#i'd rather we just shift the focus to nice things. or at least things i can make funny lmao

[todayisafridaynight]

gonna be rude I think, but nanba hater anon is sitting on an L and spinning tbh. like it's of course fine to dislike or even hate a game but wtf anon it's legitimately uncool to just ??? roll into the inbox of someone who very very openly loves the thing you dislike and just start shitting your ass all over the place

definitely A Thing to choose to do. like i dont mind if you guys dont like the same things i do for whatever reason of COURSE i encourage difference of opinion, i just ask that you have a bit of decorum when talkin to me bout it lmao

[didyoulookforme]

some lore building here on the messages au...

(mostly me thinking outloud because i love yapping about a character's appearance lol)

au masterlist here

-----

one of the things about postman matty is that he lives in his band shirts, chains, sneakers, hat, etc. most of the time as this allows him to keep his effortlessly cool musician vibes while working as a mailman. during the day, it's all about comfort as this boy has to walk about 30k steps during every shift to delivery all of those letters and packages. he doesn't want to fully conform to a uniform, so the band tees and weathered hats give him a sense of self. plus, we know he just wants to try and be cool at all times. he's gotten in trouble with management on many occasions before for breaking uniform code, but he always sweet talks himself out of any real punishment.

exhibits a, b, c: quintessential postmatty vibes right here ⬇

note the baggy (and sometimes ratty) shirts, hair can be straight or sometimes curly, always has at least one necklace on.

the beloved and infamous black leather bag also makes an appearance quite often as you guess he's just used to wearing one at all times due to work.

exhibits d, e, f: the trusty man purse in action.

when things get a bit strange(r) is when he tries to dress up a he doesn't quite know what to do with himself.

exhibit g: the khakis and dad tie combo that make him look like the front man of ac/dc. it could definitely be worse, but your bf needs some guidance. and in his favour, when he sent you this photo all your focus was on his crotch, so that kept you from sending him texts about your dislike regarding his outfit choice.

BUT there are moments when you just cannot help but say something, like the time he wore those mf karaoke shoes.

after that incident, he makes sure to consult you regarding more dressy outfit & shoe options. bless him. he values your opinion and wants to look good for his girl when he takes you out on a fancier night out. you've since been shopping with him to help him pick out some pieces of clothing.

exhibit h, i, j: he's taken your advice on top options to complement his collection of t-shirts.

anyway, tl:dr, clothing is a love language between postmatty and girlie <3

i feel like there could definitely be some blurbs & rambles regarding this aspect of their personas and relationship. some ideas:

maybe you taking him shopping and him trying out stuff for you?

him delivering your mail and showing dressed up rather nicely and you not being able to keep you hands off him so you make him late for work?

you discovering he sometimes wears skirts during his shows. which you didn't know because you usually just saw him during the day in his mailman uniform. and you fucking love a man in a skirt.

let's me know any thoughts you might have about postmatty and anything you might want to see in this au. again, i'd love to take your input and ideas to help build upon this world so my inbox is always open!

tysm if you made it this far. i love you <3

[emmetverse]

Usually, Threes and Spark would come up with a hypothetical. Some random, impossible situation, and discuss what they'd do if they were in it. It was fun! It passed the time, and they got a good bit of mental exercise out of it.

If Threes had to listen to these two yap for one more goddamn second, he was going to break something. 

It seemed like everything Roach did just got to him. And in his defence, a full day of anything would get annoying eventually. Including, but not limited to: making inappropriate jokes about them all dying, randomly swerving to walk 'around things' despite it being empty land, nearly forgetting the cart-sled-thing several times thanks to talking to ghosts...

And now, they'd finally sit down to rest, maybe even have a nap, and he was too busy pacing around to just sit the hell down.

Rex was talking about something. Some 'funny raptor story' that neither of them were even pretending to listen to. Impressive, considering that he kept kicking Threes' foot to get him to focus. And yet, he kept going on. And on. And on.

Threes' mind wandered back home, to the others. They should probably check in, huh?

