#ma series

[moonymiw]

Just pouring anything that came into my mind. The idea of these childhood friends getting married & have a kid to be the next Lord von Voltaire is too cute to me. ((((But honestly I just want to add some source of extra headache on Gwendal😂)))

[nayawata]

I just want more casual affection between the two...

[heytsuki]

Ｄｏ    ｎｏｔ  ｒｅｐｏｓｔ  ｍｙ   ａｒｔ   ｗｉｔｈｏｕｔ  

 ｐｅｒｍｉｓｓｉｏｎ  。。。

[moonymiw]

“No matter how much I hate to admit this…”

“… I want what my big brother has.”

“Everybody knows, and I know that I had it for a longer time than he had, somehow. But…”

“Almost is never enough.”

———

The wedding of Lord Gwendal von Voltaire and Lady Anissina von Karbelnikoff

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[moonymiw]

This same sort of thing has been repeating over and over again since forever.

It has been this way since they were children so he is not about to hand her over to someone else after all of this time.

— Gaiden 1 • Romero & Argent

Just a bit little Gwendal and little Anissina😉 (Anissina is always been a little one but yeah).

[theukelover]

As I was cleaning the last pages of chapter 100 of the Maruma series I could not help notice how Anissina’s hand is not only................something gone wrong but it is twisted in the most unnatural way it.... it cannot be unseen.

[florencefallons]

Martha Long's "Ma," Series...Synopsis of 6 books.

I have already reviewed Martha Long's first book, Ma, He Sold Me For a Few Cigarettes.  The review and synopsis can be found HERE.

Book 2, titled Ma, I'm Gettin Meself a New Mammy picks up where Cigarettes left off, with Martha at age eleven, being shipped to the convent as the consequence for robbing butter to support her lazy, mentally unstable mother, her mother's psychotic lover whom she never married, and her ever growing number of siblings.  Little Martha is a poor, dirty, uneducated, lice-ridden "street kid" and is the sole breadwinner of this very dysfunctional brood.  Upon entering the convent, where the judge sent her for her butter-robbing with strict instructions that she was to receive the benefit of an education while she was there; however, due to her lack of prior education, she is unable to keep up with the classes and is eventually sentenced to hard labor.  Her jobs included cleaning the convent, answering the phone and door, and delivering messages to the various nuns living in the convent.  It is here where Martha first experiences the desire to be loved, a feeling she had never felt before.  In her eleven years of life she had never felt loved, and never even knew she was missing out on such a vital part of life.  Martha remains in the convent until the age of sixteen.

Book 3, Ma, It's a Cold Aul Night an I'm Lookin For a Bed picks up with sixteen-year-old Martha setting out into the world on her own.  A "woman" now, elated to be able to come and go as she likes.  She views this time in her life as a new beginning.  A chance to put her past and memories of her despicable upbringing behind her and become a respectable citizen of Dublin.  Having received training to work as a domestic while living in the convent, Martha obtains--and loses--numerous jobs.  Many times she was fired for reasons that could not be helped.  Trouble always seemed to follow young Martha wherever she went, and no matter how hard she tried, she never could seem to catch a break.  She has a series of jobs which keep a roof over her head for a time, but she eventually lands back on the streets of Dublin from whence she came.  With no friends, no family by choice, and no prospects for her future, Martha learns the world is a cruel place and she must learn at her very young age how to cope and make her way in the world.  

