voicetesting! potential for Skyfall spoilers in comments

[maternals]

Forgive me, but was this really necessary? I don't suppose you've noticed, but I have a rather important job to be getting along with. I haven't got time for this sort of thing.

That username is another disgrace, while we're at it. Double-Oh Seven will be getting ideas if you're not careful.

Now, get along and fix it, and leave me in peace.

Comments

YES GOOD

[maternals]

Ah, I see you've met him. Should I offer my sympathies now, or later?

SEXCELLENT

[hexappeal]

Three years too late on that, I'm afraid. I usually am the one offering the apologies for his behavior these days. It's really a rather daunting task! But I suspect you're very aware of that.

[maternals]

I'm somewhat acquainted with that task, yes. [ But oh, now this is very interesting, because very few women can claim to have been that close to Bond for three years.

The ones that have are rather worth taking notice of, in M's opinion. ]

You're one of the friends he mentioned. I do hope he hasn't been giving you trouble.

[hexappeal]

And I've yet to hear of any situation where you've had to strike him! I'm impressed! If only my record were so good. [It's only partially playful, since she... well. She really did want to bust him up when she hit him that time. Jerk. :(]

Oh, that's all he gives me -- that's how we met, actually. Like a moth to a flame, I can't resist an asshole.

hhh i am so sorry for the delay

[maternals]

[ Her reaction is quite controlled, manifesting in slightly raised eyebrows and parted lips, though in truth she's quite astonished. She never thought she'd see the day when a woman would be talking like that about Bond.

How very refreshing. ]

Well, I must admit he's rather well-versed in that particular trait. You've done well to keep him in line. I can see why he likes you.

Are you a colleague or a friend? I do try to keep track of these things where Bond's concerned. [ A fact which would delight James, no doubt. ]

never be sorry forever backtags even while drinking

[hexappeal]

[She is, perhaps, a very special case.]

I know for a fact that he enjoys being frustrating so any indication that he's being obnoxious, even if met with anger is... sort of like a mini-victory for him, I think. [She seems pleased enough at the last part, if not a little shy.]

I'm his partner. It's only been a little under a year, but I've known him for the entirety of the nearly three years that I've been in the City. [He's so conceited, sigh.]

[maternals]

His partner? [ Good grief, can she really mean in the traditional sense? ]

Well, that's not quite the claim I was expecting. It's a pleasure to meet you. [ Suddenly she's that much more cordial. ] You'll be happy to know that so far as I'm aware, you have no equivalent in our own world.

[hexappeal]

Girlfriend, if you'd rather. But that word feels a little juvenile for a forty year old woman to be using. It feels throwaway, I guess. [Which implies she doesn't mean to do that to him.]

Oh, I don't imagine it's the most surprising thing about me -- but likewise. He's very fond of you. You were a badger, once. You told him to stop being an asshole toward me. [Uh...] Erm, I mean. Thank you. I think.

[maternals]

[ This conversation is starting to become rather odd. ]

I beg your pardon. I was a badger?

I'd like to think I'd remember that sort of thing. Is it safe to assume narcotics were involved?

[ As to Bond being fond of her, well. She'll gloss over that. She should, in theory, be displeased. On the contrary, she's glad to have inspired such loyalty - though the kind that didn't involve small mammals might have been preferable. ]

[hexappeal]

No, it was... you were a badger! And only he could see you. He kept relaying what you were saying to him to me. You wouldn't go away until he stopped being a jerk.

[Where did this conversation take a wrong turn? Oh right, Zee meeting the parental figure and not knowing how to introduce herself and thereby being a moron. :(] You went away after he apologized, I think. I don't know. He didn't talk to you -- badger-you? -- anymore after that.

[maternals]

[ Good lord, what an odd woman this is. M doesn't know quite what to make of her. ]

If this is how Double-Oh Seven has chosen to introduce me to his new world, I should think I'll have to have a word with him.

You must be a terribly patient sort, if you can put up with that.

[hexappeal]

...I honestly have no idea what was happening and frankly, I'm a touch nervous. He doesn't really talk about people from back home aside from you, occasionally. It's like meeting the parents. I promise I'm usually far more charming and less inclined to bring up awkward things that have happened in the past.

[...Usually.]

It depends. I don't usually put up with his crap. I think this was after the time I punched him in the face -- in my defense, he deserved it. You don't woo a woman by being offensive.

[maternals]

No woman worth having, at any rate.

[ She pauses, lips compressing a little. Like meeting the parents. She's glad to inspire that kind of loyalty in her agents, but thanks to dear Mr Silva, she's all too aware of the dangers in it. ]

There's no need for nervousness. I'm not his mother, and you don't need to impress me. Perhaps we should start again. No doubt he's told you to call me M. What should I call you?

[hexappeal]

I am inclined to agree, though you can't necessarily fault a woman for boxing herself in. Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture.

[Ah, but James has been around for ages and now he has Zee to beat his ass. He also doesn't seem obsessed with M, thankfully. Thankfully.]

Good thing I hadn't been aiming to impress. You might have gotten some awful magic tricks. [She laughs, but she knows it wasn't that funny.] It's a pleasure to meet you, M. I'm Zatanna Zatara -- Zatanna's fine.