[Report This]Date: May 07 2024 1:00 AM Title: Frankly and Zootie
You know, until this last chapter I felt a vague sense of familiarity with this story, but I couldn't quite place it. I'm not sure if it was the fact that this one toned down the emphasis on the size difference between Quinn and Bailey just a bit or that this left our two main characters to awkwardly fumble through the emotional backlash of the previous chapters to take center stage, but it kind of clicked for me here.
Who am I kidding? It was the musical references/recommendations that let me nail down what this story is: a coming-of-age indie film.
It was staring me in the face the whole time: the super personal narrative style (you even used the word introspective at the end of the previous chapter, how did I not figure it out then?!), the way the very premise of the story plays with taboo (okay, maybe not so taboo on this site, but in a general sense), the heartfelt emotional beats, and even the way their relationship with their parents has been set up. Once I looked up those songs listed in the chapter notes (I wasn't familiar with either of them before, so thanks for the introduction), I started reading this chapter through that lens (which was really easy to do, given the way the story is put together). It's weird, but even though the writing was no less any of those things listed above before now, doing this made this chapter hit just a little different, and as much as I enjoyed the first three chapters, this one is actually my favorite so far.
And, just in case I had any doubt that this was the vibe you were going for, once I looked up the premise for Lady Bird (another thing with which I was unfamiliar, but I actually really like Laurie Metcalf so I'll have to check it out, so thanks again!) and watch the trailer, I immediately pretended to stand up (I was too lazy to actually do it) and went, "That! That is what this is!"
As for the chapter itself, the first thing that struck me was Quinn trying to be cautious around Bailey, which obviously isn't a natural thing for her. First, she barely even acknowledges his new height (and does so in a very indirect and not very teasing way).
Quinn also barely teases Bailey at all in this chapter, and even when she does so, this time there's no physical contact in it (at least not until after his confession). I mean, the closest she comes to teasing him physically is throwing her socks at him; that's a huge departure from how she has behaved around him in the first three chapters.
The one time she came close to this was when she silently dared him to run from her at the table. But when he threatens to never talk to her again (obviously in jest), it seemed to me like she almost took it seriously. Even when he peppers in another joke, she backs down and saves face by telling him that he's luck that she "feels generous." Again, I couldn't see her showing that kind of restraint earlier in the story.
This shift made a lot of sense to me as I was reading it but even more so by the time I reached the backend of the chapter. After Bailey tells Quinn how he feels, she excitedly says that she "knew it," revealing that she has a pretty good read on Bailey in general (she caught him pretty much every time he was eyeing her up, too). After that, when she invites him to sleep over, she jokingly (or was it a joke) offers to let him sleep on her floor by her bed. That seemed to stray beyond her usual height teasing and general enjoyment of her size advantage over him, and with how well she has shown herself to know Bailey so far, I think this might be a sign that she already has some idea of what he's into.
So I'm starting to think that the whole measuring/weigh-in incident was actually Quinn's way of trying to entice him, thinking he would love being dominated so casually by her and reminded of how small he is too her (which, if that's what she was thinking, she wasn't exactly wrong) and capping off the effort by getting sexual but not too sexual with her thigh touching his cock. When it responded, she started to smirk, probably hiding her excitement to stay in character, so to speak. But when he ran away, she likely felt like she misread the situation entirely, feeling like she made him hate her instead.
I say all that to make the simple point that, upon hearing that Bailey never even considered hating her, she went back to trying to find out if she was right about his feelings for her. But this time, she was going to be careful and make sure that she didn't push too hard while probing him for the truth.
And we see that probing in surprisingly (for Quinn, anyway) subtle yet escalating ways. There was her brushing her thigh against his leg, giving him goosebumps. Then there was taking him to the carpark, a special place for them, and finding a nice isolated spot. Finally, she sings those very ... direct lyrics while looking him in the eye, even adding in a little physical contact in for good measure. Once she sees him trying to hide his erection, she knows she was right from the start, otherwise I'm pretty sure she would have become at least a little bit nervous when he brought up being scared of her.
But the way Quinn handled herself throughout the chapter was so endearing and sweet, and it built off of that speech at the end of the last one quite well. She has been fun from the beginning, but I'm liking her more and more as the story progresses.
You know, I find myself analyzing Quinn's perspective a lot more than Bailey's in these reviews, but I think that's because his narrative gives us such a deep look into who he is as a person. He's pretty honest with himself, even when he doesn't want to be, so we get to see everything about him. That made it so much more rewarding to see him finally come out with everything at the end of the chapter.
