bond. james bond (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
nameusername) wrote2019-02-28 02:58 pm
nameusername) wrote2019-02-28 02:58 pm
personality (warning: implied/stated spoilers for all films)
blunt instrument;
Bond is very good at what he does, and what he does is kill people. (And, sometimes, choose not to kill people.) That said, the way he goes about it is very him. He's clever enough to use the environment to his advantage during a fight, but this is possible because he's not concerned about causing collateral damage. He is relentless in pursuits, but this is possible because he will literally break through walls in order to get to quicker, more acrobatic targets. When sent into an undercover mission to compete in a poker tournament, after being handed folders of information on his and his partner's aliases and fake backgrounds...he introduced himself to the front desk with his real name, because subtlety isn't his strong suit.
He might be called a spy, and he might be capable of lying and subterfuge, but his default - time and again - is shown to be crashing in through the window to get the job done in the quickest way, no matter how messy. There's a reason he's the last line of defense, when his bosses can't figure out how to fix a problem through less direct means.
proud;
Being good at what he does is both caused by and inhibited by Bond's own self-confidence. A lot of what he's called on to do would get him killed if he hesitated. But that sort of self-assured attitude can bite him and others in the ass on occasion.
When he seems to be losing a poker tournament (being played against the film's big bad), the audience gets to see him throw an abrupt temper tantrum when he's told that his bosses won't buy him back into the game so he can win for them. This isn't just because he's so desperate to help his government bankrupt the villain - it's because he takes the loss personally. That argument about the money is, in fact, the first time we see him physically manhandle an ally and not just barely-named mooks. (And said ally is a woman, in case anyone was worried this Bond is much more chivalrous than his predecessors.)
He'll make split-second decisions and they'll sometimes be wrong. But he'll also follow his own drives towards a point that would see other people giving up - which is a good trait to have when you need to survive things that would kill most people.
loyal;
Bond appears to need to be loyal to something in order to feel fulfilled. He's in MI6 as an agent with a license to kill because it clearly serves some sort of personal need of his - he says 'it never felt like a choice' when talking about his career with another character. However, he also goes above and beyond in order to serve the specific head of his agency (M), even going so far as to use personal leave time to break the law and covertly fulfill his old boss's posthumous wishes. His loyalty to M goes beyond his job. He's a weapon and he gets personal satisfaction from that, but he'd like someone else to point him to where he needs to be.
Twice he quits his job to be with women he's met and fallen in love with, showing loyalty to them - an individual - beyond the job, while still not betraying the original job. Or, more importantly, the boss he seems to respect even more than the job itself.
Bond is seen to remain loyal even after being hurt, so long as he agrees with the ideals or mentality of the person who hurt him. M indirectly causes him to be shot, and Bond is presumed dead - a rumor he encourages by going into hiding. He spends these unemployed, unaligned months drinking himself into a daze and sleeping with people he's not attached to. In short, he's deeply depressed and turns self-destructive in response to betrayal from someone he'd been loyal to. (A response seen at other points in the films as well.)
But then when Bond finds out that MI6, and therefore his boss, are in trouble - via a conveniently-playing newsreel on tv - he returns. And not to work immediately, but to the home of his boss; to pay her a visit and confront her betrayal. In the end he receives no apology, gets confirmation that that boss also indirectly caused the death of one of his coworkers, and...rejoins MI6 anyway.
sensation-seeking;
Bond enjoys and seeks out extreme experiences. Sometimes it's with the vitality and aggression of someone engaging in battle, sometimes it's with a connoisseur's self-assured lounge. Beautiful hotel rooms, large amounts of alcohol, car chases, beautiful women, situations he might not walk away alive from, tense matches of confidence or wit - he seeks all of them out equally. At least half of what he likes isn't good for him, and this is not a secret. Most people who know Bond seem to know him as a womanizing adrenaline junkie who's going to get himself killed someday...they just also still put up with him, and even sometimes enjoy putting up with him, because he can be charming.
Bond is prone to substance use problems when he doesn't have dangerous missions to offer him enough stimulation, and sometimes even when he does have them. Even when depressed, he will be using that time to do something dangerous and reckless.
rule of cool;
Let's get one thing out of the way: Bond isn't always friendly. If his initial overtures are met with an argument, Bond will match it with aggression. He will just as readily insult a coworker as flirt with a stranger. What Bond has, instead, is a quietly heavy presence and a certain magnetic quality. He tends to get noticed, and that's by design; he tends to be unflappable to the point of near absurdity; and he knows how to use every positive and negative trait of himself to his own advantage when it comes to establishing himself as an undeniable presence.
