ilia malinin x mila kuznetsova (she / her) ! figure skater au
moodboard
all about mila
relationship timeline + background
ilia + mila at the olympics
mila landing the quad axel at worlds
them doing olympics promo
tiktoks mila + ilia have done
how they met
first competition as a couple
note ʚɞ i had originally planned for this to just be x reader but i genuinely cannot function without story/character building SORRY! you can still imagine this as x reader, but mila is a female character who uses she/her pronouns so i do apologise for those who do not identify that way! i truly hope this is still enjoyable for everyone, i can't wait to bring you guys on this journey with me. also, requests are open and i will gladly do every request as long as it follows my rules! ty, please enjoyy!!!!
mila lucienne kuznetsova was born on march 20, 2005 in milwaukee, wisconsin, to her parents dean kuznetsov and joanna décolomb-kuznetsova. her father dean is a retired russian figure skater who was active from 1992 until his retirement in 2004, following his marriage to joanna, as well as the birth of mila. her father was born in russia and moved to the U.S. when he and her mother got married. her mother is of french descent and though she was not born in france, she visited a lot as a child. mila grew up speaking russian and french aside from english, she is currently fluent in russian and is a relatively good speaker of french.
she began skating in 2010 at the age of 5, and began training with her former coaches michael donovan and caroline hayes when she was 8 years old, then started competing in competitions at the age of 11.
she started gaining popularity at the conclusion of the 2019-20 skating season, and her fanbase grew further following the debut of her instagram in 2020. she's well known for her artistry and technique, and has been a fan favorite for the majority of her career!
she is the 2023 world champion, 2024 world champion, 2025 world bronze medalist, 2022 grand prix final champion, 2024 grand prix final silver medalist, five-time grand prix champion, two-time grand prix silver medalist, three-time challenger series champion, 2024 challenger series silver medalist, and the 2024 U.S. national silver medalist. at the junior level, mila is the 2017 U.S. junior champion, three-time junior grand prix medalist, and a two-time junior grand prix final bronze medalist. mila is the only female skater to successfully land a fully rotated quadruple axel in international competition, accomplishing this at the 2024 world championships.
⋆˙⟡ fun facts
she occasionally goes live on instagram and interacts with fans by answering questions, spoiling or hinting at future programs, and playing games
some of her nicknames: quadchow (quad + salchow..), milka/mishka (by her parents), showtime (more of an inside joke w her dad, she used to say this before her programs), hotshot, ice gremlin, mimi (by ilia), kuz, lasova, etc.
almost quit skating in 2022 after a panic attack during a program landed her in 14th place
one time in a livestream she admitted she's had the same pre-competition meal since she was 13 and that she's nervous to change it up in case it gives her bad luck
her comfort character is chad dylan cooper, and she has a flag of him hung in her room
she is also obsessed with the movie starstruck and always finds a way to quote the movie
ALSO she has met sterling knight (who played chad dylan cooper and chris wilde) i'm not kidding when i say she's a huge fan..
she still has the scrunchie she wore in her first program and she wears it often
she was VERYYY hesitant at first to make her and ilia's relationship public, but overtime she started caring less and now she will straight up be like "yeah that's my man!"
her signature/favorite move is a triple or quad salchow
her favorite program she's done is "the masquerade" (masquerade suite: no. 1, waltz) for the 2022-23 season
when she's upset she speaks in russian and when she's mad/frustrated she speaks in russian and french (she doesn't even notice sometimes)
note ʚɞ idrk what to say here BUT i do wanna say thank you SO MUCH to all the people who interacted with my original post and were interested in this au!! i didn't know if i was actually gonna go through with starting it because my account is usually very dead, but seeing all the interaction really made me happy so here we are! like i said, i literally cannot function without character building but aside from everything here and maybe some few details later on i will try to keep her pretty up to interpretation for you guys!
