Animal Aptitude:
  • Even non-sapient animals appear to be reasonably intelligent.
  • Subverted by the Silurian fish and arthropods, which shown to be able to talk, but it's just because they were accidentally hit by the time machine's energy.
• Anachronism Stew: The author took pains to avoid this, though some taxa from the Early Cretaceous of China are present, having arrived by time machine. At the end of "Ton-Zilla", Djhey brings a psychic hippo to the Cretaceous.
• April Fools' Plot: "Secrets Revealed".
• Artistic License – Paleontology: A creationist calls Scutosaurus and Diplodocus synapsids... when they are not at all.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The pristichampsosaurs.
• Audience? What Audience?: Kollin is the only character so far to demonstrate knowledge of the fourth wall, much to the confusion of Corrie. He has started teaching her to be more Genre Savvy though.
• Author Appeal:
  • The author is quite fond of Phineas and Ferb and Star Wars, so there are multiple references to both franchises (and other references tend to be from things he likes too).
  • Some of the characters have traits of Asperger's Syndrome, something the author is diagnosed with.
• Author Tract: Many episodes voice the author's opinion on portrayals of prehistoric life in popular culture and common reactions to said depictions. The series is a satire after all.
• Back from the Dead:
  • "The Bone Wars" parodies Darth Maul's case of this.
  • Played straight in "Soaring Pteros", where Sampson sort of dies and comes back to life as a Jurassic Park raptor.
• Bad Liar: Sampson.
• Badass Bookworm: Kollin helps defeat Djhey's army of mutants.
• Berserk Button:
  • For Kollin, depicting prehistoric animals inaccurately.
  • Kim-Lee strongly dislikes the assumption that Herbivores Are Friendly.
• Beware the Silly Ones:
  • Djhey Pterus is a complete maniac, but he was competent enough to infiltrate Primus's society and steal blueprints for a time machine, as well as capture the heroes and nearly succeed in killing them.
  • Partay_Animal was introduced as simply a rude forumgoer, but "Ton-Zilla" reveals that he has aspirations to be a supervillain.
• Big Damn Heroes: Sampson, mutated into a Jurassic Park-style deinonychosaur, saves the others from Djhey.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: In-universe, Kollin gets a video that is made to insult you, which has silly lyrics. Also an almost-literal example because the creature featured is a Notosuchus, a crocodyliform that may have had lips.invoked
• Big "NO!": Darth Vader's is parodied.
• Bilingual Bonus:
  • The title of the second episode, "Ke Makana", is Hawai'ian for "the gift", and in the same episode, the island called "Te Piro Nui" is Rapa Nui for "the great rotten".
• "Blind Idiot" Translation: An Indonesian on DeviantArt pointed out that the author translated a term wrong, as an attempt at Bilingual Bonus. Word of God admits to using an online translator, so it isn't surprising.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Partay_Animal allows the heroes to survive long enough for him to explain his backstory and evil plan to them.
• Breath Weapon: The pristichampsosaurs can shoot Frickin' Laser Beams from their mouths.
• Brotherhood of Funny Hats: Implied to exist in the form of the "Se'dinoiro".
• Carnivore Confusion:
  • Due to her interest in mammals, Lora refuses to eat them and even has one as a pet.
  • Kollin also has a cockroach "acquaintance" named Bert who he decided not to eat one day.
• Catchphrase: Word of God has stated that Kollin referring Corrie as his "fellow Epichirostenotes" is one.
• Celibate Hero: Both Sampson, who is erotophobic, and Lora, who is antisexual.

• Civilized Animal: The troodonts. Other maniraptors are similarly sapient, but suffer from Fantastic Racism.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: The troodont interrogating Sampson and Lora is implied to be mentally unstable and uses anachronistic phrases. Later revealed to be Djhey Pterus, who still shows insanity.
• Continuity Nod: Kollin manages to get a reply to his Early Extraterrestrials rant. He is not amused.

• Cure Your Gays: Inverted, with reports of a pill that actually turns you homosexual.
• Cutaway Gag: There is one which shows a man working for the Chemistry Channel checking emails.
• Darker and Edgier: While the ever-present Fantastic Speciesism means that the atmosphere is never all that idealistic, the episodes involving Djhey Pterus tend to be darker than usual.
• Deadpan Snarker: Corrie shows shades of this, often as a result of Kollin's rants.
