ospreyspring's fic n' things

Chapters: 19/19 Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov Characters: Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Montreal Voyageurs | Montreal Metros Team Ensemble (Game Changers), Boston Bears | Boston Raiders Team Ensemble (Game Changers), Svetlana Vetrova, Grigori Rozanov, Yuna Hollander, David Hollander, Hayden Pike Additional Tags: Bodyswap, Alternate Universe - Magic, set at the start of their second season, Masturbation, Blow Jobs, Identity Porn, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Identity Crisis, dubious consent that comes with bodyswapping, Anal Sex, First Time Bottoming, Body Worship, Identity Issues, Autistic Shane Hollander, Language Barrier, Self-Esteem Issues, eventual kind of selfcest?, Hockey, Understanding, Pretending, I know SOME stuff about hockey emphasis on some, just don't be expecting Hockey Night in Canada level knowledge, Self-Doubt, Gay Shane Hollander, Bisexual Ilya Rozanov, Jealousy, Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates, Existential Crisis, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Shane Hollander, Author is Canadian, Secret Relationship, getting to know each other by the intimate act of spending time in each others body, Fuck AI, in the words of hudson williams fuck AI fuck it so hard, Mutual Pining Series: Part 1 of Heated Rivalry Fics - One-shots, Bodyswaps, a Crime AU & a non-hockey AU Summary:

While jerking off and thinking of each other, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov switch bodies. With a week before they meet for their first game of their second professional season, they've got no choice but to live each others' lives until then. But will seeing each other in person reverse whatever switched them?

Ilya plans to enjoy the admiration, while Shane is about to learn what it's like to be respected, but not loved. They both also find they're enjoying their predicament more than they should - and they've switched more than just appearances. Tastes and language skills remain, as do echoes of other memories.

Shane's about to learn there's more to the dickish Russian than an attitude and talent, and Ilya's about to learn that being the golden boy isn't all it's cracked up to be.

So hey, I am a fic writer who does not let AI anywhere near their work. I am a marketer/graphic designer and published author who also works in the publishing industry. AI is actively harming my ability to make a living, so I guarantee that it does not touch my work.

Not "just for research," or "just for spelling and grammar." Zero. Not at all.

If that sounds like your sort of thing, here are some of my fics:

A Collar of Diamonds - A one-shot inspired by Connor's fit at the Actor Awards. (2,478 words) Ilya wears a diamond choker to a charity event and Shane is not normal about it.

A Dangerous Affair - Ilya is a rainbow refugee from Russia who ends up working for crime boss Shane in Toronto. I've loved writing this fic but I haven't had a lot of inspiration because it's struggled to find its audience. (ongoing, currently at 6 chapters and 12k words.)

The Husbands - Another that has struggled to find an audience. Ilya and Shane are both failed hockey players in their 30s who meet when their wives (who they are in open relationships with) encourage them to meet. (4 chapters, 8k words. Ongoing. New update yesterday.)

In His Skates - A bodyswap fic that breaks some of the tropes of the genre and uses it as a way to explore their relationship. Ilya and Shane spend time as each other and learn about each other through that. Ilya experiences Shane's autism and the pressure of being a golden boy, while Shane deals with Ilya's depression and also the shock of feeling attracted to women. (Main story complete at 13 chapters, but I've been adding on shorts in the same continuity. Currently at 33k words with a second short in progress.)

As someone who puts a lot of care into their work and uses no shortcuts, it is really disheartening to see the AI-assisted/written fics (that was proven by that Threads post) have taken so much of the community's attention and praise. Especially since it sounds like some of these people were straight up lying about whether they used it.

We do this for fun, absolutely. Which is why it makes zero sense to churn out AI fic for clout.

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander & Rose Landry, Ilya Rozanov & Svetlana Vetrova Characters: Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Svetlana Vetrova, Rose Landry Additional Tags: Open Marriage, Affairs, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Shane Hollander Has an Oral Fixation, Gay Sex, Bisexual Ilya Rozanov, Gay Shane Hollander, Closeted Shane Hollander, Good Friend Rose Landry, Good Friend Svetlana Vetrova, Ilya Rozanov & Svetlana Vetrova Friendship, Shane Hollander & Rose Landry Friendship, Marriage of Convenience, Suburbia, Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, Married Shane Hollander/Rose Landry, Married Ilya Rozanov/Svetlana Vetrova, Autistic Shane Hollander, POV Ilya Rozanov, POV Shane Hollander, Semi-Public Sex, Locker Room, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Real Estate Agent Shane Hollander, Construction Worker Ilya Rozanov, Depressed Ilya Rozanov, Vancouver, in the words of hudson williams fuck AI fuck it so hard, Slow Burn, Blow Jobs, Shane Hollander Speaks Russian, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, ethical non-monogamy, Polyamory Series: Part 7 of Heated Rivalry Fics - One-shots, Bodyswaps, a Crime AU & a non-hockey AU Summary:

