I've been working on this for like... months. I can only draw so much and for so long because of my fibromyalgia and other issues, which is why I usually never end up colouring or finishing pieces. I've recently learned abt the TES pinup challenge, and I'm sure this doesn't fit the criteria but I believe today's theme is "Mara's Blessing" 💗

I just remembered I can make pieces black and white by editing them, which is muchhhh easier on me 😭

This is around the start of their relationship, in which they elope (in 'secret') at the chapel of Kvatch. It's much more dedicated to Akatosh, but they're binding themselves with an amulet of Mara that Martin had made and blessed.

I wrote out a small excerpt of what I envision Martin's journal to look like, which Ariella finds long after his sacrifice:

"... Today, you became my wife. Not just under the eyes of Akatosh or Mara, but all of Nirn, and everything beyond. To be quite honest, I never thought I deserved - or would even experience the happiest day of my life like this.

I'm not a prince, or a noble, or even as rich as a merchant. I cannot give you the riches and luxuries you do so deserve, the amulet I made for you was bought with a small amount of my savings just for the raw materials. With me, I fear you shall never experience the bountiful, easy life you do so deserve.

But, everything I have, everything I own, everything I am... all of it is yours, El. My heart, my mind, my soul, my body... and my love. You are my first everything, you shall be my last, my only. For you, I will do anything. I strive to make Mara weep for joy at how our marriage will only grow more fruitful, blessed and joyous. Our time together may feel so very short... but I cherish every second, minute, hour and day Akatosh gives us.

Ariella, El, Ellie. I do so love you. You're asleep after a very... long, pleasurable and perfect night. You deserve all the rest, sleep and joy."

(sad foreshadowing bc he becomes THE emperor, above princes and lords, and yet with all the power he should have - he never gives ariella the ending she wants. which is the both of them alive, in love and with their many children ❤️‍🩹)

i realize that i've never fully shown what ariella looks like, so here's an almost finished wip :3

tagging: @dark-brotherhoe @unknown-mel @lightbeforerain @jasperrilla my oomfs, appreciate u all

Your favorite and least favorite town in any province. Why? (Vivec, Windhelm…)

It's hard to pick just one for anything.

I really like Riften, Markarth, Cheydinhal, Anvil, and Ald'Ruhn. I also always thought Suran, Pelagiad and Ebonheart were cool little towns. Mournhold is an interesting town too. I usually like towns for their layout or their architecture or their people. It's sort of a combination of all of that for these places.

As for towns I don't like... 

Your least favorite province in Tamriel.  Why?

I don't really have a least favorite. I mean, we've seen, what? Vvardenfell, Cyrodil and Skyrim. I haven't played Arena or Daggerfall. And the others seem like okay places. 

Your favorite province in all of Tamriel. Why?

Ehh, I'm kinda torn. I've always really liked both Hammerfell and Morrowind. Not just because of their respective races but also the history of each continent. I've always really loved the lore behind the Dunmer and how they were once Chimer and Azura turned them into the Dunmer because of what happened with Lorkhan and Nerevar and Sotha Sil and Vivec and Almalexia.

Your most memorable Elder Scrolls experience, in game or no.

The bad thing about this challenge is sifting through years of memories of playing this game since I've been playing for..idk, 5-10 years I guess. But I managed to think of two.

In Morrowind I always joined House Redoran cause I didn't quite get magic or sneaking back when I was younger haha And there's this quest where you have to earn the approval of the council member by retrieving something from his old mansion that has since been over-run with corpus monsters. Now, for those that don't know, corpus monsters are fucking scary as hell. They're mutated and lumpy and can infect you with corpus disease and if you get it you end up like them and this scared the fuck out of me. But I had to go into that house. And when you entered it was really dark and you could hear the monsters below and oh god I was so scared. I finally went downstairs where the monsters were, because the Ald'Ruhn houses are built to go down usually, and it was dark and there were corpus monsters and I came across a corpus monster, freaked out, drew my sword and just clicked like mad until it died while not really looking at what I was doing.

It was so sad.

I didn't die, and I made it out with the item, but still.. I was so fucking scared lol And although I'm not really scared of corpus monsters anymore, I still hate going into that house and doing that damn quest.

