Gears and Games

Chapter 4: Breaking Stereotypes

Neena sat at her gaming desk, adjusting her headset and cracking her knuckles, her eyes fixed on the tournament dashboard glowing on her screen. It was time. The event she had been preparing for—one of the biggest online tournaments of the year—was about to begin. As Elite Enchantress, she had been in countless competitions before, but this one felt different. The stakes were higher, the competition tougher, and the world was watching.

The tournament's lobby was buzzing with chatter. Familiar names flashed across her screen as top players from around the globe logged in, ready for battle. She recognized some of them—former teammates, occasional rivals—but most were strangers, their usernames a mix of anonymity and notoriety. Her fingers danced over the keyboard as she warmed up, the tension in her muscles coiled like a spring.

Despite her nerves, Neena had one advantage: no one knew who she really was. Elite Enchantress had become a legend in the gaming world, but the real person behind the avatar remained a mystery. Some believed she was an enigmatic pro, maybe even an industry insider. Others thought she was a male player hiding behind the feminine persona, a common tactic to stand out in the crowd. Few, if any, considered the possibility that she was a woman—especially not a woman working as a mechanic during the day.

The competition opened with a swift announcement from the tournament organizers, hyping the high-level gameplay to come. Neena leaned in, her focus narrowing to the task at hand. But before the first match could even begin, the comments started to roll in.

It wasn't long before the tournament's chat was flooded with comments from players and viewers alike. "Elite Enchantress is in the game!" one user exclaimed, their message followed by a flurry of responses. Fans cheered her on, excited to see what she would bring to the table. But, as always, there was a darker side to the excitement.

"Isn't Elite Enchantress a girl? LMAO, must be some dude behind the screen."

"Girls can't play at this level."

"She's overrated. Just a gimmick."

Neena was used to it by now. The casual sexism, the disbelief that a woman could be one of the top players in the world. But that didn't mean it didn't sting. She had encountered this kind of bias in both her worlds—as a mechanic and as a gamer. The gaming world was supposed to be a space where skill was all that mattered, where your ability to execute strategies, react quickly, and outthink your opponents was the only thing that counted. Yet, even here, the old biases followed her.

Neena had learned not to respond. She'd seen other female players take the bait, try to defend themselves, and end up getting dragged into arguments that only fueled the toxic environment. Instead, she stayed quiet, her fingers still on the keys, her mind sharpening with focus.

"Let them doubt," she whispered to herself. She'd been underestimated her entire life—by her coworkers at the garage, by the men who doubted her abilities as a mechanic, by those who saw her as nothing more than a girl trying to do a man's job. But it was in these moments, when people doubted her, that Neena found her strength. She didn't need their validation. She didn't need their approval.

She just needed to win.

*

The first match began, and Neena quickly fell into her rhythm. The map loaded, and her fingers moved instinctively over the controls, directing her avatar with precision. The opening minutes were always a tense period—both teams feeling each other out, testing defenses, probing for weaknesses.

Neena's opponents were aggressive, trying to overwhelm her with sheer force early on. It was a common tactic against players who had reputations for strategy over brute strength. They were hoping to catch her off guard, to disrupt her flow. But Neena wasn't easily rattled. Years of playing had honed her instincts, and she knew how to keep calm under pressure.