Thirtysomething Ilya Rozanov lost his shot at pro hockey as a 19 year old during the Prospect Cup. A dozen years later, he's settled in Vancouver with Svetlana with a Canadian passport and an open marriage.

One night, Ilya and Svetlana are invited by Rose to have dinner at her place. She thinks Ilya will really hit it off with her husband, Shane.

It turns out, she's *incredibly* right about that.

---

OR Shane & Ilya, failed hockey players, meet in their 30s while both are in an open marriage with their respective partners.

People discover something.

People form community around it.

They get obsessed with it in a fun way.

Some people progress to being obsessed with it in an unhealthy way.

Some of THOSE people project their entire identities onto characters. Any criticism or negative thoughts toward those characters is seen as a personal attack. Their version of the character is often entirely in their own head and not based on the source material. They get angry if other people don't share their reading.

Some people hyperfixate on the actors and get incredibly parasocial and make up all sorts of stories in their heads. They get borderline culty and engage in conspiracy theories like an actor not attending something/phrasing something a certain way is a code meant to communicate something with fans.

A rift forms between people who are fans of one actor and ones who are fans of another and/or the showrunner/creators. Conspiracy theories go into overdrive. People make up all sorts of stories about how so-and-so is secretly being excluded, is persecuted, hated, or otherwise mistreated by the rest of the cast/crew. This is utter and complete fiction based on nothing but projection. People ignore any evidence that contradicts this narrative. If the actor comes out and point blank refutes it, they make up some reason they're forced to lie.

Certain "fans," whether they've chosen a "side" or not, go digging into an actor's past to find dirt on them. Sometimes this dirt is to prove their fave is better/more correct. Sometimes it's because they think someone has gotten too popular and needs to be brought down to earth.

Whatever they find, no matter how old, no matter how many logical explanations something might have, is used as proof that someone is a horrible person and is not worthy of fame and admiration. A campaign starts to fully cancel this person. It usually fails but it starts a lot of fights. The people who dug up the dirt will not be reasoned with because the dirt supports their toxic worldview.

Eventually, the people who treat this like a sport lose interest and move on to the next fandom, starting the whole wretched cycle all over again.

i'm tired.

OK so maybe it's because I'm Canadian and I was well-aware the fleece was going to be produced in Canada by a not-fast fashion company. Because of all that, the price tag was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, maybe a touch more expensive. I guessed at least $300 CAD since it was produced with embroidery and other custom finishes, plus the donation, plus the licensing fees.

And for people who are complaining about the high cost of international shipping...as someone who has to deal with that every time I buy something outside of Canada, that is...also expected? I honestly love that the Canadian fans are the ones who get free shipping for once considering this is a Team Canada branded piece of clothing for a Canadian show. Usually not only does that not apply, but we have to pay a fortune for it, plus duties and taxes. And tariffs!

Even if it wasn't sold out, I can't afford it either. But I do fear that people are too used to being prioritized as a US market, and also used to fast fashion merch and their associated prices.

This is an ethically produced garment made by a Canadian small business in Canada with a portion of the proceeds being donated to charity. Would it be great if it was more affordable? For sure. But enough people thought it was worth that price considering the whole preorder sold out in like 5 minutes.

The trade-off for a cheaper price tag would have meant no charity donation, lower quality, overseas production and/or a higher price for Canadian fans.

Things that would have upped the price above and beyond their regular merch drops:

Design development costs

Custom finishes including embroidery and zipper pulls

Materials sourcing (don't forget all the ridiculous tariffs if any of this came from the US...)

Production. The fleece is a lot more complex than a sweatshirt.

Marketing and likely upped website hosting fees to handle the payment processing of a surge of traffic.

Ethically compensated labour

Licensing fees to Accent Aigu which probably includes a cut to Rachel Reid and I would bet Jacob arranged for the costume designer to get her cut.

