221b_recs | Entries tagged with character: marcus bell

Title: The Five Doctors
Author:

gardnerhill
Pairing: None
Length: 10,006 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Author did not give warnings (see reccer's comments)
Verse: Elementary, ACD Canon, BBC Sherlock, My Dearly Beloved Detective, Ritchieverse, Granada Holmes, Rathbone Holmes (films)
Author's summary: Great minds think alike.

Reccer's comments: So many Watsons and so many Holmeses! Joan being a BAMF and being the Default Watson! Crack treated seriously! Such a good read.

There is some brief Victorian Era-typical racism (specifically orientalism) and misogyny

venusinthenight

Title: Running Buddies
Artist: doomburgerdoodles
Pairing: Joan Watson & Marcus Bell
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Verse: Elementary
Artist's summary: Joan and Marcus RUNNIN BUDDIES.

For Piper!

Reccer's comments: I love the idea of Joan and Marcus doing things together, and running is something they both have in common. I like how Joan is looking at Marcus, almost like she's saying "Come on, keep up with me!"

venusinthenight

Title: The Phantom with a Crush
Author: everybodylies on AO3
Pairing: Marcus Bell/Sherlock Holmes
Length: 2340 words
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: Broadway AU. Marcus is an actor, and Sherlock is a theater critic.

Reccer's comments: Because Theatre Critic Sherlock Holmes would be besotted with Broadway Actor Marcus Bell. Because of course Marcus would figure out who "the Phantom" is. Because it is much adorable Lockbell.

(Mods, may I have a pairing tag for Marcus/Sherlock?)

venusinthenight

Title: With Your Warm Wet Mouth
Author: PhoenixFalls on AO3
Pairing: Marcus Bell/Joan Watson
Length: 972 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None apply
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: Joan is going to drive Marcus crazy. He's pretty happy at the prospect.

Reccer's comments: OMG THE HOTNESS AND... *ALL THE KEYSMASHING*.

Ahem.

Sex in the workplace! A secret relationship! Marcus Bell nursing a semi! Joan's skills! No, but really. There is a lot of hotness with so few words.

amindamazed

Title: Don't Blink (You Might Be Missed)
Author: anamatics
Pairing: Gen
Length: 31000 words
Rating: T
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: In mid-December Jessica Delhaney, teacher, 27, wife of an NYPD beat cop, goes missing. A massive manhunt follows, Sherlock and Joan are called in to consult and soon it becomes obvious that nothing about this case is as it seems. A cryptic warning comes from Newgate telling them to be careful, and that the killer has a type. What they don't know is just how accurate that assessment truly was.

Reccer's comments: While still at Newgate, Moriarty learns that Sherlock and Watson are working on a case she knows something about, one that could put Watson in danger. Moriarty isn't finished with Watson herself, and the need to understand how Watson defeated her prompts her to warn Sherlock, even as she questions her own motivations. Joan wants nothing to do with Moriarty because of her continued cruel manipulation of Sherlock, but she can't bring herself to step away from the challenge to beat Moriarty again. She responds to Moriarty on multiple levels: feeling protective of Sherlock; morally and professionally affronted by her crimes; proud and maybe a little arrogant about having defeated her once and wanting to do it again.

I very much appreciate the way Moriarty is presented in this fic, violent and dangerous without remorse. She's confused by her own interest in Joan, especially when it starts to eclipse her wish to yank Sherlock's chain. This isn't a Joan/Moriarty story (although over the course of the 3-part series, of which this is part 1, it gets closer to that) and no one forgets that Moriarty has done terrible things and will continue to do so, despite her surprising-to-everyone actions to save Joan's life.

Written before 2x12, "The Diabolical Kind," and divergent from the show after that.

I also have a soft spot for this fic's verisimilitude in describing the brownstone in winter as a cold, drafty place to live. I've never been able to suspend my own disbelief regarding its apparently magical climate-control on screen. (I'm the first to admit I'm a little obsessed about brownstone details.)

amindamazed

Title: The Thin Blue Line ff.net | ao3
Author: CharmingNotDarling
Pairing: Gen
Length: 2800
Rating: T
Warnings: N/A
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: ...the only thing you can be sure of is that Sherlock will find you.

