indie private Kenzi Malikov, stolen from canon and tossed into Stranger Things
sideblog to @goodn1ghtnurse
inbox memes | headcanons | playlist | pitt verse
exclusive with @fromband 's Robin
verse bio and specific rules under cut
all the same rules listed on my main blog apply here , but here's some Kenz specific ones just for clarity ✌️
this is a sideblog, so any follows from me will show up as coming from @goodn1ghtnurse
there are dark topics in both canon and in Kenzi's lore, so as always this blog is 21+
I personally really enjoy shipping, and find Kenz easy to ship with most. However ! I do not force ship. if both partners don't vibe with it, then it's not worth it. no harm no foul
she will probably be a bit prickly at first if your muse is a prep, or preppy agjacent. she is goth and has prior negative experience, it's not personal or me not liking you or your muse
if I have reblogged a meme on my main that you want to send in here, absolutely go for it !! honestly that helps me keep my dash less cluttered lol
as a whole I didn't really vibe with s5, so I definitely have a preference for interacting within the previous seasons. or just straight up go with an au version of how things ended
full name: Mackenzie Alina Malikov
alias: Kenzi McAdams
fc: Ksenia Solo
Born in Marquette, Michigan to Russian immigrants. Growing up, Kenzi’s home life was rough and from a young age she spent most of her time on the streets. And finally at the age of 13 she ran away fully. At first she stayed in the same state, but after a year of feeling like she always had to keep looking over her shoulder, she left Michigan completely and headed further down into the midwest.
Starting in northern Wisconsin and moving downwards, she ran out of luck hitchhiking heading into a dinky little town in Indiana. And with the money she had squirreled away (and a fake name) she was able to rent a trailer in Forest Hills Trailer Park. It wasn’t much, but after acquiring some furniture and other little bits to decorate, she made it her new home base.
With the skills she picked up on the street, she keeps enough money in her pocket and her stash to survive pretty well. And while she doesn’t pay too much attention to all the hubbub when a little local boy goes missing when she’s first settling in, she doesn't stay out of trouble forever.
It's by accident, or maybe fate, that she makes friends with Robin Buckley. The mall is a perfect place to swipe plenty of wallets from unsuspecting pockets (nothing bad every happens in Hawkins, right?) and treating herself to some ice cream after a successful day only seems right. There's a pretty boy in a goofy sailor outfit flirting with a bounce blonde when she steps in, so Kenzi goes to the other employee - a cute girl with cool jewelry - and snarks a smile out of her. And while Kenzi has made nice with a few of her neighbors at the park, it's actually kind of nice to talk to someone close to her actual age. So she pops by Scoops whenever she does what she does at the mall, spends other people's money to get a disgusting amount of ice cream. Robin is funny, and way too dang cool for such a podunk town. So Kenzi invites her to hang out at her place, away from consumerism hell, in the cozy safety of her trailer. And, well, the rest sort of falls into place. They get on like a house fire, and she even opens up about her past. Why she ended up in Hawkins, some of her favorite bits of lore – some that make Robin laugh so hard she snorts, some that make her wrap Kenzi up in a big hug until they both stop sniffling.
Of course, the calm never lasts. Robin gets wrapped up in helping her coworker and some kid with some code, which leads to Robin asking her for help translating Russian. And then it all sort of blurs together — the week is long, the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west, a trip to China sounds nice if you tread lightly. the elevator to hell. green mystery goo and the freaking depths of Moria, which is actually a secret government base with a crazy machine and a portal to God knows what.
And then. Well. So much insanity happens she sometimes thinks she must've dreamed it all. Escape and rescue, meeting up with a bunch of other people who are in on some real crazy shit, fighting a huge literal monster.
She gets the full story later, days after. But in the immediate aftermath, all she cares about is getting back to her trailer where it's safe. With Robin – and Steve, once she finds out he'd be going home to an empty house (she's not a doctor but she does know concussion protocol) – Kenzi builds a nice big comfy pile with all the blankets and pillows she has pancakes care of the two of them until the drugs wear off. And into the next few days, not wanting to be alone as much as she doesn't want them to be alone.
So then she's in on the big secret. The truth of Hawkins, the darkness that lurks. And it's terrifying, but she'll die fighting for these people if that's what it takes.
