The Angst of Gary S Tu is a The Legend of Spyro fanfiction by Plague Doctor 2035.
It is a parody of a Fandom-Specific Plot commonly found in Legend of Spyro fanfiction commonly known as the "Post DoTD template". In this story, a teenager named Gary S Tu is summoned to the dragon realms by the Chronicler to deal with a vague threat because the Chronicler has a vague prophecy. As anyone who reads enough Spyro fanfiction expects, Gary develops amazing powers right away and meets up with Spyro and Cynder. He then goes on an adventure with them. Well, sort of. They leave the city and then skip over several to simply get to the villain's lair. The adventure plot plays out pretty much how one might expect a fic of this nature to.
Which, according to the author, is very much the point.
The story was first posted in November 2023 and can be found here
.
Warning, unmarked spoilers.
The Agnst of Gary S Tu contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Just because something is cliche or overused, it does not automatically make the cliche or use the cliche fundamentally bad. Sometimes cliches can be used in different and inventive new ways or are needed to form the basis of a story that can, in turn, be fleshed out. Additionally, it's stated that one should focus on writing what they want first and foremost, and not worry about pleasing everyone in the audience.
- Child Soldiers: Parodied and deconstructed. It's pointed out by Spyro and his friends that he was only twelve during the war and fighting in it was harsh, and that it was unethical of the elders to throw children into battle. The guardians, however, argue that they "are very heroic" and that "child soldiers are very ethical". To emphasize this point, they bring in a five-years-old hatchling whom they painted purple and tricked into thinking he was the next purple dragon. His mother then shows up and puts the Guardians on trial for war crimes and child endangerment.
- Dungeon Bypass: Exaggerated. The main characters literally fly over "a vast amount of world-building" to get to the villain's lair. The fic describes it as a few potential arcs they skipped over, including one involving Spyro's adoptive parents and the main group getting captured by a bunch of apes.
- Instant Expert: Gary immediately knows how to use his powers despite just getting them, both as a human and as a dragon. He, of course, lampshades this.
- Kid Hero: Parodied. As stated in the Child Soldiers trope listed above, the Guardians painted a five-year-old kid purple ( in a not-so-subtle jab at the various purple dragon fan offspring of Spyro in other fics) and tricked him into thinking he can wild all the magic elements. This amounts to the hatchling, Sear, "demonstrating" these powers by blowing air, using fire (his own element) kicking a rock off the stage he is standing on, and swimming in the nearby fountain. (to show fire, air, earth, water, and so on) The paint then washes off in the fountain because it had not dried yet. Played more straight with Spyro, Cynder, and Gary, although he seems to be near adulthood.
- Take That!: To all sorts of cliches and aspects of Spyro fanfics and even the community.
- Jabs are taken at the overuse of Trapped in TV Land plots and the "Post DoTD" template as a whole.
- A subtle one at the amount of purple dragons OCs who are kids of Spyro and Cynder, despite the whole "born once every ten generations" thing regarding purple dragons. Additionally it parodies said kids somehow mastering all the abilities of their parents and defeating better-trained adults with ease.
- Jabs are taken at the
Ron the Death Eater treatment Spyro gets in certain stories, often by shippers looking to ship Cynder (his main love interest in many Legend stories) with others. At the same time, this fic takes shots at the hardcore shippers who gatekeep the "Spyro x Cynder" ship and harass people for not using that ship.
- Vagueness Is Coming: Parodied. The Guardians and Ignitus give a vague prophecy that sets the story in motion. However, no one, not even the main villain, is sure what that threat actually is. The Guardians admit they were high when they came up with this.