His hand wandered to his pocket. Nothing. He sat up, feeling over the other side. Nothing.

... Right.

That goddarn cat.

"You got your phone?"

Rex glared, mouth still half-way through forming a word. He huffed and rolled his eyes dramatically before responding. "I don't have one."

"Roach?"

The man jumped, stopping in his tracks and looking over.

"Huh?"

"You got your phone?"

"Left it in the workshop."

"Of course you did..." Threes threw his hands in the air and flopped backwards into the sand. "Of course. Of course! Why would either of you have any forethought?"

Rex raised an eyebrow. "What? Because you're soooo smart?"

"I'm not! That's the worrying part!"

"It's fiiine. Relax." Roach smiled widely. "They don't need to know our every move! Sometimes, when we're all at camp, we won't see each other for days and nobody worries. Why would they worry now?"

"Correction," Rex muttered, "We don't see you for days."

"Tomayto, tomahto."

"That's not even-"

"Didn't ask." Roach finally plopped himself down in the sand. Somehow that was worse than the pacing. "We'll be fine. I don't think it wants us dead."

Both paused. Threes raised an eyebrow.

"'It'?"

"Eh."

"That's not an answer."

"Congrats. Can we keep going now?"

Rex huffed. "In case you hadn't noticed, we've been walking all day."

"Time doesn't exist here." He gestured. "And Threes isn't tired yet!"

"I am, actually. Very. Especially of both of you."

"Yikes," Rex muttered.

Threes didn't give them a chance to keep talking. He threw his arm over his face, nestling into his elbow in a vague attempt to block out the world. He heard Rex mutter something else under his breath, but from the silence that followed, it seemed safe to assume he was attempting some kind of rest, too.

Not that it would last long. Before he could even exhale, he heard the sand shift as someone stood, and began pacing again. Back, forth, back forth. It's fine. He could ignore it. Don't some people fall asleep to the sound of white noise? And sure, the irregularity didn't get to him too much. Sometimes irregular things are more fun. Makes the music exciting. If everything was the same beat then it'd be boring. Super boring. This was fine. More than fine. Nice relaxing sleep sounds. Yup.

Threes shoved himself up.

"Can't you stop for five minutes at least?!"

Roach jumped a little, spinning to look at him. "Someone needs to keep lookout."

"You can do that standing still."

"I'd rather not."

The cyborg threw his head backwards and groaned loudly.

"This is why you don't come on expeditions."

He blinked. "... I thought it was because I 'wander off'."

"It's because you're an idiot. So yeah, I guess you could say that's part of it." Threes pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just- if you want to stay up, fine. But we've been walking for hours and the two of us need sleep. And you probably need sleep too."

"No, I.. I slept yesterday."

"That's how sleep-! Ugh."

Roach swallowed. He kicked the sand with his foot. "I don't want to just sit here. How about... You two sit on the sled-cart-thing, and I pull you while you rest?"

"There isn't enough room-"

"But you guys want to rest! And we- we can get there really fast, right? Yeah," he added with a nervous chuckle. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

"No. It's not." Threes pushed himself up. His legs felt like jelly. "Just- just sit. You don't have to sleep. Just sit."

"I'd really rather not-"

"Roach." Threes grabbed his arm, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Just-"

He yanked himself away, staggering a little with the effort.

"No."

And gosh, Threes was trying with every fibre of his being to stay calm. "You're keeping us awake."

"I don't- staying still out in the open is bad-"

"Not having a lookout is bad, staying still while we rest is-"

"Please, just- just sit on the cart-thing?"

"You agreed that I'd be the one in charge while we're out here!"

"And you're a lousy boss!" He was shaking. "We're gonna- staying out in the open like this is dangerous! We're going to get hurt! Anything could sneak up on us or- or fly down and grab us-"

"FOR UPSTAIRS' SAKE, YOU'RE NOT IN UNDAR ANYMORE!"

His words seemed to echo in the nothingness.

