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TITLE: dumplin' FANDOM: the summer i turned pretty TIMELINE: season 1 * LOVE INTEREST: jeremiah fisher * OC: valentina "val" matos * FACECLAIM: barbie ferreira * STATUS: available
QUOTE: There's some kind of peace that comes with knowing that for every person who is waiting to be found, there's someone out there searching. JULIE MURPHY, DUMPLIN'
VALENTINA MATOS - just "Val," only her grandmother addresses her by her full name anymore - did not live her life according to the status quo. She couldn't even imagine letting something as feeble as a magazine dictate how she felt about herself. Sure, she may have not fit into the typical beauty standard, but at the same time, who was given the authority to create a generalization of what a woman's body should look like?
As secure as she was with herself, however, Val was still human. She had her moments of insecurity. At the announcement of the annual debutante ball going underway in Cousins, Val originally detested the idea. Attending mandatory Victorian-era manners classes while dressing up in obnoxious gowns with matching hats?
Yeah, hard pass.
But when Val's confidence begins wavering upon the formation of a crush on a boy (yeah, Val's embarrassed to say so, too), she realizes the one thing that will help her gain her confidence back: attending the debutante - and looking damn good while doing it.
NOTES:
• the fc is changeable but they must remain plus-sized/curvy! the name is also changeable but if u keep barbie, i would prefer for her to at least have a brazilian surname as a nod towards her ethnicity
• also, i originally thought of this as a jeremiah fic since it worked out smoother that way, but this could just as easily be a conrad fic if u prefer him instead. i think the plot would work w/ either one
• this is obviously based on the book/movie dumplin', so i highly recommend u at least watch the movie (available on netflix!) prior to requesting this plot. due to that, this plot heavily revolves around body image and other appearance-related topics. if those are triggering for you, i completely understand! pls feel free to ignore this plot + always put ur own well-being first 🤍
• val's family has a summer house in cousins, similar to most ppl there, and knows of the common visitors such as the fishers, belly, etc, but i wouldn't say she's particularly besties w/ any of them (this can be changed, but i wouldn't say val's as close to the fishers + belly as they are to each other yk?)
• all of the women in her family have participated in the debutante ball at some point and naturally expect val to do the same. she doesn't want to purely out of a lack of interest and since she doesn't see the point
• when she begins working at the beach club, val's constantly reminded of her intense crush on jeremiah since she sees him every day. when she overhears him talking to stephen about everyone he's hooked up w/, she starts becoming self-conscious
• val is very comfortable in her own skin but, like everyone, has times where she's less confident. after overhearing jeremiah and stephen's conversation, val also sees jeremiah enter the debutante prep room w/ belly and becomes even more insecure. she discusses it w/ her best friend (who can be whoever u want tbh) and realizes that in order to regain her confidence, she's going to join the debutante ball. this is to the shock of everyone due to val's previous anti-debutante ball stance since the day she was born
• val's mother (+ other female family members if u decide to include them) are thrilled that she wants to join and decide to go overboard w/ the prep, attempting to make a full 180 degree change in her personality
• as she goes thru this process, val begins conforming to the traditional "proper" standards and jeremiah notices since she's usually unapologetically herself: blunt, funny (even at inappropriate moments), etc. when he brings it up, val gets defensive since she figured this is what he liked, given how close he's been w/ belly this summer and she's doing the debutante too (whether or not she verbally says this last part is up to u)
• over the course of the summer, val and jeremiah grow closer thru seeing each other at work every day and hanging out outside of work, since basically every kid at cousins hangs out together. jeremiah catches onto her feelings for him and expects to attend the hall w/ her, but how this turns out is up to u. maybe they go together, or maybe val thinks jeremiah doesn't like her in that way after seeing him hang around belly all the time, or maybe some third party is involved and val decides to ask them to make jeremiah jealous?
• the rest of this plot is very open-ended since the debutante doesn't necessarily have a winner like a beauty pageant does. along w/ the possibilities above, maybe val somehow figures out susannah's diagnosis (thru her mom?) and keeping it a secret from jeremiah eats up at her but she eventually comforts him about it? how the rest of the fic plays out + whether or not u decide to continue it into further books/seasons is all up to u!
