JohnMarkee1995

9/4 UPDATE: All spots have been filled, I'm no longer taking suggestions.

Ever since I've started going back to submitting on here every once in awhile I have people asking me if I accept requests in which I always respond by saying "No". However, I've recently decided to open up some requests for headshots meaning that I'll draw a character on an icon-sized sheet of paper getting at least their head in the picture. I've recently done ones for Dwayne from The Ridonculous Race and Leni from The Loud House which I'll soon be uploading in order to provide examples of how I do headshots.

I can pretty much draw (or at least attempt to draw) anything so long as they're a pre-existing character meaning that I don't do OC's and can only do animated properties (meaning no live-action). I can also allow anyone to submit at least two ideas but I'll be counting each one separately. While I am open to drawing from anything, the properties that I excel the most with are the ones from Big Idea (VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins!, and Larry-Boy 2D), The Loud House, Steven Universe, and Total Drama/The Ridonculous Race.

Open slots
1. Petunia Rhubarb (VeggieTales) () (COMPLETED)
2. Gwen (Total Drama) () (COMPLETED)
3. Emma (The Ridonculous Race) () (COMPLETED)
4. Princess Courtney (Total Drama) () (COMPLETED)
5. Equestria Girls Sunset Shimmer (MLP) () (COMPLETED)
6. Equestria Girls Fluttershy (MLP) ()
7. Bushroot (Darkwing Duck) ()
8. Ludwig Von Koopa (Mario) ()
9. Kitty (The Ridonculous Race) ()
10. Ungothed Ennui (The Ridonculous Race) ()
11. Wendy Koopa (Mario) ()
12. Wonder Woman (Justice League Unlimited) ()
13. Remake of Darth Learns of LucasFilms' New Owners ()
14. Falco in Star Fox Assault attire (Star Fox) ()
15. Equestria Girls Adagio Dazzle (MLP) ()
16. Tails in Sonic Boom attire (Sonic the Hedgehog) ()
17. Peridot (Steven Universe) ()
18. Oona (Bubble Guppies) ()
19. Kai-Lan (Ni Hao, Kai-Lan) ()
20. Pacifica Northwest (Gravity Falls) ()

I talk about the episodes in the order of how I rank them from best to worst.

1. Mr. Greg: Like any, this was the episode from the first week of Steven's Summer Adventure that I was looking forward to the most. But less for the fact that it was a musical episode, but more for how it was the first episode to be centered around Pearl (or at least have her play an important part) since Back to the Barn which was over half a year ago and I've been longing for an episode dealing with my favorite character of both this show and in general. It was also interesting to see them revisit her feelings for Rose and how she copes with her loss as that topic is part of the reason why she's my favorite as I too relate to it on a very personal level. This was also the first new episode to be dealing with that topic since I began relating to it as it didn't truly hit me until nearly a year ago (it will be a year next month since I started relating to this subject). In the end, the episode lived up to my expectations though I kinda wish it had been a half-hour instead of the usual 11 minutes as I feel like it just a little too short.

2. Too Short to Ride: Another episode that I was looking forward to based on who was the main character (Peridot). The title and the fact that she was in it made it sound like the episode dealing with her feeling insignificant and out of place in an environment which is part of what makes her my 2nd favorite character on the show after Pearl. And they did ultimately go that route a little by having her reveal that she's an "Era 2" Peridot by having her former limb enhancements make up for her lack of powers (that was at least until the unexpected plot twist that she has the power of mental telepathy which did legit catch me by surprise) which to me is like somebody whose has Autism (like myself) saying 'I'm different'. Like several others, I was expecting Peridot fuse with either Steven or Amethyst in order to grow taller but didn't really care that that wasn't the direction they went in. Other minor things that I liked were the brief callbacks to other episodes like Serious Steven and Barn Mates, the way Amethyst's hair was for a majority of the episode (more frazzled which seems to happen mostly whenever she hangs with Peridot), and finding out that Greg didn't spend all his money right away after Mr. Greg as it would've been incredibly cheap if he had. Though I gotta say, I'm not really digging whoever they've gotten to replace Sinbad as Mr. Smiley as he just comes across as someone doing a bad impression of him.

3. Drop Beat Dad: Probably the only non-Gems episode from this week that I really liked even if it was slightly predictable. It was nice to actually touch upon Sour Cream & Yellowtail's relationship after having it be briefly mentioned before in Joy Ride & Onion Friend. I called Marty being just as much of a selfish slimeball now as he was in Story for Steven as soon as I saw the leaked images for this episode a few days before it's premiere. Though I was willing to give them some benefit of the doubt that maybe he did change somewhat, but unfortunately what was my first assumption ended up being the route they went... Other minor things I liked about the episode included smirking when Ronaldo got clocked in the stomach by the soda can as well as Vidalia's brief cameo at the end (as if my drawing of her from that scene didn't make it already obvious).