"I know this is how you survived but we're not there, we don't need to follow your arbitrary rules. There's nothing here! Nothing lives here except us! I don't care what you see, I don't care what you believe. None of your weird cave paintings are real. Nothing is going to hurt us. You are just a sad, lunatic old man! The only reason any of us deal with you is because you could kill us with one hand, then you'd probably paint our portraits with our own blood and then forget we ever died!" Threes gestured roughly, nearly shoving Roach before thinking better of it.

And Roach just stared. Unwavering, unblinking eye contact. His expression was blank. He didn't say a word.

The cyborg felt his mouth go dry. He stepped back, taking even himself a little by surprise with the action. And then he snarled.

"Just sit. And rest."

He didn't wait to see if the other did. He caught just a glimpse of Rex's shocked expression as he turned, and set himself back down where he had before, tucked in next to the cart. All he wanted to do was punch and scream but goddarnit that wouldn't prove his point. Insead he just forced his eyes closed, forced his heart to slow at least a little, and tried to get at least a moment of sleep.

[elcorhamletlive]

It feels like ST is trying to deliver *something* with the queer storylines that they have chosen, but it is rather being very underwhelming. Not surprising, as you have said, ST is one of the most popular shows, it has always been quite heteronormative. Robin's character was great in S3 but was rather underwhelming in S4, and her love interest Vickie is no better, her character had only a couple of minutes in the long-running S4 which was like over 10 hours. And the way their relationship was portrayed leaves little to no hope for S5's outcomes, at best it seems like Vickie and Robin will get together in the last minutes of the season, and that way the writers will eat their cake and call it a day ''look we made a wlw couple on the show'' without having to deliver anything much.

Also, this is just my opinion but I fear or have the feeling that Robin's storyline and relationship with Vickie will be some sort of a coverup or alibi for the writers to do whatever they want to do with Will in the next season, either portraying him as suffering again, or making him end the show as single.

I think you're totally correct in your second paragraph, and tbh I have already seen this happening - people going "well, you can't complain about Will not having a romance, because the show has Vickie and Robin!", when a) the show has a fuckton of straight romances, no reason to not have more than one gay couple around; b) Robin and Will represent different identities, althought there's a lot of identification to be found under the LGBT umbrella in general, it's possible to mess up representation with one group while doing well with another; and c) (most importantly) Robin's storyline has Also not been great. I think some of the fault for the shift in her character lies with M4y4 Hawke, whose personality has definitely bled into Robin, amplifying her "quirkness". The other thing, imo, is the writers deciding that in order to pair her up with Nancy they needed to make her more bumbling and clumsy in order to contrast with Nancy's hyper competent and grounded personality. Which on a vacuum, I understand, but on screen was just annoying and took away from a dynamic that I mostly enjoyed, but thought I was going to enjoy more.

Vickie was also a disappointment, especially because they went through the trouble of casting a known actress which drove up the hype. I'm certain that there were more scenes between Robin and Vickie that ended up on the cutting room floor, and it's unfortunate because, as you said, this season is already ridiculously long, couldn't they have taken time away from something else to at least flesh out Vickie's character a bit? Like... it just feels like a basic disconnect with the gay fanbase, thinking that the bare minimum is going to be enough to get people to root for this couple.

Like you said, I do think they're trying, but it's not a priority to them, and they don't seem to know enough about the subject to give it an interesting, fleshed out perspective. Another thing that annoys me to no end is how big a role Steve plays in Robin and Vickie's storyline - like, yes, sure, Steve and Robin are a much more important dynamic in the context of the show and that is fine (though they did lowkey ruin this friendship to me with that goddamn "I'd date her" line). But there is something uncomfortable about making a significant chunk of the scenes between your only lesbian couple about your straight male character. The fact that Robin and Vickie's final scene ends with Steve looking to them and smiling shifts the focus: it's no longer about them, but about how nice a guy Steve is. And we already know Steve is an important ally to Robin, we saw it last season, we don't need it to be the eternal culmination of her storyline.

