embarkation | open to all;

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!open rp

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✿ how it works ✿

✿ Comment with one of your muses.
✿ Specify which muse you want of mine from THIS LIST. If you don't specify, I'll choose one for you!
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✿ Profit! Tags will be slower than my game tags probably, so we'll probably backtag into forever. And if that's fine with you it's fine with me!

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Kate Beckett was seventeen and on the subway. Her parents weren't exactly fans of her taking the subway, but she couldn't find a taxi and it had been raining, and Katie was exactly someone who was afraid of taking chances.

Or, in this case, pissing off her parents.

Clutching her backpack, she maneuvered through the train and finally found a place to sit down between a chubby grandma and another girl about her age, which seemed like a safe enough spot. Once she was in she fished through her backpack, pulling out the copy of Death of the Prom Queen that she had slowly been chipping her way through.

It wasn't until she raised her eyes up and met the face of the man sitting across from her. And she froze. Because that man looked an awful lot like Richard Castle and why would a bestselling author be on the subway anyway?

Panicking, Kate felt her face flush and she raised her book up, covering most of her face except for her eyes that continued to peer at him from over the top of the book. There was no way. He must just be a look a like, right?

Castle had watched the girl come on, noticing that she seemed a bit skittish. First time alone on the subway maybe? The girl must have been younger than she looked. Then he noticed what book she pulled out and couldn't suppress his grin. They locked eyes for a moment before the girl went back to the book, trying to pretend like she hadn't seen him. Cute.

When the girl next to her got off the train, Castle moved across the aisle to sit next to her.

"Are you enjoying it so far?"

Kate stiffened when he moved to sit down next to her, gripping her book tighter. For all she knew, this guy was a look-a-like and she didn't want to get too friendly. She'd ridden the subway before - just not by herself. She usually had a few friends or a boyfriend with her, because her mother was a proponent of strength in numbers. Kate loved New York but she was still young and knew how dangerous it could be.

"It's good," she said, as if she didn't have any idea who she was talking to. Which was funny considering his picture was on the back of the book. "Not as good as the last one, though."

Castle actually grinned at the girl's comments. Teenagers had such balls sometimes. He only hoped that Alexis would be like that when she got older. This girl was exceptionally cute, acting like she had no idea who he was when it was completely obvious that she did.

"Really? What seems to be the problem with this one?"

Kate's eyes widened a little. First of all, she was shocked at herself for even having said that but more so at the fact that he actually asked her to expand on it.

"Uh, well... The beginning is okay. But it starts to lag a little after they find the body." She lowered the book. "Plus the whole thing is kind of contrived. I mean, there's what, like 15 people in the whole graduating class? That's not even realistic. I'm only a third of the way through and 3 of them are dead. There is no way there's a serial killer wiping people out at that rate without people fleeing town. Plus Cassie's parents are insane for letting her wander around and spy on her neighbors. She's not a cop, anything she digs up wouldn't be admissible in court anyway, so she's really doing more harm than good." It's as if Kate's brain finally caught up to her mouth and her eyes went wide again. "Uh... And stabbing the prom queen and tossing her into a swimming pool? Isn't that kinda... excessive?"

Castle sat and listened to her review with a bemused smirk on his face. Not only was she cute, but she was smart too. He wished she wasn't so obviously jail bait.

"So let me guess... your mom or dad is a lawyer and you're hoping to become one too?"

Because no kid ever used things like "admissible in court" in everyday language.

Kate frowned, pouting a little and leaning back into her seat.

"Yeah..." Both of her parents, as a matter of fact. And she definitely was going to become one.

"So?"

"So? Do you always talk like that around a guy you've just met?"

One that you're obviously a big fan of, despite trying to act the contrary?

"Yeah, right, like you're just some guy." She rolls her eyes. "And no, I don't. Mostly because my boyfriend thinks books are stupid. He's actually the stupid one but he has a motorcycle so I just try not to have conversations with him that involve big words."

"Oh, so you do know who I am? Gosh, I couldn't tell by the way you were acting."

So there was a boyfriend. One with a motorcycle, which meant that she liked older men. He sounded like he would be easy enough to dispose of if Castle wanted to.

She held up the back off the book tauntingly, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not stupid. I was just trying to be polite and subtle. You're the one who moved seats." She grinned slyly at him. "What are you doing taking the subway, anyway? Can't afford a taxi?"

Castle snorted, but he still had a bemused smile on her face.

"And how much did your mom give you this week for your subway fare?"

"I have my own money," she bit back, rolling her eyes. But she did shift a little uncomfortably, glancing at the old woman next her before she lowered her voice. "Actually? My parents hate the subway. They'll probably kill me if they find out I'm riding it alone."

"Your own money from your job at Claire's?"

This girl was proving very fun to spar with. He never would have guessed when he had first sat down. It was always more fun when he met fans who could give it back to him.

"Oh, look at you, being all rebellious."

"Please." God, this guy was something else. She didn't particularly like be taunted about her age and she wasn't used to it. As overprotective as her parents could be, they still did their best to mostly treat her like an adult. "I'm a model." Was, over the summer for like, 30 seconds but he didn't know that. "As if it were any of your business."

Castle snorted, but inside he believed it. She was tall and thin with a beautiful face. Of course she could have modeled.

"You're the one who kept staring at me over your book, so you kind of made it my business."

"I was just wondering what you were doing on a subway. I mean..." She waved the book in his face, the back cover with his picture on it facing him so she could really get the point across.

"My mom owns every one of your books. That's at least enough revenue to pay for one cab and I know for a fact she isn't the only one buying them."

"What if I just like the subway? Did you ever consider that?"

The girl didn't really have a full concept of how much writers make. Sure he'd sold a lot of books, but his commission was relatively low after he paid everyone else. There wasn't anything wrong with taking the subway every now and then.

She definitely didn't have any concept. She was scraping together enough money for a motorcycle and that was the biggest investment she'd been planning on making her life. At this point, anything he made seemed like a fortune, comparatively.

"Do you people watch? Get ideas for your books?"

Castle nodded and gave her a knowing smile.

"Believe it or not, I get some of my best ideas from riding the subway. Ben Meltzer in 'At Dusk We Die'? Guy right here on the subway."

Kate tried not to smirk. At Dusk We Die was not exactly the pinnacle of Castle's current writing career and even Kate knew that, but she figured she'd given him enough unsolicited criticism. For now, anyway.

"How'd you get from random guy in a subway to... Battling crazy biker vampires, exactly?"

"He was dressed like a Hell's Angel who had just come from an Insane Clown Posse concert. Tell me that's not ripe inspiration."

Castle had to admit, as sarcastic as she was, the girl was ripe inspiration herself.

"Your brain must be one super weird place to hang out," Kate replied, but her tone was almost complimentary. "So... Where are some other places you get ideas from?"

"I bet you'd love to hang out in my brain."

He sits back in his seat, happy to discuss his writing process with the young lady.

"My mother is an actress so naturally the people she comes into contact with provide loads of inspiration."

Kate was going to make a comment about his mother's acting pursuits - and the fact that she'd seen her in action in a play not all that long ago - but decided against betraying her true fanaticism. Instead she just shrugged.

"Yeah, but where do you get ideas for..." she lowered her voice. "Murders?"

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sorry the mess in my inbox ate this

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sorry my inbox swallowed this

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