After Heated Rivalry became a cultural phenomenon, fans immediately got freaky just like star Hudson Williams asked them to, and now main character Shane Hollander keeps getting knocked up by his husband Ilya Rozanov in a viral series of fan-made videos.
When the show about closeted rival hockey stars falling for each other hit HBO last fall, it was an instant hit and only picked up steam from there, spawning an intense and dedicated fan base that has created endless fan edits, analyzed every moment from the show, and even found creative ways to keep the story going. From fan fiction featuring Shane as an Omega pregnant with Ilya’s baby to a new viral Mpreg TikTok series, the fans are letting their imaginations run wild.
Last month, TikTok creator Carter Tyra (@cartertyra) announced to her followers that she made Shane and Ilya characters in Sims 4 and has been having them act out a continuation of Heated Rivalry within the game, but in her version, Shane gets pregnant…multiple times!
“They’re settling into their new home with their new baby, Edward Jacob, or EJ for short,” Tyra said, making a clear reference to Twilight, before showing a computer-animated version of Shane looking at a pregnancy test. “Shane found out he was pregnant again on Valentines day.”
The video, showing Shane’s stomach growing and Ilya and Shane living in domestic bliss, went viral so Tyra followed them up with a series of “episodes” showing the lives of the lovebirds as they have more kids and struggle to balance their career and family life.
But what is Mpreg, and what are these videos that keep going viral on TikTok?
What is Mpreg?
@cartertyra #sims4 #heatedrivalry #ao3
If you haven’t spent a lot of time on the popular fan fiction website AO3, then you might be unaware of the fanfic genre called Mpreg (short for male pregnancy) where men have the ability to get pregnant and give birth, either by having a uterus, laying eggs, or through alien biology or advanced technology, and allows for gay men to have biological children together.
One popular subgenre of Mpreg is the Omegaverse, where people are divided into a hierarchy based on the myth that wolves fall into the dominant and submissive types of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas, and male Omegas are able to give birth.
And for some reason, fans decided early on that Shane is an Omega.
How is Mpreg connected to Heated Rivalry?
As soon as the first episode of the show premiered, fans started commenting on Shane being an Omega and started writing him into Mpreg fan fiction — this subgenre is so popular that there are now more than 700 stories of Shane as an Omega on A03.
The idea of Shane as a pregnant Omega — likely spurred on by his soft dom/sub relationship with Ilya — went viral on social media after episode 4 of Heated Rivalry, when Shane was shown holding his friend and teammate Holden’s baby.
At an event back in December, Williams was even told by a fan that his character Shane is pregnant on A03.
The Heated Rivalry TikTok videos explained
@cartertyra This is a LONGGGGG one…sorry. lol #heatedrivalry #ao3 #sims4 #shanehollander #ilyarozanov
After making computer-animated versions of Shane and Ilya — who seem to be perpetually shirtless — in the Sims video game, Tyra had them get engaged, Shane finds out he’s pregnant for the first time, and they have a beautiful wedding, but it was the video where Shane gives birth to their second child that went viral and spawned a whole series.
In the video, they take a vacation, and when they get back, Shane goes into labor. “They couldn’t make it to the hospital in time, so they had to give a natural birth at the house and my boy is stressed,” she says, before showing a worried cartoon Ilya.
"But after four short hours, baby girl is here. Happy dads. Meet Lily J. Hollander," Tyra said as she showed her audience a shot of the happy couple holding their new baby, who was clearly named after Ilya’s deceased mother.
The episodes are comprised of a series of screenshots narrated by Tyra, even including some dialogue. More videos follow, including a heartbreaking episode where Ilya wants to retire and focus on family life, while Shane is determined to keep playing. As the series continues, Shane gets pregnant for the third time and snuggles with pregnancy hormones, they take trips to the beach and celebrate birthdays, fans get to see the afterglow when the camera cuts away from the spicy moments, and their kids grow up before our eyes.
In one episode, Shane gets a haircut after the doctor tells him he has to rest during his pregnancy, but the new style gets Ilya’s motor running. “Ilya quickly took Shane upstairs to show him just how much he loves his new do,” Tyra narrates. “Shane sarcastically reminds him that they weren’t allowed to have any hanky-panky. Doctor’s orders. And Ilya’s response was to show him all the way he could tiptoe around that rule.”
Ilya and Shane even get into a fight in a later segment when Shane wants to get his tubes tied — remember this is an Mpreg story — and the episode ends with Tyra announcing that “they didn’t even kiss” in a call back to the real show.
So far there are nine episodes in total, with fans in the comments dying for her to make more.