4. Beach City Drift: Probably the most forgettable episode of the week as I just got done watching it about an hour ago and I'm already forgotten a bulk of what happened in it. I guess it was nice to see Stevonnie again as well as showing how Ronaldo works best whenever he's used in small doses instead of being the main focus (e.g. Keep Beach City Weird and Rising Tides, Crashing Skies). However, it just felt a little too short and I didn't like how Kevin was portrayed as an even bigger jerk when compared to Alone Together. I also called him lying about having a little brother from a mile away... My opinion could change upon giving it another watch, but for now it's "Meh" at best.

5. Steven Floats: I first saw this episode after it first aired in France and didn't really care for it then as it felt too much like an early Season 1 episode in terms of being too weird and slow for my liking. And upon rewatching it when it premiered here in the US, I probably like it even less now than I did when I first saw it back in May. It's also disappointed that this ended up being the only episode this week to include Garnet. The only thing I really remember liking from this is Pearl's last line 'I would've liked a hug...'. But surprisingly, this episode managed to look good when compared to...

6. The New Lars: Of all the episodes for the first week of the event, this was the one I was looking forward to the least. The main reason being that I really don't like Lars due to his inability of learning to not be such a jerk which pretty much results in the episodes about him being pretty unenjoyable and interchangeable. I will say though that this episode was the most unique structure wise in terms of the Lars episodes. That said, it also lead to it being not only the worst episode of the first week as well as for all of Steven's Summer Adventure thus far but also among at least the top 10 in terms of the show's worst episodes (which also includes Too Far, both Ronaldo episodes, Steven the Sword Fighter, etc.). Way too weird and out there for my liking which made this episode one of the hardest ones I've had to sit through. The idea of the episode though is good (Steven needing to learn that he's still got some growing up to do despite how much he's matured as of late) and could've worked better in an episode that wasn't... Well, this and had at least one of the other Gems involved. Even though I wasn't expecting much from this episode to begin with due to being centered around Lars, it was still very disappointing in the fact that I honestly was expecting it to be at least a little better than Steven Floats. Minor things about the episode that I actually did like were meeting Lars' parents as well as the designs for Lars' room and the exterior of Sadie's home (I'm weird like that I guess).


Overall, the batch of episodes that we got this week was very hit and miss in my opinion with the lack of the other Crystal Gems (especially Garnet who was absent for all except Steven Floats) definitely adding to it. But then again, I think it's that I'm still trying to get used to the show being like this again after fixating on matters like Peridot's redemption and The Cluster for so long. Here's to hoping that next week's is better.

How would you rank the episodes this week from best to worst?

In two weeks, it'll be a year since Season 6 of Total Drama (not that Season 5.2 crap) first aired in English in the US and it's already been roughly a year since it made it's world premiere in Italy.

After it finished, many fans had helmed it as one of the greatest seasons especially in comparison to All-Stars.

Many would place it as the 4th best or as high as the Top 3 and thought the characters introduced were the best since the original cast.

But something I've been noticing as of late (moreso here on DA) is that some fans (including some friends of mine) have gone back and realized that the season wasn't as spectacular in retrospect as when it premiered (mostly due to the fast airings of the episodes thanks to Cartoon Network not giving them enough time to let everything that happened in any given episode sink in).

So the main point of this blog is to ask the following question: Has your opinion on Pahkitew Island changed for the better or worse since it's intial airings?

I've asked this question in a blog over on the Total Drama Wiki as well. But I'm also asking it here because I believe that people on DA are more rational when it comes to their opinions than on the Wiki which for the most part is "follow the popular opinions only" and pretty much go to extremes to shut down any criticisms given to Pahkitew Island.

Despite still having computer issues at the time of their reveal, I was still able to see the release of the first two contestants for The Ridonculous Race as soon as Fresh TV posted them. Here's what I have to say about them:

Carrie - Design wise, she is an unexpected departure from most of the females in the TD universe. At the same time, it works considering how a few characters in the spinoff are believed to be adults and her's makes her look like she's in her 20's. She also does her job well of giving me the same vibe that I get from Kristin's other characters like Bridgette or Emma.

Devin - At this moment, there's not much I can say about him. The only real thing I can say is that he design reminds me a little of Jonsey from 6teen.

The only other thing I can say about them for the moment is that I like the idea of them being friends since childhood. It's not very often that you get a pre-existing relationship prior to the competition in the universe (the others being Katie & Sadie, Amy & Samey, and Justin & Izzy).

What are your thoughts on Carrie & Devin?

My mother's temporarily loaned her computer (which she hardly uses anymore) to me so now I'm pretty much back full time.

The current plan for my computer that crashed is that if fixed it will be used as a backup because my mother is looking into finding me a laptop.