Well, that's gorgeous.

In which we see how Mycroft and Sherlock grew up together. God, this portrait was so stark and harsh and sadly probable. I'm going to have a hard time keeping these quietly terrible moments out of my headcanon. (The deductions thing though, that was rather awesome, even if the subtext was sadface inducing.)

In which we see three scenes of the people who work in Mycroft's Sherlock detail. Every single one of these was a hilarious OH MY GOD moment (oh my god, "he's one of ours, bitch;" oh my god, the chip and pin machines), but OH MY GOD, MYCROFT'S LITTLE OLD LADY NETWORK, I AM DEAD. JESUS, THIS FIC. SO PRECIOUS. SO TERRIFYING.

In which Mycroft visits his mother every other Saturday, every visit the same, until there's one that isn't. Ugh, what a bleak picture of the Holmes family, and yet strikingly, heartbreakingly real. I loved Mycroft's characterization here, it sort of blew my mind. Though I suppose anyone who falls for pick-up lines like the one in this fic is bound to make it into my good books.

In which Mycroft is an interfering bastard, but he rather gets the job done. Oh my God, I just loved everyone in this. I even loved how much I hated Mycroft, and usually a prefer him to be a sympathetic character. But he is SUCH a magnificent bastard in this. Loved them both resorting to flipping off CCTV cameras. Loved the fact that the sex wasn't perfect for either of them (rather spectacularly so), but it was still right, still better than they've ever had, because it was with each other. LOVED SARAH, OH MY GOD, CAN YOU IMAGINE. Sarah was totally badass and she really put herself out there and was her own person and deserves great things to happen to her after this. Loved John and all his empathy. Loved Sherlock and all his weird sense of earnestness. LOVED THE MOMENTS OF VICTORY. LOVE THAT SEX SOLVES THE CASE. LOVED EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING, OKAY, JESUS, LEAVE ME ALONE. *clings to fic zealously*

In which there is a His Dark Materials AU, but there's a twist, and its fascinating and brilliant. In fact, this is a brilliant start to a brilliant series.

In which Mycroft always looks after his little brother, whether he wants to or not. This was gorgeous, and a little intense. I went into this expecting to see an interesting perspective on Sherlock, and I certainly got that, but I was unprepared to care so much about Mycroft just for himself. This fic is a really thoughtful exploration of their brotherly dynamic, but it also liberates Mycroft's character from Sherlock's in a really peculiar, and touching, and, I think, important way. That was an absolute blessing to read.

In which Sherlock and John are battered, but still alive after the blast. Ohhhhh, I liked this. The Lestrade bit was unexpectedly lovely. The Sherlock+John interactions were less unexpected, but just as lovely.

In which Mycroft takes an opportunity to be the big brother, and for once, Sherlock is too grateful to take it badly.