Sorry, the “Heated Rivalry” gay Marvel fanfic origin story isn’t true

By now you’ve probably heard of “Heated Rivalry,” Jacob Tienery’s tender, affecting adaptation of Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” books — better known online as “the gay hockey show.” Produced by Canadian streamer Crave and airing concurrently on HBO Max, the drama became a cultural flashpoint after its two-episode premiere on Nov. 28.

While the show primarily adapts the romance between rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), the latest episode, “Hunter,” follows another couple in the “Game Changers” universe: Scott Hunter (François Arnaud), captain of the New York Admirals, and Kip Grady (Robbie G. K.), a smoothie barista with a suspiciously sculpted physique. (We never see Kip at the gym. I have questions.)

(HBO Max/Crave) François Arnaud as Scott Hunter in “Heated Rivalry” (HBOMax/CraveTV)

Fans of Reid’s novels have long floated the idea that Scott and Kip’s romance began as gay Marvel fanfiction—specifically as “Stucky” fanfic, the romantic pairing of Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Bucky Barnes. Now that “Hunter” has aired, viewers are reviving the theory and circulating side-by-side shots of Chris Evans and Scott Hunter running in similar gear. But does that origin story hold up? As a certain sexy hockey player might put it: “Is lie. Liar told you that.” And I’m here to set the record straight.

“I did everything wrong with ‘Game Changer,’” Reid told me when we spoke ahead of the world premiere in Montreal. She began drafting Scott and Kip’s romance in 2016. At the time, she was raising children, working her day job, and reading a lot of fan fiction. “I was so nervous. I’d never written any fiction or shown anybody something I’d written before.”

The anonymity and instant feedback loop of a website like Archive of Our Own (AO3), where users publish fanfiction, made it feel like a low-stakes space to build her confidence. “I didn’t realize you could even post original work on AO3,” she said. “I thought it had to be fanfic.”

Reid shared her novel one chapter at a time on the website, reworking the original romance she’d drafted into an “alternate-universe” fanfic where Steve Rogers, the “superstar captain of the New York Rangers” falls in love with Bucky Barnes, a barista at a smoothie shop in Manhattan. “Honestly, I felt bad about it,” she said. “I knew this wasn’t what ‘Game Changer’ was.”

If Scott Hunter always felt “very Steve Rogers” to her, it’s only because, in 2016, it was popular for romance heroes to resemble Chris Evans. (The trend would soon drift toward Adam Driver and Jason Momoa.) But Kip, she insisted, was always Kip—definitely not Bucky. “I never changed a thing about him.”

By the end of 2016, buoyed by strong feedback, Reid took the story off AO3, removed the “Stucky” elements, and submitted her manuscript to publishers. Six months later came a request for a revise-and-resubmit.

“I remember my publisher saying, ‘it sounds a little fanfic-y.’” There are real differences between the two forms, she said. Fanfic writers often describe less, assuming readers already know what things look like. “You don’t do as much world-building because it’s already done.”

Her manuscript was also far too long — well over a hundred thousand words. With her editor’s help, Reid cut it down into a “pretty good, pretty basic romance novel.” It’s not the one she’s proudest of, but it was a solid start to the “Game Changers” universe.

Reid looks back on that experience with equal parts embarrassment and gratitude. “I desperately wish I’d never posted that fanfiction,” she told me. “I know it’s still circulating, and it’s bad. It’s so embarrassing. I hate thinking of people reading it because I just rammed a bunch of extra Marvel characters into the story for no reason.”

Reid also feels particularly guilty about removing her work from AO3. “It’s really bad fanfic author behavior. All these people gave me lovely feedback, and I enjoyed it, and then I just took it away like a jerk to make money.” 

Still, she concedes, her history with AO3 is exactly what got her here. I do hate that [the fanfiction] is still out there. But that’s what happens when you put things on the Internet — they don’t go away.”

“Heated Rivalry” releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.