**DISCLAIMER:
All characters in this story are over 18 and purely creations of fiction. Everything depicted is intended to be consensual acts involving adults. This is meant to be a fun story with only a loose connection to real life. It is not meant to be realistic. This is meant to be read for enjoyment, so hopefully you have some fun reading it. Thanks!**
**This story was written for the
2025 Literotica Geek Pride Story Event
**
To a portion of society, the terms geek and nerd mean very different things. The label nerd is more often directed at the academically focused, and geeks were just people who obsessed about hobbies and entertainment on the fringes of culture. To other people though, the terms are basically synonymous, to be used interchangeably.
The difference never bothered Simon much, since he had always been both the biggest geek and the hugest nerd in whatever room he was in. His passion for learning and education had started early. His interest in things like tabletop wargames, epic fantasy books, and roleplaying had grown strong in his youth as well. Simon dove headlong into all sorts of geeky hobbies regardless of whatever stigma was placed on enjoying them.
Simon was called both a geek and a nerd, and he received many other less kind labels like dork and dweeb. In his youth his interests weren't culturally relevant, and they were often maligned. So when he got into his thirties and began to see the culture shift, he was amazed. He couldn't believe that comic book movies became mainstream, or that tabletop role playing games gained wide acceptance. He was shocked at how what once was ridiculed started being trendy.
Some of his peers that had grown up being mocked for their passions grew bitter at the sudden change, but Simon took a different attitude. He just loved that the things he enjoyed were being loved by more and more people. He accepted the newcomers, and he used his decades of knowledge and experience in all sorts of topics to help educate those brand new to his favorite hobbies.
Tabletop roleplaying games was one of the faster growing hobbies of Simon's, and he soon found himself DMing for several groups who needed someone experienced with the rules and skilled in crafting a story. He had a deep passion for worldbuilding and strategy, so this made Simon ideal for the role. One of the groups he led was made up of several young women, and they played at a local library where one of them worked.
The game sessions were always lively and full of fun. His players had taken up the game with enthusiasm and a surprising amount of skill. They pushed him to build even greater worlds to explore and adventure in, and dared him to create the most dangerous challenges for them to face. One on late Saturday night, the game got even more energetic than usual.
They were sitting in some comfy couches around a coffee table in a corner of the library that had been made into a reading nook. The library was closed, and the group were the only ones in the building. The players were at a crucial point in their adventure, so both the excitement and the tension was high. They had just finished defeating an enormous monster, and had only narrowly avoided losing the whole party. Now they were negotiating with potential allies for help in their final strike against the big bad evil guy. Simon was mostly taking a backseat as the players decided what strategy to use to best convince the npcs to assist them.
The girls were pouring over their stats, picking out which character had the best expertise. During the discussion the talk became sidetracked, and the conversation switched to theorizing what each persons' real life stats would be. This sparked an even more lively discussion as the girls argued about just how skilled they were. Simon was happy to let the conversation go off on a tangent, since that let him prepare more for the adventure's climatic battle. But after a few minutes of listening to them he knew he would soon get dragged into the conversation.
"I know that I would have proficiency in history, maybe even expertise." Mandy declared.
Mandy spoke with complete confidence, and she wore a smug smile. Across the table, Zoey rolled her eyes and let out a dismissive chuckle. She smirked at Mandy and shook her head.
"No way, you barely know anything about history. Just last week you admitted that you thought Belgium wasn't even a real country and that you believed it was made up like Atlantis. Your major is business marketing, you'd be proficient in... deception, or maybe athletics since you're so flexible from being a cheerleader." Zoey offered.
Mandy glared at Zoey because of her challenge to Mandy's claim, but there was no hostility between the two at all. Some of the girls in the group might argue, but they were all extremely close friends. All of their bickering was playful, even if it occasionally looked heated and tense from an outsider's perspective.
"No way, Mandy's right. She and I have played Civ 5 together since we were kids, and we've probably put hundreds and hundreds of hours into that game. That would make us history experts, absolutely." Catalina suggested as she chimed in.
