I've decided (for my own self-indulged-fanon fantasy) that before Zeke enters his "Tina" era, he goes through what I call a mini "Brown Sugar" era. 😏😏😆
As in, Tina hasn't realized he's a catch yet, so when he's exploring his options, he does date a Black Girl at their school.
An OC I created named "Kendra" (not a self-insert).
Because I feel like they'd definitely vibe. 😎
-She's a military kid, so her folks move around a lot because of when her dad deploys.
-Zeke kinda bonds with her over that (him moving around a lot too)
-I haven't decided if I also want her to differently-abled? I've thought about her either being in a wheelchair and joking that she's an honorary Transformer, or having a prosthetic leg and joking that she's a Bionic Girl...and Zeke totally eating that up! 😆
-She's more like a Tomboy, so she matches Zeke's energy easily
-But the point is that Zeke would do little romantic gestures for her....and Tina is jealous....but she doesn't yet know if she's jealous of Kendra receiving the gestures, or that she gets to experience the gestures...and time spent...with Zeke. So its a period where Tina actually starts SEEING Zeke, by proxy, and looking at him differently.
-Like at one point, for a WHILE, she keeps trying to get Jimny Junior to do things like Zeke. And at one point he's like, "I'm not Zeke, Tina!" And she's like, "Oh." She has to recognize Jimmy Junior as he is, not how she keeps fantasizing him. AND THOUGH, Jimmy Junior does kinda admire Zeke, and tries to mirror him in being more romantic with Tina, but in his own way. And she has to learn to accept HIS idea of romance, as well as her own, and decide what she really wants.
-It's also a chance for Zeke to learn about himself. Because from his date with Penelope, he thinks "dating" is supposed to be compromising yourself for the other person. And Kendra doesn't get it? She has to counter him to slowly teach him its okay to be him and he doesn't have to like all of the same things she likes or change anything about himself.
-But Kendra's not a Mary Sue character. She's VERY closed off at first--becsuse she moves around a lot so she doesn't see the point it anyone really getting to know her since she doesn't stick around long enough to make meaningful friendships. And Zeke is open with everyone so, he tries really hard to get her to open up to him and the rest of the group. But she doesn't like talking about herself much, or her thoughts, hopes, dreams, etc. And she stiffles herself a lot to not be a burden on others, so she's prone to snapping if she bottles things up for too long. Not in a crazy way, just sharp. She tries to be tough and doesn't want people worrying about her.
-But Zeke would totally like, love learning moves like "The Dougie" and "The Nae Nae" and "The Electric Slide" etc. from Kendra. He'd be FASCINATED by her hair....she'd typically wear it in 1 or 2 long braids, but on days she takes it down and its a afro or its puffs, it's like wonder to him. And he ends up really liking the smell of CoaCoa Butter. 😏
Anyway, Kendra's not mean. And she actually ends up being a really, REALLY good friend and confidant for Tina. (And she actually eventually clocks that Tina likes Zeke before Tina does).
In my mind, if she was an actual character, she would only be around for a season, maybe a season and a half--not long at all. But she'd make a good impression on the team and help with more character growth and relationships development among the team in general. 💜
Needless to say they'd all be heartbroken when she leaves, especially Zeke. But she does write letters to keep in touch, and the letters could actually be part of/read in some of the episodes after she leaves.
But ultimately she drives a new era of Tina, Zeke, and Jimmy Junior learning more about themselves and what they want in any future relationships.
PS: If she ever came back, she wouldn't date Zeke again, because they'd be different people (and because ultimately I'm still 100% pro Zeke/Tina)! But they'd look back fondly on what they had and what they gained from it, and stay good friends.