Donation to You Can Play

It's been interesting to see the reaction to the Canadian Screen Awards and people getting all salty that Connor wasn't there/nominated.

People keep pushing for Emmy/US award recognition as if that is some kind of critical milestone the show needs to pass in order to be considered legit. But that's just not true, and it being up for those awards makes no sense.

I know that the wish for it to win Emmys, SAGs and Golden Globe Awards comes from a good place. But those are American awards meant to reward the Hollywood system. It makes no sense at all for Heated Rivalry to win those awards because it was produced entirely outside that ecosystem. It is not the kind of project those awards were designed to recognize. It's not their mandate, it's not their jurisdiction.

Those awards are not world awards, they're Hollywood ones. Hollywood does not include all English-speaking media.

And as for Connor not being nominated for a Canadian Screen Award...well. That comes from a place of protecting the system that made HR possible. The Canadian industry is constantly under threat from the Hollywood system next door. What allows us to nurture great talent and breakout hits is by prioritizing our own and recognizing Canadians. The awards used to allow more Americans to win, but what happened was a ceremony where the American actors didn't show up to receive their award, and it took the spotlight away from homegrown talent.

Canada is allowed to celebrate our own. Which is why Heated Rivalry dominated the Canadian Screen Awards and isn't nominated for any American awards.

Is it a bummer that Connor doesn't get awards trophies? Yeah. But if you believe he is a phenomenal talent, then you know his time will come. I'm sure he's nothing but happy for the cast and crew for their wins.

I implore American fans to realize you are consuming another country's cultural product. We may sound like you, but we're not you. Our art and our artists deserve to shine without being overshadowed by the billion-dollar juggernaut next door.

Ok just wanted you to know - hope you have a fab week 🥰

Oh that is so kind! Blushing a bit.

“Last call, gentlemen!” said their server as she came around to pick up the empty pitcher.

“One…” Ilya began.

Shane reached out to grab his wrist. “No, no, no more. Just the bills, please.”

“Hollanderrrr! Is bad luck not to do last call.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. Me.” Ilya pointed to his chest.

“If I drink anymore, you’re going to have to carry me home.”

“Is okay. I am strong.”

Shane rolled his eyes. “Not strong enough.”

“Oh, you challenge me now?” Ilya slammed his elbow down on the table and held up his hand.

“What…?” stammered Shane.

<< Arm wrestle. Come on. >>

Shane looked around, but the bar was mostly empty or emptying. He looked at Ilya and the outstretched hand. The polite, very Canadian part of him didn’t want to do it for fear of causing a disruption.

But he was also a competitive son of a bitch who didn’t like backing down from a challenge, especially a physical one.

So Shane swallowed the last of his beer, then set the glasses and chicken wing basket on the table next to them. He braced his elbow on the table.

A second later, Ilya gripped his hand firmly and stared him in the eye like it was centre ice of a hockey rink and not a drunken arm wrestling match at closing time. He grinned fiercely. “Three.”

“Two,” said Shane.

“One…” said Ilya.

---

Chapter 3 of The Husbands is now live.

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander & Rose Landry, Ilya Rozanov & Svetlana Vetrova Characters: Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Svetlana Vetrova, Rose Landry Additional Tags: Open Marriage, Affairs, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Shane Hollander Has an Oral Fixation, Gay Sex, Bisexual Ilya Rozanov, Gay Shane Hollander, Closeted Shane Hollander, Good Friend Rose Landry, Good Friend Svetlana Vetrova, Ilya Rozanov & Svetlana Vetrova Friendship, Shane Hollander & Rose Landry Friendship, Marriage of Convenience, Suburbia, Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, Married Shane Hollander/Rose Landry, Married Ilya Rozanov/Svetlana Vetrova, Autistic Shane Hollander, POV Ilya Rozanov, POV Shane Hollander, Semi-Public Sex, Locker Room, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Real Estate Agent Shane Hollander, Construction Worker Ilya Rozanov, Depressed Ilya Rozanov, Vancouver, in the words of hudson williams fuck AI fuck it so hard Series: Part 7 of Heated Rivalry Fics - One-shots, Bodyswaps, a Crime AU & a non-hockey AU Summary:

Thirtysomething Ilya Rozanov lost his shot at pro hockey as a 19 year old during the Prospect Cup. A dozen years later, he's settled in Vancouver with Svetlana with a Canadian passport and an open marriage.