Reccer's comments: I think this is the only Elementary fic I've seen written in second person. The beginning paragraphs define "your" experience quickly as Joan's POV, and I didn't find it difficult to "be" Joan as I continued reading. What stands out for me, though, is the depiction of Detective Bell, who is the first on the scene to find the injured, trapped Joan. Although she was initially frantic to get to Sherlock, she draws comfort from the detective's steadiness once he calls the station to report that she's been found, and Sherlock's high-strung anxiety is apparent in the background on the other end of the call. When Sherlock rushes to the scene, Bell again provides a buffer that shifts Sherlock to a quieter register for her sake, resulting in a reunion that's a balm to Joan's bruised spirit as well as his.

You open your mouth to cut him off and falter when you hear Sherlock's voice. It's faint and far off, but you can hear the stress and desperation underlined by the urgency as he repeatedly calls your name. Bell meets your eyes for a moment, an apology or perhaps pity swimming in his gaze. He turns for the door, makes it across the rickety frame and nearly out of sight before coming face to face with the man in question.

venusinthenight

Title: I'm the Greatest Star
Author: emef
Pairing: None
Length: 1349
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None apply
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: The world isn’t a detective novel, not really, but sometimes Joan’s new life seems to suggest that it is.

Set in season 1.

Reccer's comments: This is set over the course of Season 1 of Elementary, tracking Joan's progress from sober companion to becoming Sherlock's apprentice to consulting detective in her own right. It's almost a look at her inner confidence, in spite of everything she had been through up to that point. A great character study.

(Mods, may I have character tags for Oren Watson (Joan's brother) and Emily Hankins? Danke!)

venusinthenight

Title: On any given day
Author: nairobiwonders on AO3 and Tumblr
Pairing: none
Word Count: 392
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None apply
Verse: Elementary

Author's summary: You never know what you'll walk into when you drop by the brownstone. Short slice of life vignette, post-The Many Mouths of Aaron Colville so some spoilers for that episode, Ears to You and The One Percent Solution. Hopefully humorous.

Reccer's comments: A very much humourous slice-of-life-at-the-brownstone fic! Detective Marcus Bell visits the brownstone to give something to Sherlock and Joan. His reactions to the shenanigans going on there are spot on.

venusinthenight

Title: Talking
Author: rubberglue on AO3
Pairing: gen Marcus Bell and Joan Watson
Word Count: 606
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Verse: Elementary

Author's summary: Marcus is there for Joan after 2x22.

Reccer's comments: The end of "Paint It Black" (Elementary 2x22) left many a fan unsatisfied (Captain Gregson and Detective Bell never find out Joan was kidnapped! Joan is not comforted after her rescue, particuarly given that yet another person died in her care!) and prompted several fics. This is one of the ones I'm recommending this month. A very simple, yet effective, one-shot with Joan and Bell, together.

phoenixfalls.livejournal.com

Title: Death Before Dusk
Author:

yahtzee63 (Yahtzee)
Pairing: Sherlock Holmes/Joan Watson
Length: 15,816 words
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None apply
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: The bad news: In 111 days, an asteroid will strike the Earth in a cataclysm that promises to destroy human civilization as we know it.

The good news: There's been a murder.

Reccer's comments:
This is, without a doubt, the best longfic I have read in the Elementary fandom. It's a story about things on the cusp, the world on the verge of annihilation and Sherlock & Joan balanced precariously between simple friendship and something more. At the start of it they have been separated, each dealing with the impending apocalypse alone. As they investigate one last case Yahtzee digs in to their characters, getting to the core of Sherlock's reasons for investigating murders and what Sherlock gives to Joan. Yahtzee has captured Sherlock's and Joan's voices from the show exactly, but at the end of the world it's also crystal clear that these modern adaptations are, always and forever, no matter the trappings, Holmes and Watson.

This is a fic of high emotion rendered in a gorgeously understated way. The case is involving in itself in addition to the way it brings clarity to the characters; Bell, Gregson, Ms. Hudson, and Moriarty all appear, each dealing with the end of the world in perfectly characteristic and heartbreaking ways. There is a great deal of anguish here, imbuing virtually every scene, and yet ultimately the story is incredibly hopeful.

If you are only ever going to read one Elementary fic, I beg that you make it this one.

phoenixfalls.livejournal.com

Title: Games We Don't Play
Author:

igrockspock
Pairing: Marcus Bell/Joan Watson
Length: 3,374 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: In which Joan solves a murder, goes on an unexpected date, outwits Sherlock, and survives his highly questionable attempts at emotional support.