You did a masterful job of building these feelings up inside him in the first three chapters, and the way you drug out him acting on his decision to come clean, always finding an excuse because it wasn't the right time, made his nervous start and hesitation when Quinn more or less manufactured the right moment for him feel so natural. And the clumsy yet heartfelt way he explained to her what he loved about her was so satisfying, like these things were just flowing out of him rather than him trying to woo or flatter her. Also, recognizing little things like how her eyes widen when she wants to emphasize something always hit, as they show how closely you're actually paying attention to someone, so good work, Bailey!
Backing up a bit, I wanted to acknowledge how hard the emotions at the start of the chapter hit. Seeing Quinn's reaction to Bailey telling her that he doesn't hate her was so heart-warming and sincere, from the "uplifting" hug to the way she talked through her sobbing. It was such a powerful moment, showing the heaviness of the tension between them from the previous chapters suddenly being lifted from them even higher than Bailey was.
And Bailey loosing it for a second after realizing that there's a risk that his emotions could fuck up a relationship with Quinn that's so important to him, one he had probably taken for granted during his two-year absence, led to such a sweet moment. Him saying that he missed her almost felt like an apology for staying away for so long, like he could have had two more years with her the way they were before but can't now that he's probably about to mess everything up. Of course, Quinn seems to know exactly what he's thinking with her "You can tell me anything" line, which, once again, is what he needed to hear in that moment.
Lastly (I think I've been rambling for long enough), I really like how, while the other chapters showed that they were attracted to each other and the previous one showed how much they care for one another, this one did a lot to show why they care about each other. Between them bonding over complaining about their parents, to noting small details in Quinn's room like the books he had recommended for her to Bailey comforting Quinn over how the issues in Lady Bird reminded her of her own problems with Helen and the discussion the two of them shared over No Country for Old Men (great movie, by the way), the reader can see the bond between them rather than just be assured that it's there. These scenes made the story feel even more personal and their blossoming relationship feel more real.
And I think that'll be especially important to remember in the chapters ahead, now that we're getting into "the good stuff," particularly given Bailey's tastes.
Author's Response:
Ok now I gotta pitch Quintessential to A24, I reckon they'd bite, didn't Love Lies Bleeding have a giant woman in it? I appreciate the comparison and honestly, I do tend to heavily romanticise my stories while listening to music so it bleeds through into the writing sometimes. This is 100% a coming-of-age love story and I really wanted to have moments that show that stupid dramatic kinda love that you only feel when the music kicks in.
Let's think about it like this, Bailey lives in his head and chooses to ruminate on all that occurs to him, his story is told in a way, akin to something like Catcher in the Rye, but Quinn on the other hand is living in her coming-of-age indie flick and so she acts on her impulses, she gets the plot moving, she has her main character moments. I think you find yourself analysing Quinn because compared to Bailey, her intentions are a lot more mysterious, while we know why Bailey acts in the way he does, by nature of the 1st person POV we can only assume about Quinn's actions unless she outwardly states why and that's what makes her so fun to write because she has this adaptable personality and seemingly knows Bailey better than he does at times, so I thought it made a lot of sense for her to show some restraint given all that's happened.
And you're right! She definitely set some plans into motion after hearing Bailey say he never hated her and slowly built up more and more comforting environments to feel he had the space to speak, while also being highly suspicious of why. Lightly peppering in teasing when she couldn't help it, I like to think that when she gave him goosebumps was when she confirmed to herself that he was into her like that. You say she might've orchestrated the measuring thing with Bailey to entice him, but I counter you with what if she just did it because it was fun for her? Or was she actually worried about SIVID? Or was she trying to entice him? Who knows, well she does, but she sure as shit hasn't told me yet.
A big theme of this chapter was Bailey trying to find 'the right moment' and while I was listening to Red Wine Supernova I thought some of the lyrics were so perfectly situated to what was going on, using those lyrics in a way where it was so on the nose that he felt it would've been a wasted opportunity for him NOT to speak up, and ofc Quinn literally catches him trying to hide his erection.
Here are a few other lyrics that almost made it:
'I like, what you like' - this one ties well into what you said about Quinn being suspicious of exactly what Bailey might like.
'Now I'm choked up, face down, burnt out' - referencing how they were both kinda going through it emotionally speaking.
Anyway, I'm glad the emotional beats are hitting for you, I'm aiming for a very personal style so it's nice to know it's connecting. Nice pick up on Bailey saying he missed her feeling like an apology because that's exactly what it was, him regretting the fact that he'd stayed away from her for so long and leaving her all alone, she had her friends sure, but what about her little- wait I mean big brother!
Thanks for the write up, it's great fun to read your thoughts! Enjoy those recs btw, there'll be plenty more music/movie references to come.