Fandom: Super Mario
.......
When Rosalina entered the cinema that evening, she was bright. Her favorite book got a movie adaptation and she couldn't wait to see it! The trailers seemed really cool, and her favorite characters seemed to have even more relevance! A movie changed for the better for once!
She knew about the standard movie adaptations' rule: the movie is always worse than the book, and that was okay. She was ready for that.
Or at least she thought she was.
"I can't believe they did that!" Spoiler: she wasn't.
She stormed out of the cinema outraged, followed by an annoyed Mona, a confused Daisy, and an awkwardly laughing Pauline, the latter clearly used to that kind of reaction.
"I think you are exaggerating; it wasn't that bad." Mona tried to argue but her comment was like throwing oil to flames.
"Exaggerating? Mona, this is my favorite book, a misunderstood masterpiece of our modern literature!"
"Now you're definitely exaggerating."
The two girls kept arguing walking a bit ahead of Pauline and Daisy.
"I don't get it. The movie wasn't too good but it isn't like her to get so mad." Daisy looked at her older sister, silently asking for an explanation she knew Pauline had. She was Rosalina's girlfriend after all.
Pauline sighed "Do you remember the two childhood friends?"
"The two girls who barely had the time to confess their feelings to each other and then got killed? They were so cute but their story is so tragic!"
"Yeah, those two." Looking ahead Pauline could see their friends still arguing, Rosalina passionately explaining something she assumed must have been a less chill version of what she was about to explain to Daisy herself.
"From what Rosalina told me those two got a lot of development in the book, hinting a lot to their relationship being more than just friendly without really stating it but making it obvious enough."
"Okay... so what? Didn't they actually confess in here?"
"They did, but they also marketed the movie as if they'd have more romantic scenes together. Instead they got killed even before their relationship actually started."
"Yeah, that's sad."
"That's queerbaiting." Daisy looked at her with new confusion "It means they attract queer people only to disappoint them." Pauline easily explained, pointing to a very clearly disappointed Rosalina to prove her point.
"Ohhhh!" Daisy seemed to understand "I can see why. It's like they promised me a movie full of robots and then I go and see almost none!"
Pauline laughed "That's a weird way to put it, but I guess you still got it just right!" and from the silence ahead she assumed Mona got it too, like it or not.
The burst of emotion against the heiress seemed to have calmed Rosalina down but she was still definitely upset about what happened. And in fact, after settling at the café they all agreed to go after the movie, she went on with her rant.
"Queerbaiting and the 'bury your gays' trope, exactly what I wanted." she sarcastically commented before drowning her sorrow in the wonderful cup of tea she ordered.
After achieving, with great difficulty, a change of topic, the rest of their evening went on pretty smoothly. They happily sipped their drinks and just hung out and made small talk. It was nice and everything, but Pauline could tell how much her friend was still upset and trying her hardest to not bother them any more than she already did.
Pauline decided to treat her that time.
Sometime later the two pairs said goodbye and went on their own homes. Rosalina and Pauline walked home hand in hand, the blonde doing small nice gestures to try and make her feel better. It was hard to make a difference when you already do this kind of stuff all the time though.
Pauline opened the door of their shared apartment and held it open to cavalierly let Rosalina get inside first, as usual.
Rosalina dropped her coat over the couch and positioned herself on her comfy armchair to continue reading her current book. It wasn't unusual at all, spending times with her friends clearly helped a lot, but Pauline could still feel her disappointment.
The blonde thought about what she could do to help, and in the end opted to just talk it through with her. So, she just sat on the coach next to Rosalina's chair and looked at her expectantly.
"...yes?"
"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to ask if you are okay? I know that thing hit you hard, so... need to rant some more?"
Rosalina smiled fondly at her girlfriend and put her book down "I know it sounds weird to get this mad. This is not the first time I experience queerbaiting and similar things, and sadly it won't be the last."
"Yeah, I kind of wondered about that. I mean, I was sure you'd call that out but that reaction was unexpected, even for your favorite series."
"It's just..." Pauline nodded to prompt her to go on. Rosalina sighed "These two and their relationship made me start questioning my sexuality for the first time. They prompted the self-discovery that led me to realize my bisexuality. By extension, in some way, they kind of led me to you." She smiled a little embarrassed. Pauline swore that was the cutest expression she ever saw in her girlfriend's face. And she saw a lot of her cute faces!
"That's... that's incredibly sweet." the blonde smiled back "And comprehensible."
"I just wanted them to be happy... like us. They deserved it."
"Yeah, I agree." Pauline took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I bet you would've written down something way better than those screenwriters!"
"I... I kind of started already actually. I told you their fate wasn't clear in the book, so I decided to write it on my own. I hoped the movie would give me some closure though."
"So, you're basically writing a fanfiction?" Rosalina seemed a bit embarrassed but Pauline didn't disappoint her (differently from that atrocious movie adaptation) "That's awesome!" she smiled brightly, showing her support already.
"Thanks, maybe I'll upload it someday but I don't know yet. I just know that I have some things to figure out for the plot yet."
Rosalina seemed lost in thoughts about her writing and Pauline didn't waste a second to use that chance "...would you like me to help you?"
"That's really sweet of you, but there are too many references of the book that didn't make it to the movie, I wouldn't be able to explain them all to you."
"Okay... how about you hand me the book then? If I read it then I'd be even more helpful, am I right?"
"Are you serious? Just to help me write a fanfiction?"
"Well, it's not just that" Pauline admitted "I actually meant to ask you for a while. I know how much you love and care about it, and there must be a reason why. I just found one out today but I want to read it all and see for myself!" she smiled "If that's okay with you."
If Rosalina wasn't already 100% sure that Pauline was her soulmate, she would've found out just now "Yes, of course it's okay!" she got up and hurriedly reached for their bedroom to find her precious book. It didn't take her a lot to get back with the object "I just know you'll love it, trust me!"
Despite giving Pauline the book, Rosalina went on a, mostly, spoiler-free rant about how awesome it was and all the cool things that Pauline would've enjoyed.
Pauline didn't mind listening and postponing her reading for a little bit. Her Rosalina looked so ecstatic and full of life and excitement while talking about it, she just couldn't look away from her.
So, Pauline sat back and listened, enjoying the sight of her beautiful girlfriend sparkling of passion.
She always loved it when she's feisty.