[venteamocha]

Thanks so much for the IF recs! I'd absolutely take a second post of recommendations for Twine games too if you're willing to share! <3

Of course!!

I... actually like twine games better than cog based ones, in some ways, just because they tend to be fancier and prettier, and I am secretly a ferret in the body of a human and I love shinies. ADHD, baby!

I only actually know of like 12 twine games, so if there are any that anyone who sees this knows of that I didn’t list, feel free to let me know about them! There’s a chance I do know about them and just didn’t put them here, but I would rather hear one I already know of on the off chance that I’ll get a new one dropped in.

That said! Another list of games I really like that is again in no particular order!

They’re all on itch.io by the way! They tend to work better if you download them but most can be run in your browser and most are also mobile friendly so you can play them on your phone! I’ll note which ones are.

Scout: An Apocalypse Story: I love dystopia stories, I dearly wish we had more IF based in this kind of setting. Set in a wasteland that is trying to pull itself together with people trying to find out if other settlements are out there while also trying to, well, stay alive. I gotta say, I played only E’s route for a long, long time, but once I tried the other ones I haven’t really gone back. I still love E, you can pry the childhood friend trope out of my cold dead hands, but wow. Oliver. Wow. That dude has serious UST. And Sabine!! I’ve been forced out of my little “play it the same way every time” rut and I’m not sorry. I very much like that you can choose the intimacy level, as someone who’s ace. Sometimes I like reading the smut, sometimes I don’t. Options! (mobile friendly!)

Bad Ritual: I got it baaaaaaaaaad~ I do though, I love Siruud. I have terrible, terrible taste in men. I mentioned Dracula in the other list, and here there’s an actual demon. This is a game with *sass* and I always love a chance to be sassy. I think part of the reason I resonate so much with this one is because of how jaded retail has made me tbh but that’s another story.  Honestly, if you like dark settings, I recommend you play this one first of all my recommendations. It’s just such a good game and there are so many choices and even the pronoun choices are pretty varied.  It’s just good! (mobile friendly!)

Wayfarer: Another for the fantasy list! I love the worldbuilding in this one, and the character creator is just amazing. There are maps, there’s a codex, seriously if you love reading lore, this is definitely a game for you. This is like if Tolkien made an IF. It’s amazing. I’ve said that a few times but it’s true. In all honesty it might count as one that’s not so romance focused, since it does focus more on plot. If I could just sit down and make an IF, I’d want it to be like this tbh. With a beautiful framework, a well organized space of information for the players to just look at and see stuff about the world, a way to develop and build their own character in a clear cut way, and the game immediately tells you what stats are effected by what choices. I really enjoy it when games try to work in character creation in creative ways, but sometimes I just want to sit down and go, “Okay, my character has red hair, blue eyes, is short, and has a crippling phobia of lizards” and this game lets me do that. Well, except for the lizard part. (Not as mobile friendly as the others but I make it work!)

Love and Friendship: It’s a regency game and I love Pride and Prejudice. What can I say? Something about the massive amount of rules of society just gets me. Propriety! This is a game that has a set gender protagonist, female, and it actually is a bit different from the norm in that it has two female love interests and one male, when most of the time it’s the other way around. So that’s something. You can even have a platonic route with a fourth love interest, who is also male. There really aren’t enough platonic routes, but I understand why that is, since a lot of IF players are looking for romance. (mobile friendly!)

Exiled From Court: Also a bit of the same vibe simply because of how constrained everyone is by rules. Nobility, after all. There are a lot of love interests, and one is the MC’s sister’s husband, which is definitely gonna be scandalous. Will I do it? Will I? Eventually. I do like how you can act like an absolute hellion, well, as far as that goes considering. You can try to be a better person but that’s less fun, lol. (mobile friendly!)

A Tale of Crowns: This is literally one of the very first twine games I ever played. Really! It’s got a lot of wonderful intrigue and the setting is very fun. There aren’t a ton of fantasy middle eastern games, and this game is definitely one reason why we should have more. There’s a great deal of customization, and the love interests’ gender will changed based on your MC’s gender and sexuality combination. I like R & D best, and no that’s not a pun. I think. (mobile friendly!)