• Deep Cover Agent: Primus and the other avialians who work for him. And now Sampson, Lora, Jeff, Kollin, and Corrie as well.
• Determinator: The Atrociraptor are quite reckless. Fortunately for Jeff, they're also quite easily distracted.
• Deus ex Machina: Subverted when it appears that a phoenix has showed up to save Jeff from the Atrociraptor pursuing him, but it turns out to be a remote-controlled toy that crashes to the ground.
• Did They or Didn't They?: Done with Sampson and Lora in "Pseudobufo Pervasor", where the two mention that they have had a great night, but refuse to reveal why (it doesn't help that Literal-Minded Lora mentioned that they slept together, leaving Jeff to interperet things differently). It turns out they were watching a marathon of a series called The Parksosaurs.
• Disney Death: Sampson in "Soaring Pteros".
• Distracted by the Sexy: Happens to Jeff when the main characters are on their way to meet with Primus.
• Ditzy Genius:
  • Kollin has his moments.
  • Vegid. Smart enough to invent a time machine, but very forgetful and often overlooks crucial details.
• Documentary of Lies: Early Extraterrestrials and Liopleurodon: Monster of the Deep.
• Eats Babies: A Chaoyangopterus was reported to have done this in a child care centre. The only survivors of the Chaoyangopterus attack were the two females running it.
• Fantastic Speciesism: Most non-troodont maniraptors are forced to live out in the wild. Dromaeosaurids at least live in the society alongside the troodonts, but only troodonts are granted full civil rights. Interspecies Romance is also frowned upon.
• Fan Dumb: Referenced in "The Bone Wars", as a nod to Star Wars' own.invoked
• Fantastic Slurs: Colin calls alvarezsaurs "stumpos", in reference to their tiny arms.
• Feathered Fiend: The Atrociraptor that have a grudge against Jeff.
• Fish out of Temporal Water: The main characters are subjected to this in "Planet Not-Theropod".
• Flanderization: In universe, it's been noted that Kollin's frustration has become more and more apparent over time.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Gangs of Atrociraptor are mentioned on the news in the first episode. One with a more important role shows up in the fourth one.
  • There are references to frogs in "The Bone Wars", which have a bigger role in the following episode.
• Fourth-Wall Mail Slot: There's an askblog.
• Fun with Acronyms: MARTIANS, which stands for a pseudoscientific fringe group that advocates "Mammals Are Really Tiny, Inferior, And Not Synapsids", a parody of the real life fringe group BAND (Bird Are Not Dinosaurs).
• Furry Confusion:
  • Due to Fantastic Racism, Kollin and Corrie are officially considered Sampson's "pets", even though he certainly doesn't treat them that way. One of Sampson's students, named Collin, calls Kollin a "stumpo", and the students are shocked to find out Kollin (an Albertonykus, alverezsaur) and Corrie (an Epichirostenotes, oviraptorosaur) can speak. Needless to say, Kollin is not amused.
  • The Microraptor living in the Late Cretaceous are the only maniraptors that can't talk due to a time travel accident.
• Furry Reminder: The characters have access to technology like cars and computers, but tidbits like the males being more flamboyant and the use of gizzard stones clearly show that these are still maniraptors, not feathered humans.
• Future Slang: To the troodonts, "horse shit" is this, which brings up the question of how the troodont saying it came to learn the term. He turns out to be a time traveler.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Vegid can invent essentially anything the plot requires.
• Gender-Blender Name: Anne Mei Rex, the dictator of Brachryo.
• Giant Flyer: Quetzalcoatlus, also doubles as a Monster of the Week.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: The basic premise of "Operation Screw-up".
• Grammar Nazi: Kollin is like this when talking to trolls in a chat box.
• Guile Hero: Kollin, Sampson, and Jeff all have their moments in "Planet Not-Theropod".
• Harmless Villain: While Rob, Langsty and Bergus are serious about what they do, they aren't very successful at their attempts to kill Jeff in revenge for something he did to their family.
• Healing Factor: Djhey has been exposed to so much of the mutagen he'd collected that he apparently has this power now.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Feduciucc in "Planet Not-Theropod".
• Hobbits: The ancestors of the sapient troodonts were descended from a dwarf troodontid species called the "Boppits". They died out thanks to a volcanic eruption. They are a parody of the real life "Hobbit".
• Hope Spot:
  • The phoenix that appears when Jeff is being chased by some Atrociraptor is just a remote-controlled toy.