Book 4, Ma, Now I'm Goin Up In The World, opens with Martha, still age sixteen, scraping by on her wits and keen intellect. With no real home, she manages to keep herself alive and fed occasionally, but eventually the hardship of this brutal life catches up with her and she ends up collapsing on the streets as a result of starvation and exposure.  When it seems Martha may finally have met her end, she finally catches her first break.  Luck finally shines on this unfortunate girl when she meets a priest named Ralph, who ensures she is cared for.  Ralph secures her a place to stay, living with his extremely wealthy mother for a while, then she is put through secretarial school where she learns the trade she has longed to work in.  She manages to get a few good secretarial jobs, and Father Ralph is never far away.  Having been raised in an entirely love-free existence, it is with Ralph she finally feels what it is like to love and need another person.  Though he is strictly off-limits, Ralph becomes the love of her life.  During all this time, she also begins making friends, something she had not yet experienced before.  While she still loves Ralph with all her heart, she knows he is a priest and she can't "have" him in the way she would want.  She meets Ulick, a young man near her own age, and they begin a relationship.  She enjoys the company of Ulick, but is unable to commit herself to him the way she should in a loving relationship because her heart belongs to the priest.  In time, Father Ralph discovers he loves Martha in return...in the way a man loves a woman...despite his vow of celibacy.  Something he has not felt for another woman.  Martha continues to see Ralph on weekends, though their "relationship" is one of friendship, longing, and is never consummated.  In the end, Ralph ends up leaving Martha, believing it is the best thing for her, feeling he will only ruin her chances of becoming a wife and mother--something he feels Martha deserves to experience.  In her despair and sadness, Martha returns to Ulick...and soon discovers she is to be a mother at the age of eighteen.  The book ends with Martha deciding to give her child up for adoption and is headed for a convent for unwed mothers in the country.

Book 5, Ma, I've Got Meself Locked Up In The Madhouse picks up many years later.  Martha, now in her thirties, has come up in the world.  Scraping and working her way into the middle class.  It is also discovered that she decided to keep her baby instead of putting it up for adoption.  She and Ulick devise a plan to get married so Martha can have the baby and they can become a family.  Martha knows she does not love Ulick, but she is willing to give it a try for the sake of the child...and to prevent becoming a "marked" woman.  The marriage is short lived, however, and Martha ends up raising her daughter alone.  She rears her daughter successfully, putting her through fine schools and keeping them in a nice home with a car and all the luxuries they need, even if she doesn't come by it easily.  When Sarah grows up, however, she decides she wants to find out what it's like to be part of a "real family" and moves to England to live with her father and stepmother.  This devastates Martha, leaving her emotionally vulnerable.  During this time she also loses her precious little brother to suicide.  With all the horribly sad things that keep happening, Martha decides the only way to end her agony is to end her life.  She is unsuccessful in her attempt, though it was a close call.  Martha is sent to live in the madhouse after being discharged from Intensive Care, where she basically lives like a child, experiencing a childhood she never had.  While living in the institution she meets many interesting characters and makes some friends in the process.  She even meets a Russian monk named Sergei who she decides to pursue.  She knows she doesn't truly love him, but he doesn't seem the least bit interested in her at first, anyway, but it is the fun of chasing him that gets her out of the pit of despair she's been in for so long.  Realizing she actually does have something to live for, Martha is able to turn it all around and is released.  She is also surprised to discover that Sergei has, in fact, fallen in love with her in the process.  He decides to give up the church in order to marry her.  She asks for time to think it over when she gets the surprise of a lifetime...a letter from Ralph, her one true love, after so many years of no contact.  The book ends with Martha headed to the airport, bound for France to come face to face again with the only man she ever loved.

And finally, Book 6, Ma, I've Reached For The Moon an I'm Hittin The Stars, Martha is reunited with her beloved Ralph in France, where he is living on sabbatical from the church.  It is a roller-coaster ride of emotions, but Martha ends up staying in France with Ralph for a long time.  Ralph is still very much in love with Martha, as she is obviously is with him.  They go back and forth.  Will he leave the priesthood and marry her?  Will he remain a priest forever?  Will she get married and have more children and finally have the real family she has always desired?  What about Sergei?  Ralph and Martha spend a beautiful time together full of love and passion, but again, this love is never consummated as of yet.  I will leave it at that.  Does she marry Ralph? Does he return to the priesthood?  Do they discover they are too different for each other?  Or does she decide to leave Ralph, return to Dublin, and marry Sergei instead?  No answers to your questions.  You will first of all have to read the books for yourself, and second, you will have to wait until September when the seventh--and final--book in the series is released.  Hopefully then all the unanswered questions will finally be answered and we will be up-to-date on Martha's incredible life journey.