For the Crown: This is a different game, I swear, they just both happen to have crown in the title, lol. You get to play as an assassin, which is a great deal of fun. The lore in the game is very nice too. I tend to play with they/them pronouns though, and there were a few pronoun hiccups in the game. Seems to be an issue across all of the games made by this author, but I know how much of a pain variables can be so hopefully those will get squashed soon. There’s an explicit content choice in this one as well, and if you turn it on there is an “equipment” choice, so this is definitely gonna be spicy later on! (mobile friendly, but after each chapter the browser shifts as it auto saves. you just have to tap restore game to keep playing.)

-These games aren’t exactly twine games, but I’m putting them here because they’re visual novels that fit the IF format for the most part and are also on itch.io and I love them and for this post at least I will bend my own rules! They all have gender choice MCs and are nonbinary friendly.-

Perfumare: This game is actually being made into an IF, with the visual novel as a sort of preview of what we’re gonna get there. I literally cannot wait for that to happen, this game is so good as it is, and from what we’ve been told it’s only gonna get better. This game has an excellent world, the characters are all messy in the best ways, and ugh it has hurt me quite a bit, again in the best way.  It’s another one on the dark side of things. The powers in this game are just so fun, I dearly want a game set in this world where we can choose what powers we have! Maybe that will be in the IF, but I have a feeling the answer is no. We’ve been teased that there will be a second game with a different MC who will get to romance the characters we can’t in this one, and that alone is enough to get me to jump as soon as it drops. The love interests aren’t gender variable but there are two male ones and one female. I, a known mess, recommend Laurent for lots of repression and pain. (not mobile friendly, you gotta play on desktop/laptop)

Andromeda Six: I’ve recommended this one to pretty much everyone I know, it is such an excellent game. The cast is a mashup of misfits and makes me miss my Mass Effect crews. I specifically set my pronouns to she/her just so they’d all call me Princess. What can I say, I like it. There’s lots of pain, lots of drama, lots of world building, lots of interesting lore, and there is much breaking of cuties. Much. Can’t wait till we get to the next planet. The author has gone out of their way to say that each love interest is gonna get their own arc and will definitely get their own share of attention, so no matter who you pick you’ll have plenty of time to be with them and watch them shine. (not mobile friendly, gotta play on desktop/laptop)

When the Night Comes: Not only do you get to play a badass hunter but it has multiple poly routes! Multiple! It’s rare when you get one poly in a game, this one has three! You can also choose to romance any of them individually if you so choose. It’s dark fantasy gothic, and I really really like that. (not mobile friendly, gotta play on desktop/laptop)

Errant Kingdom: Made from the same dev as WTNC, this one is set in a more fantasy middle eastern setting. Very pretty, lots of intrigue. You can choose between three set protagonists, who can have three different storylines depending on your choices, which is very nice for replayability. It’s got two poly routes this time, and it works the same as their other game in that you can romance them individually if you’d rather be monogamous. (not mobile friendly, gotta play on desktop/laptop)

[imperial-martian]

The Secrets You Keep Hidden- Chapter One {Mycroft Holmes x Reader}

A/N: The house that I have described as Mycroft's manor is the actual house that he lives in throughout the BBC Sherlock show. (I have photos if you are interested in seeing it. Leave a comment if so!)

You weren't surprised when it suddenly wasn't raining on you anymore, even if there was still rain coming down around you. Without having to look over at the person who had caused the rain to be shielded from you, you knew who it was.

They hadn't said anything, letting you both stand in silence to grieve for the time being. You knew the silence wouldn't last, it never did, but for now, you let it settle over you like a soft blanket in the midst of winter.

That would have been rather nice right now, to sit on your settee, a blanket wrapped around you with a warm cup of tea in your hands as you watched some old movies. However, that wasn't what was happening, instead, you were standing in front of your best friends grave with raindrops- or maybe those were tears? -streaming down your cheeks.

