Hi! What do you think about Sylvia Sherwood's spike and the dude in the photo? I think they have a nice dynamic, and I don't mind if you write a couple of hedcannons about them
Hello! I wasn't sure what you meant by spike, but regarding Handler and this unnamed WISE agent's dynamic, I don't see them romantically involved, more like old friends and long-time coworkers who have been through a lot together.
My opinion may be colored by my own experience. A while ago, I worked on a startup with a man significantly older than me. I was senior to him in the company despite my youth and professional inexperience. He was married with kids, and was in a very different life stage. But we worked together well, and were able to argue and shout at each other but not take it personally. I also made some business decisions that he disagreed with, but he ultimately had to go along with them because I was his senior. Startup life had a ton of ups and downs, and naturally tackling all the challenges together made our friendship stronger.
My headcanon for Sylvia and this agent (let's call him Stratus for now, that's the codename I use for him in my fics), is that they sort of have that dynamic. In an upcoming chapter of 21 Eden Street, we will dive into Stratus' past. He'll reminisce on his decades as a spy, and the various superiors he worked under before Sylvia became his commanding officer. He has many more years of field missions and life experience than her, but he respects Sylvia immensely for her sharp intelligence, leadership skills, and ability to get shit done like none of the leaders before her did.
Still, due to the fact he's much older, and he's been through so much crazy stuff (two wars, close calls with the SSS, missions gone wrong etc.), he's kind of jaded and laid-back about all the risks of spy life at this point. He's not scared of Sylvia's intimidating personality and threats. He sees who she is as a person underneath the Fullmetal Lady reputation. Another human struggling to get by, dealing with the ghosts of her past, carrying a huge weight on her shoulders that she can't set down.
We can see some of his laid-back, "I've been around the block and seen this before" attitude at the end of the tennis arc:
His objection to throwing away the postcards is hilarious to me. He doesn't let the pressures of undercover life get to him too much. He probably has some eccentric hobbies of his own. This also hints that he may have been married at some point, and understands Zacharis' point of view on a personal level.
Later during chapter 78, we see how he isn't afraid of criticizing Handler to her face. It's again hilarious, and from a storytelling perspective it helps to humanize Handler (which is the point of this whole chapter).
Finally their camaraderie is apparent during the opera singer chapter. They're totally on the same page throughout the whole ordeal, with a mindset of "let's solve this problem and move on." No dwelling on tabloid drama, condescension, or naivete here.
Stratus is the WISE uncle that all the agents, including Sylvia, need to maintain some sanity and lightheartedness amid the soul-crushing work they have to do day in and day out. 🫡