request ʚɞ Hii i'm somewhat new to requesting things but I really like the kiss and cry au!! Can i request anything from the olympics from the au? If not just ignore this lol!!
note ʚɞ idrk what to say here BUT i do wanna say thank you SO MUCH to all the people who interacted with my original post and were interested in this au!! i didn't know if i was actually gonna go through with starting it because my account is usually very dead, but seeing all the interaction really made me happy so here we are! like i said, i literally cannot function without character building but aside from everything here and maybe some few details later on i will try to keep her pretty up to interpretation for you guys!
going to the olympics is a huge accomplishment in itself, but being able to go and represent the same team with your partner is 100x better. after the U.S. championships and being named a part of the 2026 olympic team, ilia and mila could NOT shut up about how excited they were. once they officially got to milan, they made it their mission to be the funniest duo the olympics has ever seen and they definitely passed the test.
anytime they spotted a camera they would make faces or smile and wave thinking it's the funniest thing ever
after the women's free skate event, ilia managed to sneak his way into the kiss and cry and suprise mila coming off the ice
during interviews for social media they literally do not take anything serious they’re just there for shits and giggles at this point
“hi it’s ilia malinin aka quad god” “hi it’s mila kuznetsova aka the quadchow”
for some reason they’re tied to the hip even more than usual, but the fans really aren’t complaining
for example, in 90% of the bts photos and videos at the olympics they’re caught in the back together
a video that a fan took from when they ran into ilia and mila went viral on tiktok, the fan got them to say 67 while they look absolutely lost
after ilia's free skate mila was the first person waiting for him when he got off the ice and she didn't leave his side for hours after that
during their freetime in milan they spend every second together whether it's just chilling inside or going out and exploring the city
at the exhibition gala they did a quad axel at the same time like fully IN SYNC
they both have so many tiktok drafts from the olympics because they kept finding trends they wanted to do "omg ilia we need to do this tomorrow" "mila look at the tiktok i sent you we're doing that"
and mind you probably only 2 of them will be posted
at the end of the olympics they celebrate with the rest of team usa and definitely post celebratory posts about the games, not failing to mention each other and how proud they are of each other
mila landing a quad axel at worlds + ilia's reaction! - request!
note ʚɞ i have not written this much in so long so PLS forgive me if any part of this feels rushed or messy, I TRIED MY BEST.. not proofread either so if there's any grammatical errors hide the pitchforks pls okay!
wc ʚɞ 2.1k
this is what i imagine mila’s outfit to look like! anon said her costume could be a nod to ilia's "a voice" program, but since that was after 2024 worlds we can just say they have similar styles i guess ... i'll leave that up to you guys 🥲 this is also the closest i could find to his outfit so i hope you guys still get the vision
coming out of one of the best career years for mila, having placed gold and silver in a majority of the competitions, earning two new career high scores, and most importantly transitioning from her childhood coaches to being coached by her father. it was evident to almost everyone that mila was aiming higher than ever before. with a positive mindset and a whole new way of training, she made it to nationals for the first time ever. she finished as a silver medalist, and due to her standing as the 2023 worlds champion she was qualified to compete at 2024 worlds.
2024 worlds was nearly halfway through the 2023-24 season, so mila already had been performing her programs for months. but leading up to the competition she felt as if there was something missing from her free skate performance. obviously, being with ilia the self-proclaimed "quad god," she had attempted the quad axel several times and had landed it before, but she didn't know if she was ready to attempt it in a competition. she wasn't worried about breaking any world records or even winning gold, but she wanted something to push herself and improve her performance somehow, so she decided to add a quad axel to her free skate program last minute. while her dad seemed hesitant at first to even bring the quad axel into consideration this close to the competition, he eventually let her make that decision herself if she truly felt as if she was ready.
the last few weeks leading up to worlds she worked almost everyday to land her quad axel, and even though she became more consistent over time it was still a huge risk. but at this point the program was light work for her, repeating the same moves over and over for weeks until it seemed like that was her natural state. with the help of her dad, ilia, as well as his parents, by the time that worlds was only a week away she was confident she would skate a clean program.
no matter how many times she's competed she still gets the same feeling every time, a mix of adrenaline and uneasiness. with every program that passed she knew she was coming up soon, heart racing, thoughts all over the place, and she began doubting the weeks of practice that lead up to this moment.
"representing the united states of america, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mila kuznetsova!"
as she made her way onto the ice, she took one last deep breath and took her starting position. though she got used to it, the feeling of everyone's eyes on her scared her particularly in this moment. this was it. she'd either make history as the first female skater to land a quad axel in competition, or make a complete fool of herself at one of the most important skating events of the year.
"kuznetsova took the skating world by storm last year with her multiple gold and silver medals in international competitions, only having one event where she placed fourth. i mean this is truly where it's at, this is the future of american figure skating."
"for sure, mila is genuinely one of the best of this generation. and speaking of being the best, in this program she is apparently going to attempt a quad axel, something that has not been done before in female figure skating, and only ever done by none other than the quad god himself, ilia malinin."
the voices of the commentators mix with the music as she finds her rhythm, gliding across the ice like it's the only thing she knows in this moment. her dad is sitting on the sidelines, bouncing his leg in anticipation. ilia is sat beside him, in his usual spot during mila's programs. the air in the rink is tense, it seems as if everyone is holding their breath waiting for the moment mila lands that quad axel, or at least is expected to.
the adrenaline is paralyzing, her body moving out of pure muscle memory at this point. the last few seconds before she goes for her jump seem to slow down, the world around her seems to freeze. her entry into the jump was perfect, an exact copy of what she learned in practice for the last few months. and within seconds, she was back on the ice before she could even comprehend what she just did. with her mind still racing she had no way of telling how many rotations she completed. but whether she landed a fully rotated quad axel or not, she was more so worried about the actual landing itself, because it’s much more embarrassing to fall attempting a quad axel, than it is to land a failed one.
the second her skate made contact with the ice again, dean and ilia almost fully jumped from their seats to explode with cheers, knowing she just made history and that they were there to see it. the audience burst into applause so loud you’d probably hear it from outside the building, and even the commentators were speechless for seconds after.
“wow, that is just unbelieveable. we just witnessed kuznetsova make history at 19 years old, successfully landing the quad axel.” one of the commentators spoke through the deafening volume of the audience.
when she finally comes back to reality, and her senses awaken again, all she can hear is her beating heart muffled by the cheers and applause from the audience. her heart suddenly feels heavy with joy as she reaches her hand out towards the judges, a routine of courtesy after every program to acknowledge them. as she makes her way away from the center of the ice, she glances over for a second to see her dad and ilia clapping and cheering like she’s the first person to ever compete in a figure skating competition.
stepping off the ice onto the polished concrete of the rink, ilia and dean are already waiting for her with her water and skate guards in hand. walking towards the kiss and cry her heart is still racing, anticipating the results from the program she had just completed. ilia pulls her into a side hug as he begins to congratulate her.
“you did it, mila you did it!” the blonde-haired boy sounds more thrilled than mila herself, he’s nearly jumping up and down as he speaks, failing to hide his excitement.
dean watches the two for a moment before lifting his hand to pat mila on the back, “i’m proud of you kid, always am.” he holds back the grin he can feel pinching at his cheeks, choosing to keep his composure until after the competition.
now sitting in the kiss and cry, the three of them sit patiently waiting for the results to come up on the screen. they all knew that what mila just did on the ice guaranteed she would make the podium, but even after making history it still felt as if there was so much up for stake.
mila, probably the least composed of them all, felt something she had only ever felt once before. the pit in her stomach is growing like it did when she placed 14th at worlds just short of 2 years ago. realistically, she knew there was no way she’d place 14th after landing a quad axel, it would have been deemed a genuine understatement of underscoring had she placed that low. but the pressure, the anxiety, and all the memories hit her just now at that moment, she couldn’t stop her mind from racing all over the place.
of course, ilia noticed the shift in her energy, hearing her breathing pick up and her body shaking beside his. he knew how she felt, he knew all too well the feeling of waiting for the results after a phenomenal program. and especially in this moment, making history at such an important event and having to act calm and composed, like your heart doesn’t feel like it could stop at any given moment. he shifted his hand towards her, holding it out for her to grab knowing the gesture will help ground her. expectedly, she took his hand and exhaled while doing so.
as she intertwined her fingers with his, she was reminded of why she still does this sport, even after all she’d been through with her former coaches and the natural pressure of such a competitive sport at such a young age. obviously, without ilia she would still be on the ice, but would be nowhere near where she is now. having such a deep connection with someone who understands every feeling she has about being on the ice has changed the way she sees the sport.
after those few seconds that felt like an eternity, her results were finally displayed on the small screen in front of them. with a score of 224.14, mila had the highest score so far out of the women’s singles. she had no deductions, and unless another skater pulled out two quad axels, there was no debate she would land in first place. her eyes were glued to the numbers on the screen, smiling so big her cheeks began to sting while she had tears pricking at her eyes. once again ilia pulled her into a hug, except this time her father joined in, nearly engulfing the girl to where she was invisible from the camera.
the final scores were calculated, and the podium was set. mila placed first, and although it wasn’t her first gold medal, this one felt miles different than the rest. she could still hardly believe it as she walked through the rink, passing through people, muttering ‘excuse me’s’ every few seconds, all while she had the freshly polished gold medal hung around her neck. the weight from the medal felt familiar, the feeling she recognized as the one from just two years ago. this time it wasn’t the weight of stress, immense pressure, and being overworked, it was the weight of her success and hard work. as things were wrapping up, she made sure to congratulate the silver and bronze medalists, taking photos with them and chatting with them during the short time they had left of the day.
on the way back to the hotel she rode with ilia, a tradition that began shortly after they made their relationship official, or at the time at least to them. dean and roman usually sat in the front, as their wives opted out of going to competitions. in the back sat ilia and mila, caught up in conversation about how the day went, things they noticed but knew couldn’t be mentioned at the rink, and even sometimes short vent sessions about how they felt about their programs. but today, there was an unfamiliar silence. both of them not having the words to even describe how they felt about what happened just hours prior. yet ilia, anxiously, was the first to speak, his voice no louder than a whisper.
“i hope you know what you did out there today was insane, i don’t even think the crowd was that loud when i landed my first quad.” mila looked up from her lap, giving the boy a sheepish smile before she opened her mouth to respond.
“thank you ilia, i wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without you.”
“don’t credit me now, soon you’ll be taking the name of ‘quad god’ for yourself.” his comment made mila giggle, shaking her head in joking disapproval.
“actually, i would be the quad goddess, and anyway, that name belongs to you only.” she pokes his leg as she emphasizes the word “you,” before he playfully swats her hand away.
hours after they arrive to the hotel, ilia finishes up his shower and prepares for bed, something the both of them had intended to do multiple times before getting caught up in conversation again. he walks out from the bathroom expecting mila to be in the same position she was when he first went in, but instead she’s nearly fully engulfed in the covers, sound asleep. he lets out a small, tired laugh at her state, knowing how exhausting the day was for her despite it being a great one. he slides under the covers next to her, careful not to wake her, and he moves to plant a kiss on her forehead.
tiktoks mila + ilia have done (+ links!) - request!
note ʚɞ this is super short i'm so sorry 🥲🥲 i couldn't find many tiktoks that weren't specifically hockey and figure skaters and like... i need it to be realistic or else my brain explodes!!!
tiktok #1 - link!
this is the first thing that came to mind when i went to start this 😭
ilia definitely was the one to bring the idea up to mila
(he always finds the funnier audios)
it takes them like 30 tries just to finish the video because they were laughing SO MUCH
and if they're with tatiana, roman, or dean...
at first they thought it was cute and let them do their thing
but when it was 20 minutes later and there became less practicing more tiktoking they weren't too happy
tiktok #2 - link!
mila brought up the idea of trying pair skating with ilia even if it was just for fun
and obviously he said YES
bc who is he to say no to her
but anyway... after like 2 hours of trying not to drop her head first in the ice they finally managed to do what was in the video
the comments went CRAZY
"omg they would be such a great duo if they switched to pair skating"
"i just know this was light work for them"
"WHAT CANT THEY DO ATP.."
tiktok #3 - link!
this isn't like a duo tiktok but ilia would definitely record this for mila
since she's never done a backflip in competition like ilia but can land it she'd post so many videos of her doing them (all filmed by ilia ofc)
i'm thinking like every time they practice together ilia pushes her to do one backflip and she always caves in (she swears just once)
eventually they just keep spamming backflips and ilia boasts over the fact his gf is one of the few skaters that can do what he can
(quad axels, backflips, blah blah yk)
these videos always go viral too
tiktok #4 - link!
MORE BACKFLIPS IK
obviously instead of adam it'd be mila...
yk these two can't go one day without emoting together
the clip goes viral but atp people are so used to them being insanely talented that they just are speechless
like seriously what can't they do?
i can just imagine ilia pestering mila about this for weeks leading up to the olympics and her finally saying yes last minute
he was so excited
yeah they always do that kind of stuff together for fun but AT THE OLYMPICS??
mila + ilia doing promo for the olympics! - request!
request ʚɞ Heyyyyy!! Can i request a blurb for mila and ilia doing promo for the olympics?? Thank youu!
note ʚɞ anon said a blurb but i kind of did not do that.. hide the pitchforks lol! i just thought bulletpoints would be better so more of like headcannons (?) rather than just a blurb but ANYWAY, i hope you guys still enjoy which i'm sure you will! also... i want to have a ship/couple name for them so pls leave me some ideas!!
mila and ilia walked into the olympics KNOWING they'd be doing promo left and right, having been titled the "it-couple" of the 2026 olympics with their popularity growing daily
it was almost like the first day in milan they were already being pulled aside, and having to answer almost every question under the sun
but BEFORE they got to milan they filmed more of the professional, official promo aka interviews with news stations, photoshoots, magazine cover shoots, etc.
the most popular promo they did was a magazine article about them, which they were also on the cover for
basically just went in depth how they've been preparing for the olympics and how they balance their relationship on top of all their training and busy schedule
now when i say the fans go crazy for the photoshoot....
twitter, tiktok, insta, basically any platform you can think of, they go wild
something like this maybe???
WHATEVER it is basically everyone goes insane
fans are quick to make funny compilations from their small interviews at the olympics
"what can we expect from your guys' performances at the olympics this year?"
ilia answers seriously (for once), while mila literally just starts saying stuff
"quad axels, definitely a lot of them, maybe even a backflip or two from me!"
another interview where mila gives a random answer and ilia has the funniest reaction
"what are some things that helps you guys right before you're about to go out and skate, any good luck charms you guys have?"
ilia answers normally: "hm, i think i would say i just take deep breaths, you know sometimes i'll stretch just to clear my head. i'll kick a soccer ball around too and things like that."
while mila on the other hand...: "honestly i kind of just... go out there and hope for the best"
ilia cannot take her seriously and immediately covers his face with his hands to hide his laughter
by the end of the last week in milan they're just so done LOL
they have these two doing the most random tiktoks
so many photos of them posing with their team medals
literally on the front of every single social media page, no matter where you look they'll be on some official page one way or another
when the olympics are officially over half the internet has fallen for the couple like the promo definitely PROMOED