A year and eight months still hadn't been enough time to stop grieving, and really you didn't know if any amount of time would be.

The silence was broken the next moment when a loud roar of thunder and lightning flashed through the air. It was a surprise to the man standing beside you that you were the first to speak.

He would have rather heard you make a comment as to how he knew you would be there, or that he should be at work, but what he got were all broken words.

"Do you ever think that if we had been there when he jumped that we could have persuaded him not to?" you asked, your words ending in a choked sob that you had covered up with your hand.

Mycroft, the man beside, made a slight rustling sound beside you as he reached into his breast pocket to pull out his pocket square. He held it out to you, bowing his head a little as if he were nodding at it and telling you to take it.

You made a small, soft chuckle between a choked sob and took the cloth from him, whispering a weak thank you before clenching the pocket square in your hand. It would do you no use to wipe your tears at the rate you were crying in, and Mycroft knew that.

He had not a single clue on how to comfort someone when grieving- actually, he had no idea how to comfort someone at all. You knew that he was trying his best and appreciated his efforts even if they weren't the most effective form of comfort. At least he was able to make you laugh, even if it was only in playful pity.

Another roar of lightning and thunder flashed, causing you to jump a bit at the un-expectancy of it. A rustling sound came from beside you before a trench coat was held out in front of you.

Knowing that Mycroft wanted you to take it from him, you looked at him, opening your mouth to protest only to close it again when he gave you a sharp look.

"You've already stood out here long enough to get a cold, I'm trying to lessen the chance of you getting the flu. I won't take any sort of protest." Just by the tone he had said it, you could tell he wasn't in the best of moods.

With a bit of reluctance, you took it from him, murmuring a small thank you yet again as you slipped your arms into the sleeves of the navy blue material. It was still warm from when Mycroft had worn it, the smell of his musky cologne and hints of earl grey tea, and the most prominent smell of cigarette smoke lingered on it.

You felt your heart clench a little at the realization that he was smoking again, even after he had stopped for the bit of time you forced him to. It was three years ago when you were visiting his office that you saw the ashtray that already had two cigarettes burnt out in it, and one in his hand. You threatened to never return back to the office if he continued to smoke, especially in his office.

With time, he began to limit the amount he smoked, but the clear smell on his trench coat was enough to let you know that he certainly had had more than one cigarette that day.

Even with the awful smell, you couldn't help but turn the collar up and find comfort in the warmth of the soft material that was loosely encased around you. The coat was clearly far too large for you, your hands barely making it out of the sleeves, and the bottom of the trench coat padding your knees.

It was larger than the one Sherlock used to wear- which even to this day you still wear it when you grieve at home -but it's much more comfortable than Sherlock's. Maybe it was because Sherlock's coat now only brought sadness and despair whenever you wore it when Mycroft's brought you comfort and hope.

Hope was the only thing that had seemed to be missing from your life now, and it had since the fall, so the sudden surge of it caused a shiver to run down your spine. Mycroft has mistaken it, thinking that you had gotten cold and made a suggestion that you should both head home.

You didn't protest, knowing that it was getting late and you should be heading home, but the thought of going homemade you feel uneasy, uncomfortable knowing that you'd be alone. You froze where you stood for a moment, feeling a tremor rush through you before, as the rain began to pelt down on you as Mycroft continued to walk a few more steps before realizing you weren't beside him.

He stopped himself, turning his head to look back at you before noticing the way your e/c eyes looked almost hollow with no emotion. Mycroft was quick to tell what was wrong, and as he moved towards you he offered his hand in a rare moment of outward affection.

Looking down at his hand, you took it in yours instantly feeling a sudden tightness in your throat as if you were going to cry again. He carefully brought you closer to him so that you weren't standing out in the rain anymore.

"How about we go to my house?" Mycroft suggested although he didn't give you enough time to respond. "I'll have somebody grab your clothes for 221C if you're comfortable with that, or we can go get them together, so you can stay the night in one of my guest rooms."

