Hi Corrina!
I'm finally getting caught up on your epic stories. I couldn't let myself start them until Man Under was finished. Loved Aussie Rules, and now this story has me hooked.
A couple of things that stand out about this story:
- It reminds me so much of Awaken My Heart, only in reverse. I mean in the sense that Lois was Kal El's prisoner (effectively) and now Clark is Lois's prisoner, literally.
- That very power differential makes the ethics of even hinting at a romantic relationship very tricky. The very reason that we have taboos about relationships between people in unequal power situations is to protect the less powerful. And a guard/prisoner is about as unequal in power as you get. That makes for a lot of dramatic tension. It's a bit mitigated here because Clark is clearly physically very powerful, so Lois is putting herself at his mercy every time she enters his cell, but she still has a huge advantage over him. He is completely dependent on her for every facet of his life. She can walk away at any time. He doesn't have that option. For that reason I hope that they won't start a romantic relationship before he escapes. Even talking about it is uncomfortably close to the line as it is. He's really in no position to say 'no' to anything she might ask.
- The other thing that mitigates the situation is that Lois has clearly declared that her loyalty lies with Clark, so in that sense she isn't really his guard anymore. She's his ally who is betraying her duty to her agency in favor of her higher duty to justice. She's more like a double agent than his guard.
-I'm glad to see that you're bringing their escape plans to a head sooner rather than later. At the rate their relationship is progressing, there's no way they would last another two weeks without crossing some serious boundaries. Besides, I'm always nervous that someone is going to show up unexpectedly when they had too much unauthorized stuff in that cell to cover up quickly. Clark could toss it all into the staff room at super speed, but Lois would still have some very awkward explaining to do.
You have a very creative imagination, which makes your stories very enjoyable for the very reason that we have *not* seen this plot before. It's nice to have something so very new and unpredictable.
One more comment overall: I smile sometimes because your Aussie shows in tiny ways. I don't think there is anyone born in the U.S. with the name Neville or Angus. It's not distracting--more like an inside joke.
Have a good holiday!
Michelle