My other one is an outside moment. I played Oblivion a looot. And one year, in junior high I think (cause I was very much alone and didn't talk to people at all, inside or outside school, so I played a lot of games instead) I spent alll Christmas break playing Oblivion. Seriously. Nothing but Oblivion. Sleep, eat, bathroom, oblivion oblivion oblivion oblivion oblivion etc. etc. etc. you get the idea. That was my whole two weeks. And when I got back to school I remember we had a sub and he asked me what I had done for my break and I was like '... I just.. I played this game called Oblivion.' and he was like 'I play that! I have an Altmer' and I was just so stunned rofl

So yeah.. memorable moments lol

I think I have a moment with Martin Septim too actually... I had a huge ass crush on him when I was playing and when you pick him up from Kvatch I actually just kept him in my part for a good long time and pretended we were adventuring together haha

don't judge me :<

And that song, Bubbly by Colbie Caillat, I was listening to it a lot at the time for whatever reason.. and I kept applying it to my girl and Martin lol

Your favorite NPC, and your least favorite. Why?

Oh god I don't know

I'll just name a few favorites. (Morrowind) Barenziah, Ilmeni Dren, Athyn Sarethi, Creeper, Caius Cosades, Crassius Curio, (Oblivion) Gogron gro-Bolmog, Vicente Valtieri, Lucien Lachance, Armand Christophe, Baurus, Martin Septim, Janus Hassildor, Sheogorath, (Skyrim) Festus Krex, Argis the Bulwark, Balimund, Farkas, Idgrod Ravencrone, Brynjolf, Ahtar, Tullius, Rikke, Shahvee

I guess that's it... I CAN'T JUST PICK ONE OK? GEEZ

I like most of them because they're interesting or funny, like Crassius and Sheogorath and Festus Krex, or they fight for a good cause, like Ilmeni and Rikke, or they're really nice, like Athyn and Shahvee, or they're just hot and one of the above lol

For least favorites.. Ulfric, for being racist. Actually, that would be most of the Nord population of Windhelm. Serana because her AI annoys the fuck out of me and I hate how I can only have her in my party and no one else. Also her dad, Harkon, but that's because I don't like vampires (er.. besides Vicente and Hassildor... they're not trying to block out the sun, ok?) Delphine also makes the list cause she wants me to kill Paarthanux and won't even listen to reason when I refuse. If she wants him dead so bad she can go kill him! Stop getting me to do your dirty work bitch.

It's hard to remember people who annoyed me from the other games cause I haven't played them in awhile. I know I hated Orvas Dren cause of his huge slave plantation. Could apply that to every other slave owning person in that game.

Glarthir creeped me out cause he automatically follows you around whispering at you and I always run away from him, even though I know that once he talks to you the first time he doesn't do it again. Mathieu Bellamont, the fucker that destroyed the entire Dark Brotherhood and made me do it and oh god I hate him so much because they were my favorite guild and they all felt like family.

Your favorite class, custom or otherwise. Why?

I've never really played one of the preset classes. In Morrowind I made one that specialized in strength and intelligence, or maybe it was willpower, with major skills in long blade, heavy armor, alchemy, security and destruction and minor in armorer, speechcraft, alteration, mysticism, and... uh.. idk it might have been mercantile. I called it a mercenary. I have no idea what I was thinking when I made it. Don't even know if it's a good build.

Oblivion I tended to pick armorer, heavy/light armor, alchemy, destruction, marksman, security, and sneak. I got more into sneaking and bows with Oblivion.

And Skyrim, on my file with the most hours, she has maxed out marksman and sneak and almost security as well. She's also really good with one-handed and destruction magic. I'm working on a heavy armor/ two-handed build in another file. I like the perk system in Skyrim, but I miss the older styles. But it's also nice to have free reign and change my mind about my character build at any time rather than setting it up all up from the beginning and hoping what I did was right.

Your least favorite Elder Scrolls race, playable or no. Why?

Well the Falmer are creepy but I pity them more than hate them.

The Imperials are kinda boring.

I don't know, there's none I really dislike. I hate the Aldmeri Dominion, but not every High Elf is part of that.