One night, Ilya and Svetlana are invited by Rose to have dinner at her place. She thinks Ilya will really hit it off with her husband, Shane.

It turns out, she's *incredibly* right about that.

---

I write lots of things just because I love it, but I do write and post fic for the community aspect, which means comments and kudos. If that part isn't there, I have a hard time motivating myself to write even if I personally enjoy the story.

Sometimes I can fight against the void I'm tossing my words into, sometimes not. Sometimes I decide to redirect my energy into original work, instead. Because writing to an audience of few to no people feels pointless. At least writing original work, I could send out to publishers/agents eventually.

Readers of course don't owe me reading something they're not interested in. So it is a bummer when an idea that is resonating with me is met with disinterest or only minor interest from readers.

What also sucks is if I have a good number of subs, but very little interaction. "But Osprey!" you might say, "Maybe those people are waiting for you to finish and don't read WIPs."

Possible. But to be totally honest, I don't write for the complete-only crowd. In my experience, those people (with the exception of a few lovely serial commenters) don't comment after reading completed works, either. I know this from finishing dozens of fics over the years. I don't see a big bump in comments when I finish. There are a few additional ones, but they're mostly from the WIP readers and maybe a handful of people who are new, then after that the comment section goes mostly dead even if the hits go up.

I write almost entirely for the commenters, and frankly I'm not ashamed to admit that. If they're not there or are there in small numbers, it is hard to go to all the work of writing and posting, especially if it's a plottier story.

And at the end of the day...I will probably love writing something else just as much as that story that is getting a bad response, except people might like it more. So it isn't a matter of writing that story or not writing at all.

This thought brought to you by the fact that I've opened my WIP nearly daily the last week and I can't get the motivation to write the next chapter because I don't think anyone cares either way. So I can't escape the feeling that my creative energy is better placed elsewhere.

Which is fair enough, but I think it's valid to be in my feels about it a bit!

Chapters: 3/? Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov Characters: Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Yuna Hollander Additional Tags: Bodyswap, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Magic, Alternate Universe - Magic, human shapeshifting, Twincest, First Time Bottoming, Anal Sex, Mutual Pining, Mutual Masturbation, Shane Hollander Loves Ilya Rozanov, Ilya Rozanov Loves Shane Hollander, Autistic Shane Hollander, Identity Porn, Identity Issues, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Body Worship, Body Image, Identity Swap, in the words of hudson williams fuck AI fuck it so hard, Crack Treated Seriously, Understanding, Shapeshifting, but the human kind not the werecreature kind sorry, this takes place post Ilya's father's death but pre accident on the ice, Grief/Mourning Series: Part 6 of Heated Rivalry Fics - One-shots, Bodyswaps & a Crime AU Summary:

“What…what the fuck?!” said Ilya out loud. His voice sounded all wrong. Despite the fact that he made no attempt to speak it, the words came out in English.

He ran into the bathroom and turned on the light.

Shane Hollander’s pretty brown eyes set in his handsome face stared back at him in shock and bewilderment. He double-checked his surroundings, but he was still very much in his Moscow apartment. --- While settling his father's affairs, Ilya discovers a magical ring that allows him to take on anyone else's appearance. He uses the ring to become Shane, and to make Shane look like him. They've also gained each others' language abilities, and perhaps a few other quirks, as well.

Ilya is using the shapeshifting powers of the ring to avoid dealing with his father's death. He doesn't want to be himself for now, and the ring provides a delicious escape. It's Shane's body for now, but the ring has greater potential for fun - if they're creative.

---

Gasped aloud when I thought they were stuck but the little details and all the descriptions of Shane’s sensory overload were so gooood

And the bonus chapters of Shane’s birthday ughhh fantastic - not even my birthday but it felt like a gift!

Anywho have a great day and thank you for writing!!!

**Disclaimer. This post is all in good fun. It is not serious because fic is not serious. If you honestly don't care about these details, that is totally fine! But if you want the Canadians reading it to not be taken out of your story, here are a few tips.

So back when the wizard boy fic came out people started 'Britpicking' (mostly in a lighthearted way, but also because there were a lot of easily avoidable errors.)

For Canada, let me present: Canuckpicking.

Here's mine:

It's Ottawa, not Ottowa.