Bond is very good at what he does, and what he does is kill people. (And, sometimes, choose not to kill people.) That said, the way he goes about it is very him. He's clever enough to use the environment to his advantage during a fight, but this is possible because he's not concerned about causing collateral damage. He is relentless in pursuits, but this is possible because he will literally break through walls in order to get to quicker, more acrobatic targets. When sent into an undercover mission to compete in a poker tournament, after being handed folders of information on his and his partner's aliases and fake backgrounds...he introduced himself to the front desk with his real name, because subtlety isn't his strong suit.
He might be called a spy, and he might be capable of lying and subterfuge, but his default - time and again - is shown to be crashing in through the window to get the job done in the quickest way, no matter how messy. There's a reason he's the last line of defense, when his bosses can't figure out how to fix a problem through less direct means.
proud;
Being good at what he does is both caused by and inhibited by Bond's own self-confidence. A lot of what he's called on to do would get him killed if he hesitated. But that sort of self-assured attitude can bite him and others in the ass on occasion.
When he seems to be losing a poker tournament (being played against the film's big bad), the audience gets to see him throw an abrupt temper tantrum when he's told that his bosses won't buy him back into the game so he can win for them. This isn't just because he's so desperate to help his government bankrupt the villain - it's because he takes the loss personally. That argument about the money is, in fact, the first time we see him physically manhandle an ally and not just barely-named mooks. (And said ally is a woman, in case anyone was worried this Bond is much more chivalrous than his predecessors.)
He'll make split-second decisions and they'll sometimes be wrong. But he'll also follow his own drives towards a point that would see other people giving up - which is a good trait to have when you need to survive things that would kill most people.
loyal;
Bond appears to need to be loyal to something in order to feel fulfilled. He's in MI6 as an agent with a license to kill because it clearly serves some sort of personal need of his - he says 'it never felt like a choice' when talking about his career with another character. However, he also goes above and beyond in order to serve the specific head of his agency (M), even going so far as to use personal leave time to break the law and covertly fulfill his old boss's posthumous wishes. His loyalty to M goes beyond his job. He's a weapon and he gets personal satisfaction from that, but he'd like someone else to point him to where he needs to be.
Twice he quits his job to be with women he's met and fallen in love with, showing loyalty to them - an individual - beyond the job, while still not betraying the original job. Or, more importantly, the boss he seems to respect even more than the job itself.
Bond is seen to remain loyal even after being hurt, so long as he agrees with the ideals or mentality of the person who hurt him. M indirectly causes him to be shot, and Bond is presumed dead - a rumor he encourages by going into hiding. He spends these unemployed, unaligned months drinking himself into a daze and sleeping with people he's not attached to. In short, he's deeply depressed and turns self-destructive in response to betrayal from someone he'd been loyal to. (A response seen at other points in the films as well.)
But then when Bond finds out that MI6, and therefore his boss, are in trouble - via a conveniently-playing newsreel on tv - he returns. And not to work immediately, but to the home of his boss; to pay her a visit and confront her betrayal. In the end he receives no apology, gets confirmation that that boss also indirectly caused the death of one of his coworkers, and...rejoins MI6 anyway.
sensation-seeking;
Bond enjoys and seeks out extreme experiences. Sometimes it's with the vitality and aggression of someone engaging in battle, sometimes it's with a connoisseur's self-assured lounge. Beautiful hotel rooms, large amounts of alcohol, car chases, beautiful women, situations he might not walk away alive from, tense matches of confidence or wit - he seeks all of them out equally. At least half of what he likes isn't good for him, and this is not a secret. Most people who know Bond seem to know him as a womanizing adrenaline junkie who's going to get himself killed someday...they just also still put up with him, and even sometimes enjoy putting up with him, because he can be charming.
Bond is prone to substance use problems when he doesn't have dangerous missions to offer him enough stimulation, and sometimes even when he does have them. Even when depressed, he will be using that time to do something dangerous and reckless.
rule of cool;
Let's get one thing out of the way: Bond isn't always friendly. If his initial overtures are met with an argument, Bond will match it with aggression. He will just as readily insult a coworker as flirt with a stranger. What Bond has, instead, is a quietly heavy presence and a certain magnetic quality. He tends to get noticed, and that's by design; he tends to be unflappable to the point of near absurdity; and he knows how to use every positive and negative trait of himself to his own advantage when it comes to establishing himself as an undeniable presence.