You couldn't even form words to argue with Mycroft as to why you shouldn't stay at his house, nor did you want to. You just gave a nod of acceptance and let him lead you to the town car that had driven him here.

"I'd prefer if we stopped at Baker Street together before heading to your house if that's alright," you mumbled after getting yourself situated besides Mycroft in the back of the car.

He all but made a sound of acknowledgment before telling his chauffeur where to go. He seemed to Shevardnadze no patience in his tone, and you suddenly felt bad for making him come out in the rain to ensure you wouldn't get sick.

Knowing that it was best to apologize for it, you looked over at him and spoke in a soft voice. "I'm sorry for making you come out in the rain," you started, your words being a filled with guilt. "It wasn't my best choice to visit Sherlock's grave at this time," you concluded.

Feeling a sudden pain in his head before a headache settled in, he groaned before replying in an almost hoarse voice. "Yes, it probably wasn't your best decision." Although he hadn't said it in a harsh way, it still made your stomach turn in an uncomfortable manner before all you did was a nod and look out the window.

Tears once again threatened to spill from your eyes. You hated disappointing Mycroft, but that's all you seemed to be doing after the passing of Sherlock. Nothing was the same, and although you never expected it to be after such an event, you wish it hadn't changed in the way it did.

Everything was different now. Mycroft was even more closed off than he was when you first met. To you, he no longer felt like a friend and more like a babysitter that was constantly watching you. You not only felt his disappointment, but you felt your own which only made the tears harder to keep back before you couldn't anymore.

You couldn't have been more thankful when the car arrived at Baker Street in the next moment. Mentally letting out a sigh of relief, you removed the seatbelt from its position around your shoulder and torso before opening the door.

"I shouldn't be more than five minutes," you informed Mycroft, not looking back at him as you spoke, trying to keep your voice as level as you could.

You heard Mycroft let out a 'hmph' as if to let you know that he heard you before you exited the car and walked into the rain again. Pulling out your key, you unlocked the door and made your way upstairs to 221C where you quickly scouted to find a bag to put all the clothes and other essentials you would need in.

Grabbing some comfortable clothes for the night and the following day, as well as your bathroom needs, you made your way towards the exit of your flat, locking it and walking past 221B. The sight of the closed door and the silence that filled the stairwell made you feel unsettled, and as you wiped the tears from your eyes, you walked back down the steps to enter the car again.

Mycroft has taken the time that you were gathering your things to think to himself. He hadn't seemed to be able to catch a break in a long while, between government cases and his brother's updates, he was constantly focusing on different things. This only added to it.

He wished that you only knew that the suicide was planned. That Sherlock wasn't dead. Boy wouldn't it make his life a whole lot easier.

It was sad to think that he'd only wished that you'd known to make it easier on himself, and had he actually allowed himself to realize how much he truly cared for you he'd see how awful he was thinking what he just did. But he couldn't help it. Caring would always be just a disadvantage to him. It would always be a useless emotional reaction that he wouldn't allow himself to feel.

The sound of a car door opening only to close a few seconds later caused his focus to shift from his thoughts to you. He glanced over at you as you put on the seatbelt again, struggling when you accidentally got it caught on inside of his coat while you weren't paying attention.

"Do you need to make another stop or are we ready to resume our ride to my house?" Mycroft asked, looking at you with his blue eyes that even in the cloudiest of days, reflected some sort of light back to you.

After holding his gaze for a moment, you blinked and nodded, swallowing the embarrassment you began to feel down. "I am," you announced softly, looking down at the coat and fiddling with the bottom of it as if you were smoothing our a wrinkle to distract yourself from the man beside you.

He nodded, one which you didn't see but knew that he had, looking at his driver through the rearview mirror. It didn't take more than a second before the car was going down the road again.

The ride was spent in silence, as you two focused on other things. Mycroft answering a few emails on his laptop which he had pulled out knowing that the ride would be longer than usual due to both the rain and the time of day. You, on the other hand, were focused on the view outside the window.