Speaking of, Ottawa is our capital. It's boring. Imagine a city full of Shane's dad (government workers and politicians) and Carleton University students. But it does have the Rideau Canal, which freezes solid in the winter and becomes a giant skating rink. A great place for tourists but someone like Ilya who likes to party would probably find it sooo annoyingly quiet. It's also not huge, with 1.2 million people. It is however, located in the most populated corridor of the country, with many other good sized cities nearby.

Ottawa is very white. Shane probably did not know many other Asian kids and few to no other Japanese kids. Canada has a large Asian population, but it's Chinese. Chinese is, in fact, the largest non-white/non-Indigenous demographic. Those populations are clustered in cities like Toronto and on the west coast in the Lower Mainland of BC.

Canada is HUGE. It's the second largest country in the world. Driving Vancouver to Halifax at 7 hours a day would take 9 days.

College and university are different things. A university grants degrees, a college generally grants diplomas. No one would ever call Carleton, McGill, Dalhousie, etc, a college.

We don't use the terms sophomore, junior, etc. It's grade 9, grade 10. First year, second year.

We do not have Venmo, CashApp, etc. People just e-transfer via their banks. It's free.

Cheques are very easy to split and everywhere will happily bring you individual bills. Sales tax is between 5-15% depending on the province.

No one will take your credit card away to scan it. They will bring a machine to you or in more casual places, you go to the machine. It is tap with debit or credit. Most people don't use cash.

There are no bills smaller than $5 and haven't been for a long time. The penny was abolished in 2013.

Thanksgiving is the second week in October. It's not a super big deal for most people. Families or friends just get together and have a long weekend and a nice dinner. Turkey, ham, etc. Depends on the family.

The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day. It used to be our Black Friday but that's seeped across the border. It's really just a day to chill out and visit extended family/friends.

Hockey really is a big deal. Not everyone follows the NHL, but the World Juniors, and around the Olympics, or if a Canadian team is in the Cup, more casual hockey fans will pay attention. Pretty much every town of a reasonable size has a hockey rink. People play pond hockey and street hockey. So, not everyone is hardcore but everyone pretty much knows the rules and if a famous hockey player grew up in their town/city. Famous Canadian hockey players are household names. It is however, not our national sport. That's lacrosse.

Gay marriage was legalized nationwide in 2005.

Candy is non-chocolate confections. Chocolate bars are chocolate bars. We would never call it a candy bar. We have a lot of chocolate bars of our own or that are the same as the UK, and we don't have a lot of American ones.

It's pop, not soda.

Not everyone loves Tim Horton's but it is ubiquitous. Tim Horton was a hockey player. Canadians drink around 35% more coffee than Americans.

A lot of our fast food chains are different. We have the big ones likes McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, etc. But a lot of the other ubiquitous US chains either only exist in the biggest cities or don't exist at all. We have a bunch that are Canada-only and often region-specific.

Canadians use a very weird mix of metric and Imperial thanks to the US influence. For us it's intuitive but outsiders need a flow chart.

My fellow Canadians, what are your Canuckpicks? People from other countries, is any of this surprising? Do you have any questions?

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Heated Rivalry (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Shane Hollander/Ilya Rozanov, Ilya Rozanov & Svetlana Vetrova, Shane Hollander & Rose Landry, Yuna Hollander & Ilya Rozanov, Shane Hollander & Yuna Hollander Characters: Shane Hollander, Ilya Rozanov, Yuna Hollander, David Hollander, Hayden Pike, Svetlana Vetrova, Alexei Rozanov | Andrei Rozanov, Rose Landry Additional Tags: Secret Relationship, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Organized Crime, Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Jealousy, Forbidden Love, Gun Violence, Power Imbalance, Power Dynamics, Secrets, Protectiveness, Autistic Shane Hollander, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Toronto, Jealous Shane Hollander, Jealous Ilya Rozanov, Yakuza Shane Hollander, Underworld, in the words of hudson williams fuck AI fuck it so hard Series: Part 5 of Heated Rivalry Fics - One-shots, a Bodyswap & a Mafia AU Summary:

Ilya Rozanov fled to Canada as a rainbow refugee after his brother outed him. He ends up in Regina, Saskatchewan but he desperately wants to get to Toronto. When he hears that the powerful Hollander organized crime family is passing through, he jumps on the chance to try and get a job with them.

What Ilya didn't expect was to feel an immediate spark with Shane, the son of Yuna. It's a dangerous game to play, since one wrong move could mean his life. Shane wants his help eroding Russian power in Toronto and reclaiming lost territory.