Reccer's comments:
The way igrockspock writes Joan & Marcus at the very start of a relationship, mutually attracted but still feeling things out, is adorable. However, the real core of this story is Joan & Sherlock's friendship, and just Joan Watson character development in general. It's all about how Joan and Sherlock negotiate Joan's boundaries, the liberties she's comfortable with Sherlock taking and those that go too far. They're both so in-character it hurts, Sherlock trying to be a good friend in the most ridiculously roundabout ways possible, and Joan cutting through his obfuscations to explain both why some things are over the line and why others are redeemable by his good intentions. There's a case, as alluded to in the summary, but it's not the focus; the emotional lives of these characters when not on a case is, and igrockspock captures those dynamics with a beautiful delicacy, the way the best episodes of the show do.

phoenixfalls.livejournal.com

Title: Team The Best Team
Author:

neveralarch
Reader:

susan_voight
Podfic: mp3 posted on audiofic
Pairing: Marcus Bell/Ms. Hudson/Alfredo Llamosa
Length: 5,715 words
Rating: Teen
Warnings: None apply
Verse: Elementary
Author's summary: Marcus gets along really well with Holmes' friends.

Reccer's comments:
Some of Elementary’s supporting characters get a chance to shine in this fic. Marcus meets and begins crushing on both Alfredo and Ms. Hudson, and Sherlock is a little appalled.

"I find it disturbing that you are forging relationships with my inner circle for reasons unknown," said Holmes. "You have ulterior motives."

Marcus took a second to parse that out, and then another second to figure out what to say. "Yeah, I guess," he admitted, finally. "My ulterior motive is that your friends are hot, Holmes."

Every character’s voice is spot-on, particularly Marcus’s as the viewpoint character, and the fic overall is just so delightfully fluffy, capturing perfectly the heady feeling of a burgeoning relationship. There are also some lovely moments between Sherlock and Joan, bickering and being domestic, and it’s wonderful to see Joan and Alfredo especially continuing to help Sherlock manage his sobriety.

I don't generally listen to podfics, but susan_voight's reading is very clear and smooth, and it has a sort of sly humor that really suits Marcus's flirting.

All in all, however, you consume this fic, the experience is a delight.

unovis.livejournal.com

Hi!
Just a few words on our tags and tagging your recs.

Tags are useful search tools for grouping the recs by categories: by pairing, genre, content, and sources for the stories or other fanworks.

We ask that reccers attach tags that are relevant to the works they rec. You don't have to add everything that applies-- for example, not a character tag for everyone who might appear in the story, or every theme or content. But if Molly has a significant cameo, say, that you think people searching for her might appreciate, then by all means list her in a tag. Likewise if you think this is the addiction story people should read, then use the content: addiction tag.

The required aspects to tag are pairing (if it applies), relationship genre (i.e., gen, slash, or het*), and verse (the source: ACD books, Sherlock BBC, Granada, etc.).

The easiest place to see all of the tags available is in this list of tags.

Tagging is enabled only for the author of the post and the mods. Only the mods can add new tags. We have a beginning list up now, anticipating likely categories and characters. We'll add more as recs are made, if characters and pairings, for example, aren't covered already. You can request a new tag to be added by commenting here or by contacting one of the mods. Keep in mind, again, that we'll be adding character tags as additional characters appear in recs.

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have been abbreviated as SH and JW in pairings and some other places (e.g., content: sick jw). Since this recs comm is open to all versions of Sherlock Holmes, it seemed the simplest way to identify the characters. Lestrade, Gregson, and Dimmock are listed as "inspector" following ACD book canon, and Moriarty is listed only once by his (their) surname alone. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is abbreviated throughout as ACD.

*We won't add a category for "slash-if-you-squint" or similar invitations for the reader to see subtext in a story. If the author hasn't labeled her work as slash, then it's genre: gen or genre: friendship.

Profile

A Sherlock Holmes Recs Community

November 2018

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

Syndicate

Page Summary

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Mar. 9th, 2026 07:04 am

221B Recs

A Sherlock Holmes Recs Community

Entries tagged with character: marcus bell

Fic Rec: The Five Doctors

Art Rec: Running Buddies

Fic Rec: The Phantom with a Crush

Fic Rec: With Your Warm Wet Mouth

fic rec: Don't Blink (You Might Be Missed)

Fic Rec: The Thin Blue Line

Fic Rec:

Fic Rec: On any given day

Fic Rec: Talking

Fic: Death Before Dusk

Fic: Games We Don't Play

Fic Rec: Team The Best Team

Tags and tagging

Profile

November 2018

Links

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags