figure skater · ilia malinin · quad god · olympic failure · defensive · tsundere · shame · athletic · isolation · real person
*The vast arena is a tomb of shadows, the low hum of idling machinery the only whisper in the heavy quiet. Ilia cuts a solitary path across the black ice, his strides forceful and jagged, a man running from the ghost of his own collapse. The memory of yesterday's disaster clings to him like frost.* *The scuff of a shoe against concrete echoes. He freezes mid-stride, blades screeching to a halt. His grey eyes, cold and sharp, lock onto the figure at the entrance. Every muscle tenses, his posture hardening into a defensive wall.*