  • The gang successfully escape from their car when it gets stuck in quicksand, but are blown back into the quicksand by a strong wind.
  • Earlier in the same episode, Jeff realises that the man running the airport security is a friend of his, and sees if he can get past him using that. Unfortunately, it involves Sampson and Lora being questioned.
• Hot Teacher: Feduciucc Synaphy, according to at least one student.
• Hypocritical Humor: Kollin thinks "Colin" is a pathetic name.
• Implacable Frog: The Beelzebufo that tries to eat Kollin.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Jeff's girlfriend is Chera, Rob the Atrociraptor's daughter, hence Rob's grudge against him.
  • Kollin's crush on Kim-Lee.
• It Will Never Catch On: In "Ke Makana", Jeff scoffs at the idea that featherless troodonts would become popular someday.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Feduciucc Synaphy turns out to be one. He is an advocate for equal rights among maniraptors and has been actively involved in promoting the cause.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Fedcuciucc calls out Lora for treating him as nothing but a one-dimensional crank.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: Lora has this opinion when she has to do so to surprise Sampson.
• Lampshade Hanging: All the time!
• Large Ham:
  • Kollin can become this when he is annoyed.
  • Early Extraterrestrials is pretty overdramatic too.
  • The Silurian arthropods.
• Laughably Evil: Djhey and Partay_Animal.
• Lions and Tigers and Humans... Oh, My!: "Planet Not-Theropod". Later revealed to be the result of time travel.
• Literal-Minded: Lora.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Jeff is implied to be this.
• Mad Scientist: Djhey Pterus.
• Made of Iron: The Beelzebufo that chases Kollin falls into a ditch, gets run over by a bus, is set on fire, and is blown up by a bomb but just keeps coming.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: Sampson has 22 siblings. This falls within the size range of known troodont clutches.
• Meaningful Name: Essentially every single character. These are explained in the author's comments on every story.
• Memetic Mutation: In-Universe example with the "Big-lipped Notosuchus", a video used to insult people.
• Misplaced Wildlife:
  • The author took pains to avoid this, though some taxa from the Early Cretaceous of China are present, having arrived by time machine.
  • Other invasive species in Laramidia are also mentioned, having been artificially introduced by troodonts.
• Mistaken for Badass: In The Bone Wars Han Solo turns out to be a trilobite of the species Han solo.
• Mistaken for Romance: A student misinterprets the use of "partner" to refer to Kollin and Corrie's relationship.
• Mix-and-Match Critter: The pristichampsosaurs, as giant part Pristichampsus, part champsosaurs.
• Money, Dear Boy:
  • In-Universe: Jeff references this trope when he thinks about why the Atrociraptor would decide to fight an Edmontosaurus.
  • Kollin uses this technique to convince a "dresser" to remove her feathers.
• Monster Munch: Dat Guye.
• Motor Mouth: Sampson's father.
• New Powers as the Plot Demands: There are constant reveals of devices made by Vegid to help the main characters.
• Ninja Log: On several occasions, Corrie has created artwork so quickly that it can be used to this effect.
• Not Zilla: The pristichampsosaurs, as lampshaded by the title of their debut episode, "Ton-Zilla".
• Old Friend: Cyryl.
• Overreacting Airport Security: Used in the first half of "It Begins", where everyone (except Jeff, Kollin and Corrie) was taken for interrogation after the security inspector jumped to conclusions.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Kollin and Corrie's troodont disguises. Literally, as said disguises are just paper masks. In "Planet Not-Theropod", they put on similar masks to disguise themselves as humans, and it's still effective.
• Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: Sampson has this, to the point where he had to take a tranquiliser.
• Parody:
  • Quite common, considering it is meant to be a satire of palaeontology. This has so far been done to the BAND, Ancient Aliens, Jurassic Fight Club, creationists, Primeval, Walking with Monsters, Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension and a double parody involving The Bone Wars and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
  • Kollin is essentially one of hardcore dinosaur enthusiasts.
• Parental Abandonment: A major factor in Corrie's childhood, as her father forced her to leave him at less than a month old, and her mother was killed by an Arrhinoceratops.
• Platonic Life-Partners:
  • Sampson and Lora appear to be this, as they are very kind to each other, get along well and seem fairly close.
  • Kollin and Corrie as well, as the two practically have spent their whole lives together.

• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: A palaeontologist in Early Extraterrestrials does this in a Shout-Out to 300.
