A popular gay fanfic origin story surrounding the Marvel characters Captain America and Bucky Barnes has been debunked, according to the author of the novel "Game Changers," Rachel Reid. The story in question claimed that the romance between hockey players Scott Hunter and Kip Grady in HBO Max's drama series "Heated Rivalry" was inspired by a fanfic adaptation of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
Reid revealed that her novel, which is actually a romance between rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, began as a fanfic on the website Archive of Our Own in 2016. At the time, Reid was an amateur writer looking to build her confidence by sharing her work online.
She shared her story one chapter at a time on AO3, initially featuring the "Stucky" pairing, but eventually removed it and revised her manuscript to create an alternate universe where Steve Rogers falls in love with Bucky Barnes. However, Reid emphasized that she never changed any fundamental aspects of Kip's character, insisting that he was always intended to be his own unique individual.
Reid expressed embarrassment and regret over sharing her early work on AO3, particularly the fanfic elements. She also acknowledged that removing the fanfic from the platform may have been considered jerkish behavior by some standards, given the supportive feedback she received from users.
While Reid acknowledges that some people still share the fanfiction online, she attributes its persistence to the nature of the internet and social media platforms. Despite her reservations about the origin story, Reid remains grateful for the experience, which ultimately led her to publishing success with her novel "Game Changers."
The drama series "Heated Rivalry" continues to air new episodes on HBO Max, exploring the complex relationships between its characters, including Scott Hunter and Kip Grady.
Reid revealed that her novel, which is actually a romance between rival hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, began as a fanfic on the website Archive of Our Own in 2016. At the time, Reid was an amateur writer looking to build her confidence by sharing her work online.
She shared her story one chapter at a time on AO3, initially featuring the "Stucky" pairing, but eventually removed it and revised her manuscript to create an alternate universe where Steve Rogers falls in love with Bucky Barnes. However, Reid emphasized that she never changed any fundamental aspects of Kip's character, insisting that he was always intended to be his own unique individual.
Reid expressed embarrassment and regret over sharing her early work on AO3, particularly the fanfic elements. She also acknowledged that removing the fanfic from the platform may have been considered jerkish behavior by some standards, given the supportive feedback she received from users.
While Reid acknowledges that some people still share the fanfiction online, she attributes its persistence to the nature of the internet and social media platforms. Despite her reservations about the origin story, Reid remains grateful for the experience, which ultimately led her to publishing success with her novel "Game Changers."
The drama series "Heated Rivalry" continues to air new episodes on HBO Max, exploring the complex relationships between its characters, including Scott Hunter and Kip Grady.
] but nope turns out it was just a bunch of fanfic drama! 
And honestly I'm kinda impressed that Rachel Reid owned up to it and turned it into an actual book deal 
. Meanwhile Scott Hunter and Kip Grady are still over here trying to navigate their own complicated love lives [GIF of Kip and Scott looking at each other awkwardly] 
Honestly, who cares where the 'Stucky' fanfic idea came from? It's all just a bunch of extra drama for people who can't get enough of online speculation. Rachel Reid seems like a normal person who wrote some stuff on the internet and it happened to get blown out of proportion. Can we just focus on the actual story instead of digging through old fanfic archives? 
. I remember when fanfics were all the rage back in the day, like when I was a teenager and spent hours pouring over my favorite Marvel shipping stories on Archive of Our Own 
just when u think u know the deal about a book or a show... rachel reid drops the tea and it's wild 
so she starts writing this fanfic on archive of our own back in 2016 and ppl start shipping stucky but then she revises her manuscript to make steve & bucky into couples lol what a turn 
anyway i'm glad she's owning up to the drama now and acknowledging that the internet can be pretty wild 
it's also super inspiring to see how one of those fanfics turned out to be actual published material 
. I mean, I get why she might be embarrassed about sharing her early work, especially with fanfic elements... but at the same time, it's also kind of awesome that her writing led to this whole thing 
. And honestly, even though the origin story got debunked, I think it's still cool that Reid was able to turn it into a full-fledged novel that people are actually reading and enjoying 
Anyway, it's cool to see how Reid took her humble beginnings as a writer and turned them into something amazing. And btw, who else is Team Kip Grady? 
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On one hand, I get why Rachel Reid is embarrassed about sharing her old fanfic work online - it's not exactly the most glamorous thing to admit 
. And yeah, maybe she shouldn't be too hard on herself for revising her story and creating an alternate universe 
... but then again, not sharing those original fanfic chapters might've been a bit jerkish of her 
Rachel Reid's story is actually pretty inspiring - she was just a amateur writer sharing her work online and it led to publishing success! 
It's not like it's hurting anyone.
... kudos to her for being true to herself and her original vision. And hey, even if the origin story is debunked, it doesn't mean the "Game Changers" novel isn't worth reading 
i'm glad she's speaking out about it tho, it's not easy to own up to something that might have been perceived as jerkish behavior 
rachel reid the author of game changers revealed that she wrote a fanfic on archive of our own back in 2016 and at one point wrote a story featuring Steve and Bucky 
anywayz, congrats 2 rachel on her novel & all, she def did good 4 u tho 
i mean, we've all been there with fanfic and ships before, it can be wild 
but tbh, can we just appreciate the art of fanfic as a hobby and not try to claim it as factual?