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It was the day of Funplex Rising and Nick was trying not to publically freak out. There were a lot more gamers than he had expected, thanks to the promoting he’d done with his friends at MAX. The event was somehow going smoothly, and Nick was able to put out any fires that popped up. Thankfully, they had all been metaphorical.
Still, not everything was perfect. Nick noticed two situations: first, Percy was looking upset. Second, QueenBee was nowhere to be seen. Nick winced when he noticed she was gone-- it was his fault she was seriously upset. Well, the fault of his willful Iris, who had invited a god tier FoD player to the tournament. He still felt pretty bad about it, and knew Percy ultimately could calm himself down.
After a quick check with Gavin, Nick found QueenBee in the Employees Only area. She was all but biting her nails, watching videos of FoD plays on her phone. He approached quietly, but she looked up at him anyway.
“Sooo… what’s up?” Nick asked, taking a seat in a rickety metal chair. QueenBee shrugged, but the action was stiff.
“Oh, you know, just trying to figure out what to do when my gaming team drops me, I lose all my subscribers and my apartment and my career,” she said nonchalantly, but still winced as she spoke. Nick blinked rapidly at her statement, and shook his head.
“What makes you think any of that is going to happen?” he asked, tilting his head as he listened. QueenBee couldn’t really ignore him when he looked at her that earnestly, so she heaved an annoyed sigh and tried to explain.
“It’s simple. I’m a woman in esports,” she said, and when he prodded further explained more. She told him how L7 really viewed her, that her perfect win streak wasn’t just a point of personal pride but a necessity to keep her position. How the women on the team before her had all been let go due to ‘performance’ when they aged out. Nick listened through all of her concerns, nodding as he did. At the end, QueenBee just sighed.
“Legally, I can’t prove what they’re doing, but it’s as plain as the nose on your face,” she said, quirking a smile when Nick crossed his eyes to look at his nose.
“Y’know, this kind of shit happens all the time in esports, not just to me. Any footage or interviews just focus on me as a woman, not a gamer. And even beyond esports, in fucking gamer culture. Women, POCs, LGBT, minorities, people with disabilities… If you aren’t the industry target, you have to work one hundred percent harder for less recognition of your ability,” she ranted.
“God, don’t I get that,” Nick scoffed, and QueenBee rolled her eyes.
“You aren’t a gamer, Nick,” she reminded him, and he shrugged.
“It’s the same outside of gaming. Society at large. If you aren’t white and straight and cis they don’t want to acknowledge you or what you’re capable of,” he said, and QueenBee shrugged. It didn’t seem like Nick was finished, though, and he took a deep breath.
“You know I’ve just been working odd jobs the past few years, yeah? I couldn’t really afford to go to college or anything, but I have a decent amount of experience. But finding work hasn’t really been easy for me-- or keeping a job. Until Juniper and I moved here, I’ve had the shittiest time about it. They saw my old name, and how I look now, and either wouldn’t hire me or would let me go for “performance issues” once someone would raise a stink. Or I would be forced to quit because the manager wouldn’t do shit if someone wanted to be a transphobic ass,” he went on, taking a deep and shuddering breath.
“Wait, do you mean you’re…?” QueenBee asked, and Nick nodded. QueenBee was shocked Nick would trust her with that information. They weren’t extremely close, but they both worked hard to support the little arcade and the people who called it home. It was strange to see Nick being vulnerable instead of just absorbing everyone else’s issues. It was touching.
“That’s right, I don’t come by this handsomeness naturally. But I’ve made it work. Everything’s legal now, Juniper supports me. I have this kickass job I never would have thought I would have, and a bunch of dope friends. Sometimes there are people out there who are gonna make us miserable for shit we can’t control, because they assume they’re better for bullshit reasons. You’re better than L7 or any of those shitty teams who want to have a prop instead of acknowledging their best player. I don’t know much about how the Demon plays, but I know you kick all kinds of fuckin’ ass, and that’s what you’re gonna do today. Win or lose, he’ll have to respect your style. And I’ll be here to cheer you on,” he continued, grinning brightly.
QueenBee smiled gently, a look that made Nick blush, before she adopted her signature smirk. There was no need to make a big deal about the reveal-- sensitive kid like Nick would probably cry.
“You’re right. I am very kick ass. And you’re very kick ass. Thanks for the pep talk, kid. And I won't say anything if you don’t want me to,” she said, finally embracing her confidence again. Nick shook his head and stood.
“I’ll tell ‘em eventually. It just felt good to connect with someone who kinda gets it for a second, y’know? I’m gonna go handle the floor again, but I’ll keep an eye on the FoD tourney. You good in here?” Nick replied, double checking. QueenBee couldn’t help but think the kid was too nice for his own good, but she nodded anyway.
“Yeah, I’m good. And kid? You’re plenty handsome naturally too,” she reassured him before he left the safety of the Employees Only area. Nick took a deep breath outside the door, readjusting to the chaotic sounds of the arcade. Okay, so he hadn’t meant to tell QueenBee about his trans status but it just kinda felt right in the moment. He knew she wouldn’t be shitty about it or go blabbing, but his nerves bubbled up anyway.
At least, until he saw an argument breaking out near the Joust machine. He put away his nerves to go settle the disagreement, happy enough that QueenBee would be on his side.