• Punny Name: The Show Within a Show, The Bone Wars, has Nast E. Drink, who keeps on getting called alcohol references to the point where he even lampshades it.

• Real Life Writes the Plot: Many examples, but "The Great Banning" especially is based on an actual online experience of the author.
• Rebel Leader: Primus. Unusually for this trope, he holds an extremely powerful position in the society, being the owner of a highly successful shopping center.
• Red Shirt: Lampshaded.
  Dat Guye: It always has to be the unimportant guy, doesn’t it?
• Redemption Equals Death: Though the author hasn't decided whether Feduciucc actually died at the end of "Planet Not-Theropod", said event certainly comes across as this trope.
• Reset Button:
  • Vegid's time machine is designed to do this. Time travelers who use it remember their trip, but otherwise the timeline remains unaltered and Temporal Paradoxes cannot happen.
  • One happens in "Operation Screw-up", in the form of a mind wiping device which is presented like in Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension.
• Rule of Cool: The Beelzebufo being toxic like cane toads.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: A theme in "The Great Banning", which also results in a parody.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Lampshaded when Sampson and Lora are being interrogated by a troodont at the airport.
  Sampson: Okay, why does everyone assume that we are a couple because we are a male and female together?
• Ship Tease:
  • Subverted in "It was MARITANS! 2/2", as when Kollin meets Lora, he becomes catatonic, but is merely stunned at the sight of a lizard. He acts normally once he turns his attention to her.
  • Sampson and Lora both are very kind to each other and have had some interesting interactions, though Word of God states that he doesn't know what direction to take, but that it's unlikely at the moment.
  • Kollin has been shown to have a crush on Kim-Lee.
• Shipper on Deck: Corrie is both amused by and supportive of Kollin's crush on Kim-Lee.
• Shout-Out: Too many to list, including references to Star Wars, Ancient Aliens, Primeval, Doctor Who, Planet Dinosaur, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park, Ratchet & Clank, Phineas and Ferb, The Dinosaur Project, Austin Powers, The Secret Show, March of the Dinosaurs, Tetrapod Zoology, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, The Mighty Boosh and Prometheus.
• Shown Their Work: As explained in the author's comments, the author goes to great lengths with his research.
• Shrinking Violet: Due to being homeschooled prior to meeting Sampson, Lora shows shades of this.
• Sdrawkcab Name: When Partay_Animal acts as Feducciuc's replacement, he goes by the moniker "Ton Ccuicudef".
• Some Call Me "Tim": Jeff's acquaintance Zanzizabazalar insists on being called Za-Za.
• Straight Man: Corrie to Kollin, especially during the alvarezsaurid's more passionate moments.
• Super-Persistent Predator: The Beelzebufo pursuing Kollin.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Partay_Animal's brief stint as a stand-in for Feducciuc blatantly invokes this.
• Take That!: Extremely common (as the series was created primarily to be a satire).
• Taking the Bullet: Sampson takes a taser shock for Jeff when the two are being interrogated about their genus name.
• Talking Animal: The maniraptors turn out to have no problem communicating with humans in "Planet Not-Theropod". Naturally, it is lampshaded how improbably convenient this is.
• Techno Babble: How Vegid explains her memory wiping device. The author admitted that he just did it so it would work as a Reset Button.
• Tempting Fate: Corrie is Genre Savvy enough to subvert this in "Ton-Zilla".
• Too Dumb to Live: The teenager who hates feathered dinosaurs in "Planet Not-Theropod" continues to insult them even after being wounded by Kim-Lee.
• The Unreveal: "Muffasaurus" is not the real genus name of the troodonts.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: The bimorphs can shift between turtle and pterosaur forms until the end of "Ton-Zilla".
• Weaksauce Weakness: Vegid builds a device that can invoke this, causing the pristichampsosaurs to succumb to Square-Cube Law.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Dat Guye is eaten by a Quetzalcoatlus not long after his introduction. This scene is also an example of Monster Munch.
• Wham Episode: "Beasts Awakened" has Corrie, Kollin, and Sampson arrested by police.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: A minor one with Lora and the Beelzebufo, though she quickly RPR's and kills it.
• The Worf Effect: Cyryl is the first to get captured in "Soaring Pteros".
• Zany Scheme: Kollin comes up with one to get Jeff to come with him and Corrie to meet Primus.
• Zerg Rush: The Atrociraptor attempt this on the Edmontosaurus, but it doesn't work out.

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