I think that tumblr post is very, very intriguing. A part of my mind wants to believe the notion Mycroft has indeed had sex to "fit in" with his peers. Fit in, isn't exactly the word I'm looking for, but close enough. How he is viewed before his peers appears to be very, very important. The way he says the line, it comes across a little smug...making me believe that yeah, he has. He's yet again, one-upping his brother in their battle of wit and I guess, experience. On the other hand, however, I believe that in order for you to want to have sex you must have an attraction to your partner, or you know, it doesn't work.  Mycroft nor Sherlock appear to have an attraction to anyone, at least when it comes to outer appearances. Sherlock does say that he can see beauty but I don't think it's the same way that we may think. I think a person can find the beauty in a painting, a flower, or a sunset, but we won't be attracted to it, if that makes sense.  I find it hard to imagine..either one engaging in a sexual act, even if it were to fit in with their peers.

Excellent article; thanks for the link.

The conversation between the Iceman and the Virgin, as Irene names them, is yet another example of Moftiss using a very few words to set up huge possibilities in the mind of the viewer, which are then left to float around in a sea of unanswered questions.

I'm not sure that Mycroft would have sex to 'fit in' but curiosity is a very powerful driving force, and usually intelligent people are curious people. I can certainly see Mycroft's exploration of sex both as an intellectual activity as well as a physical one; that in turn sets up another question, which is whether Sherlock has avoided exploring sex because he's seeking to differentiate himself from Mycroft. Another possibility is that something went wrong with Mycroft's exploration, providing a red flag to Sherlock.

And, since the end of HLV and the scene with Lady Smallwood, we have the possibility of another Holmes brother or cousin who came to a sticky end; speculating wildly, could this be something to do with sexual activity which went wrong?

Answers on a postcard please