Character Manifesto: Kate Beckett

[zinke.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Castle
Character: Detective Kate Beckett
Pairings Included in Manifesto: Rick Castle/Kate Beckett
Note: There will be 3rd Season spoilers through the episode ‘Knockdown’ mentioned behind the cut.






I have a confession to make: I have a soft spot for strong, independent female characters who know themselves and what they want and aren’t afraid to show it. But I have to admit, that isn’t what first drew me to the character of Kate Beckett. I was more than a little uncertain of her at first; she seems a little flat, a little too much like a caricature of what a strong woman “should” be. But what I’ve learned over the course of the show is that she is in fact neither of those things. Instead, Kate Beckett is an incredibly perseverant woman who plays things so close to the vest they’re practically a part of the fabric, who feels so much more than she will ever show and who can take down a man three times her size with a well placed kick to the…well, you get the idea.







A New York City Police Detective, Kate Beckett spends her days solving murders and being shadowed by this guy:



A bestselling mystery writer, Richard Castle became enamored with Detective Beckett when their paths crossed during a murder investigation. He subsequently made Kate the inspiration for Nikki Heat, the main character of his newest book series, and has been following Beckett around ever since – all in the name of “character research”.


I got this special order. Cool, huh?


It's on page 105, by the way...That sex scene you're looking for. And Agent Gray was right. It's steamy.


Though they got off to a somewhat rocky start, Beckett and Castle have come to realize that they make a pretty good crime-solving team. When Castle isn’t busy driving Beckett nuts.






Like Starsky and Hutch. Tango and Cash. Turner and Hooch.

They also make a pretty nice looking couple – though you’ll never hear either one of them admit it (yet).







All ‘shippy tendencies aside, Castle has played a major role in helping Beckett come to terms with an event from the past that has haunted her for years: the unsolved murder of her mother. When she first became a cop, Beckett almost lost herself in her obsession to bring her mother’s killer to justice. To save herself, Kate was forced to find a way to put it behind her – My first three years on the force, every off-duty moment was spent looking for something someone missed. It took me a year of therapy to realize if I didn't let it go, it was gonna destroy me. And so I let it go. – until Castle unwittingly brings it back to the fore by secretly conducting his own investigation.

To say that Kate was pissed when she discovered what he’d done would be an understatement. But when his snooping leads to the first break in her mother’s case in nearly a decade, it is Castle who she allows to stand beside her as she presses on with the investigation in spite of her fears.



Kate Beckett isn’t perfect. She isn’t a saint and she’s not a super hero. She’s a human being who’s had something terrible happen in her life and has chosen to use that tragedy to make her stronger rather than let it own her.





She’s also something of a walking contradiction. She’s a woman in a man’s world who chases down criminals in three-inch stiletto heels. She owns a Harley Davidson Softtail. She likes slipping into a hot bath with a glass of wine after a long day. Her wit is a deadly as her aim.

In a word, she’s “extraordinary”. And no one knows that better than Castle.



Want to know more? Here are a few fic recs showcasing the amazing Kate Beckett and her plucky sidekick partner Richard Castle:

1. Title: Other Plans
Pairing: Past Beckett/Other implied.
Author: fialka
Rating: PG
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: A story about the moment that changed everything for Katherine Beckett – and how strong she was, even then.


2. Title: the kindest of kisses break the hardest of hearts
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: literary_critic
Rating: NC-17
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: The relationship between Castle and Beckett is no simple thing. Especially when both parties spend much of their time denying there’s any relationship to be had. A somewhat darker look at the effects this dance Castle and Beckett keep doing can have.


3. Title: you gotta laugh a little...until the clouds roll by a little (that's the story of love)
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: earnmysong
Rating: PG
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Because there’s drinking. And singing. On tables. With a side of Kate Beckett leaving all the men understandably speechless. Enough said.


4. Title: Requiem for a Hitman
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: fialka
Rating: PG-13
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: I would rec every one of Fi’s stories here if I could. This gorgeous, angsty fic picks up where the penultimate scene in ‘Sucker Punch’ left off, showing us how Kate manages to get through the next five minutes, five hours, five days after shooting the man who killed her mother. And how it’s Castle who ultimately helps her find her way.


5. Title: You’re so Pretty and I’m so Lame
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: babylon_whore
Rating: PG-13
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: A lovely – not to mention hot – little look at what might go through Beckett’s head when the *cough* inevitable *cough* finally occurs.


6. Title: Crown & Anchor Part 1; Part 2
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: floatingamoeba
Rating: PG
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Because this is what makes Castle and Beckett so great: the give and take, and how much they can say to one another without having to speak a word.


7. Title: Trapped in Amber
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: effie214
Rating: PG
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Because it likens Castle and Beckett’s relationship to a chess game, which is quite possibly the most accurate description I’ve seen yet.


8. Title: a blank page is just history erased Part 1; Part 2
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: missymeggins
Rating: G
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Kate Beckett and Richard Castle. Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. When one pair gets their happy ending, the other must find a way to live with the consequences. An interesting look at a complication to the Castle/Beckett relationship that is rarely explored.


9. Title: a simple hypothetical
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: veils
Rating: R
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: Because Castle’s known he was in trouble from the moment he laid eyes on Kate Beckett. And this dance of theirs makes for such a good story.


10. Title: The beginning After the End
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Author: literary_critic
Rating: R
WIP?: No.

Why This Must Be Read: I am usually not much for AUs. That said, there’s something about this one that just works and stays surprisingly true to both the characters and their relationships to one another. Castle and Beckett at the end of the world. Plus, you know, zombies.



**All screencaps taken with thanks from: www.Castle-Fans.org