"That doesn't mean anything. Video games can't teach you about history." Alexis argued, adding in a warm laugh.
Alexis, Catalina, Zoey, and Mandy were the four girls of the group. Mandy and Catalina had been best friends since childhood, and they were both first year students at the local university. The two girls were outspoken and headstrong, and they were always bursting with vibrant energy. Though they were half the age of Simon, they had ignored the age difference and readily accepted him as their games master and had always been friendly with him.
Zoey was just a few years older, and she was the one who worked at the library and allowed us to use it after hours for our gaming sessions. Zoey already sometimes acted like a stuffy old librarian, even though she had only just started the job and was in her very early twenties. She was quiet and reserved than the younger girls during work hours, but her demeanor changed completely during their gaming sessions. She had a wild and mischievous streak, and she could be just as stubborn and determined as the college girls.
Lastly there was Alexis. She was closer to Simon's age, nearing her thirties, and she was the glue that held the whole group together. She had been the one to connect everyone together to form the group, and she played the 'mom' role quite often. Her attitude was always upbeat and positive, and she had a knack for soothing and comforting people quite easily.
Alexis usually played the negotiator whenever there was a disagreement, even in friendly arguments, but this time she placed herself with Zoey squarely against the college girls. With two on each side, they quickly turned to Simon to be the tie breaker.
"What do you think? Would Catalina's and my extensive experience with Civ 5 be a good enough reason to give us proficiency in history?" Mandy asked.
"Come on, you've probably put more hours into video games than the rest of us combined. I'm sure you know that they can't teach a thing about history." Zoey said.
Simon took in a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair as he deliberated how to answer. He knew that the argument was all in good fun, but he wanted to give a well thought out and considered response anyway. He had a great interest in both history and video games, so he had more than a few thoughts on the subject.
"Well, I'm sure video games can teach a lot if they present the information in the right way. Interactive media has a great opportunity to educate people in a very engaging manner. I know that I've learned a lot, or at least got interested in certain historical topics, from some games." Simon admitted.
Mandy and Catalina both smiled in triumph when they heard Simon's words. They winked at each other and then gave their game master encouraging smiles since they thought he was fully agreeing with them. They then turned their smug and self-satisfied smirks to Zoey and Alexis as they prepared to gloat. But before they could start boasting Simon continued his thoughts.
"But, I'm not so sure Civ 5 would be the best teacher, nor would it be enough to make you an expert in history. It's got some historical flavoring and theme, but unless you're spending hours just reading the descriptions and then doing more research on your own, I don't think you will actually learn much history from it." Simon added.
Catalina's and Mandy's victorious smiles turned sour, but Zoey and Alexis didn't look fully pleased by this answer either. Neither felt their side was fully supported, which only deepened their desires to argue their points. The two pairs of girls soon launched into an even more vigorous debate, but they mostly ignored Simon.
The four women dove so strongly into their exchange of claims and rebuttals that they nearly started shouting. Simon was glad that he knew them well, since it could very easily be assumed that the two sides might actually start getting angry and grow resentful of each other. But the girls all adored one another, and they all fully enjoyed their lively and heated discussions.
Even though there was still no hostility, Simon eventually got somewhat tired of hearing them trade accusations and wild assertions back and forth. He waited for a lull in the conversation, which was hard to find, and then tried to offer a resolution. Thankfully the girls all noticed his attempt to make peace, and they were respectfully silent and attentive to him as he gave his proposal.
"So, I don't think we all are going to come to the same conclusion anytime soon through just simple debating. So why don't we put the idea to a test?" He asked, looking between the girls.
Each of the women immediately perked up at the idea, and they grinned with enthusiasm. They loved challenges, and they had played with Simon long enough to know that he usually came up with ones that were fun to do. And they were also wanting to prove their claim the true one, and this seemed a better option than convincing the other side with words. They looked to Simon and waited to hear the details.
"We could do a short quiz. Mandy and Catalina on one side, me on the other. Alexis and Zoey can ask questions about history. That way we can see if the young ladies actually learned some history from their Civ games, or if I have learned more through more traditional methods." Simon proposed.