Mycroft lived outside of London, and although you had been to his house on more than one occasion, it wasn't enough for you to actually take in the sight of the area he lived in. It was just as you had expected it'd be, even if you didn't already know what it looked like.

Houses seemed to be miles apart from one another, each one designed to look like a Victorian house with the architecture being made mostly out of the local bricks that seemed to be around when these houses were made. Each house had a different design, but all together looked as though they were built back in the eighteenth century, even if some had a more modern feel to it.

It wasn't until the car turned into a driveway that you realized you had arrived at Mycroft's house- manor being a better term to use for it. The outside of the manor was made of the same white stones that were smoothed down against each surface. A few stairs with curved stone railings on each side led up to the front door. Flowers were placed on either side of the staircase with a bush located on the right side of the front of the manor that wrapped around it to the other sidewall.

Twenty sets of windows were located at the front of the house, each window having the curtains draped across the top corners off to the side. The lawn was perfectly cut and flower bushes rested near the front of the lawn, towards the street.

To describe the manor in simple terms, it was fit for royalty, and most certainly not for somebody who lived alone.

Entering the house, you walked into the house you were met with another staircase, this one made of wood with a red carpet leading up to the second floor. The ceilings were beautifully designed, the cream color complimenting the wood that was around the entire room. Paintings and sculptures were filled around the room, and most definitely scattered around the house.

To describe everything this manor offered would take hours, and to visit explain every detail inside and out would certainly take up a whole day, if not more.

Even after visiting Mycroft's manor numerous times, you couldn't help to gape at it even now.

The slight chuckle that came from around the opposite side of the room was a welcomed sound to your ears, and as you let it warm your heart for a moment, you looked at who the sound came from.

Mycroft, who was looking back at you with an almost amused smile upon his face, nodding towards the stairs.

"Why don't you go and pick out which room you'd like to sleep in tonight. Neither of us have eaten dinner yet, I'll prepare something for the both of us," he stated, giving you one last glance before he turned his back towards you and walked towards another room. "If you get lost just give me a shout," he added.

Your cheeks flushed a little in color before you did as Mycroft had suggested and made your way upstairs. While you spent the time searching for a room to stay in at for the night- getting a bit distracted while admiring all the paintings -Mycroft was in the kitchen.

He opened a drawer, grabbing out some medicine that he knew would help rid him of the headache he had gained earlier in the car. Mycroft poured himself a glass of water before taking down the pill and closing the drawer again.

Hearing the creek of the floorboards as you moved around upstairs, Mycroft began to gather some ingredients to make a dinner in which he knew that you would both enjoy.

It didn't take long for you to join him either, wrapped up in a warm sweater that you had brought to change into so that you could get out of the wet clothes. You brought down his trench coat, hanging it on the coat rack you had noticed on the way inside the manor.

"Thank you for letting me borrow your coat, I've left it on the coat rack to dry a bit," you informed, cautiously, in case he didn't want you to, taking a seat at the island table.

Mycroft's back was turned to you as he stood by the stove, prepping and cooking whatever food he planned to serve you.

"No need to thank me," he replied. "I should let you know that there is some cough medicine in the bathroom down the hall upstairs should you need it at any point. It's in one of the drawers in the cabinet underneath the sink."

With a bit of a rueful smile, you gave him a small hum. "Thank you, remind me to buy you some more if I need to use it, would you?" you asked, the question clearly rhetorical and in a playful manner.

Mycroft only smiled at you in reply as he set a plate down in front of you before grabbing his own. Placing to glasses down at the table, he filled them with wine that you knew was far too expensive for you to ever afford, before placing them down in front of you both and sitting across from you.

Sitting in comfortable silence with the occasional topic of work or something else thrown in the mix of things, you enjoyed your dinner. Offering to do the dishes after such a delicious meal, you watched as Mycroft places everything away in their designated spots before walking with one another upstairs. Saying a quick goodnight, you both parted and made your way to separate rooms, getting ready for the first good night's rest that you've had in a long while.