Rebuild of Elmer Studios, year one

It’s been a year of the rebuilt Elmer Studios (or, if you prefer, the sixteenth year all up). Wow. That went by fast.

It was a busy year too; thirty-two MSTings. Of them, which eleven were B-team episodes, fifteen were rebuilds (technically, sixteen were, but one was a rebuild of an unfinished MSTing) and eight were based off franchises that were new to Elmer Studios (nine if you count Transformers Prime on its own). That’s a pretty good run by any standards; true the front-loading of Rebuild of Delta probably accelerated the process somewhat, but the point still stands that it’s been a pretty big and fun year.

(For comparison, thirty-two would have been a good year for the ‘classic’ Elmer Studios. Wow, that says a lot right there and then.)

Episode 232 - Ripple In Time

Episode 232: Ripple in Time

Apparently we can do this now

Time travel is a plot device that is hard to use well, and this Robotech fic exists largely to prove that point. Having decided that they can indeed travel back in time, the Haydonites decide that the best course of action is to go to one specific point for no readily defined reason other than it makes for a decent team up. Fortunately, the Invid Regis can also travel in time, so why she doesn’t use that power to stop centuries of intergalactic conflict form ever occurring is a mystery. Instead she sends out heroes (and by that I mean Communications Officer and some other guys) back to five minutes after when the bad guys went to. Confused? So am I and that’s only the first chapter!

Spoiler: Alex Romero dies.

Riffers: Dan, Rebecca Bartley, Tsuneo Tateo and Rick R. Mortis
Written by: Zogster and Rick R.

Episode 231 - Tech Wars

Episode 231: Tech Wars

And do I creep you out?

In a techno-thriller, a mixture of action, intrigue and romance makes for a powerful story. And Tech Wars delivers that balance in spades. Well, that is if you define "action" as "one-sided beat-downs," "intrigue" as "block exposition" and "romance" as "creepy obsessive staring and stalking." If you don't, then you might not get much out of this fic (not even Shatner) save for some random inappropriately inserted Gundam technology. It's a fic written after extensive research reading other fics, and it shows!

Riffers: Dan, Rebecca Bartley, Tsuneo Tateo and Rick R. Mortis
Written by: Zogster and Rick R.

Episode 230 - Forever and Always

Episode 230: Forever and Always

If you want to be taken seriously, go off and form your own teen hero team. Then you can have all sorts of adventures and save the world and die horrible, horrible deaths so that the adults will acknowledge you as their equals

When you think Transformers fanfic, you naturally assume that it’s going to be about long-winded boring cliché anime villains drippy teenage girls with superpowers. Because certainly that’s what this fic is all about, and let me tell you now, it doesn’t hold back on the details. Our hero Grace manages to take time out from her exciting life of wangst, self-pity and locker combinations to get zapped by a Cybernet Space Cube and gain the power to levitate iPhones. Armed with this unique gift, she does the most logical thing that anyone would do – take a walk through the desert to the bad side of town in the middle of her night with her two best friends (even if one of them doesn’t seem to exist). Oh sure, there might be some giant alien robots that turn into cars in there, but you won’t care as you’ll want to know what colour her folder is! So come on in and roll your eyes in derision at the fic!

Riffers: Rebecca Bartley, Natasha Isavia, Matt Simmons and Rick R. Mortis
Written by: Rick R

Episode 229 - Poisoned Minds

Episode 229: Poisoned Minds

Great, I’ve either figured out the plot in advance or I’ve broken the fic again.

Meet Ashina Takara. Who is this intriguing woman of mystery? Well that's a good question, because we truthfully don't know. Is she some kind of engineered transhuman construct, combined from the features of multiple subjects yet lacking in every single way? Is she a perfect fighting machine despite the fact she loses in every single fight she gets into? Is she the specially cloned body which can't seem to hold up under normal day-to-day use? Or is it her special guns, one of which is ludicrously described the other she may have lost, may have had stolen or may have sent to some guy nobody knows who doesn't show up until the end? Regardless, this is her story. What? The fic, you ask? Well... Actually, after all that, do you really want to know?

Riffers: Dan, Rebecca Bartley, Tsuneo Tateo and Rick R. Mortis
Written by: Zogster and Rick R.

Episode 228 - Girl on Fire, chapters 1-5

Episode 228: Girl on Fire, chapters 1-5

In shocking news the city of Moose Tailings, Alaska was burned to the ground while the Justice League looked on.

For a Young Justice fanfic, the title The Girl on Fire is a bit of a misnomer. Although there is a lot of girl in it, the fire in question seems to be fairly optional. And while Stephanie is adored by everyone, sings like a former Justice League member (not Blue Devil) and is the heir to the majority of an unspecified subdivision of oil companies, she doesn't actually spend that much time On Fire. Instead, she flits around her home, has a shower, sings a forgettable pop song, gets a haircut, flies to school, and eats her grandmothers stew* while two teams of superheroes look on. And while Robin gets embarrassed, Wonder Woman gets a duplicate and Icon gets a line, all you'll get is the gripping** superhero romance of The Girl on Fire.

*All this actually happens.
**Gripping is optional.

Riffers: Dan, Maya Gold, Celena Harte and Tsuneo Tateo
Written by: Zogster

Episode 227 - The legion of the mysterious Black X-1 VT Fighter, parts 3-4

Episode 227: The legion of the mysterious Black X-1 VT Fighter, parts 3-4

I think we're at all points in continuity at once.

As Legion of the Mysterious Black X-1 reiterates its way towards its inevitable conclusion mysteries lie before us like discarded fast food wrappers, begging to be picked up. Who is the mysterious pilot of the Black X-1? What is the thermodynamics-defying secret weapon, and why did they test it on a well-known and popular war hero without telling him first? Why does Gloval have a contingency plan against a weapon that nobody knew existed? Will Khyron ever calm down and learn to respect his soldiers? What is in the red folder and how is it different from any other folders? Will Kyle ever get over the Chicken Pots? And finally, most importantly, why Brick?

Riffers: Dan, Rebecca Bartley, Tsuneo Tateo and Rick R. Mortis
Written by: Zogster and Rick R.