greyson had shown up only ten minutes early.

he approaches the spot in question, feeling a bit nervous but otherwise okay; a meeting between bros didnt exactly warrent anxiety.

the area was sparsly populated, being the time of day it was, but still held a respectable amount of foot traffic. tall and with a good build, greyson stood a head over many of the pedestrians, and he searched with clear confusion.

he didn't know what the other man had looked like or course, so he kept an eye out for the rotom. it stopped, smile lighting up, when he notices one. it quickly dies however.

the woman next to it stood out easilyz catching his eye enough to note how beautiful she was. but... it had to he a coincidence.

careful not to disturb her, he takes a spot under the shade a few feet away and shoots off a text.

"uh, im here. dont see you man."

kennedy quinn

The place is busy enough that Kennedy found it easy to people watch. She watched with vague interest an elementary school field tri[p walk by. A few couples here and there. There was even an art student, if she could say anything about the large paper pad in their arms. No one familiar. Not that there could be. The no photos rule had sort of...well it'd made it a little harder to identify each other. But nevertheless, they were grown adults. They'd manage whiteout. She would anyway. [break][break]

At the text, Holt halts his bouncing on the surface of the fountain and instead floated over to be nosy. Hazel eyes read quickly before glancing aorund once, standing up and pressing dial. She held up the phone to her ear while turning to her partner. "Be the quest indicator." The rotom, giggling at the thought floated above her head and spun slowly, all grins as Kennedy waited for her team leader to pick up. The minute he would she'd address them politely, but with short phrases similar to her writing style in game. "I have instructed my Rotom to act as a pseudo beacon to make this easier. Do you see Holt?" If shed been nervous before, she didn't sound like it at all now.

[break][break]

+ Greyson Connors [break][break]


[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

greyson looked down at his phone, answering. the voice on the other life was softer than what he expected, but greyson didn't judge too much. MATIAS SILPH sounded a bit girlier than most would expect him too as well.

"uhhh," his mannerisms though had translated into that weird speech too, but greyson marked it as a joke, "let me see." his eyes scan the area and, not even ten feet to his right, the rotom in question hung by the beautiful woman from earlier.

"one second," he asks of the man on the line as he approaches the woman, phone stuck to his shoulder. "excuse me," he starts, polite, kind and with a gentle smile, "did you see a man here? the owner of this rotom maybe?"

kennedy quinn

She waited patiently, Holt sparking with electricity every few seconds to pretend like he was a lighthouse bulb. The voice on the other seemed unsure and she wondered if maybe there was a different entrance to the aquarium she should've gone. Like a side door or something? She'd honestly just gone for something that looked lie ka landmark.
[break][break]

When Greyson approached she hesitated before waving at him with her empty hand. "I've been here by myself. That's Holt, my Rotom." she said, looking up at the ghost type that leered curiously at the newcomer. She noted a soft echo in the call, glanced at her phone and his before putting 2 and 2 together. "You're good." she said to her partner as the Rotom immediately dropped into her phone to wreak havoc on the person at the other end of the receiver. A garbled, staticy voice pierced through barely getting out, "Y̵̆͜o̸̟̐ͅỰ̶̧̼̀ ̷̖̎̾̓p̷̼̪̰̔͝o̵̟̲̳͗̌̚O̷̲̺̻̓̃͝p̸͙͚͕̎̚i̶͉̦͇̐N̸̥̰͋g̸̦̖̩̈́?̸̦̃͌ ̵̨͙͛" before Kennedy hung up. The screen of her phone turned into the Rotom's as they pouted up at Kenny before coming back to her side, sulking. "Sorry. Holt...is funny. I'm Kennedy, but- ah-...my friends call me Griffin." she said as she perched her sunglasses on her head and extended her hand for a shake.

[break][break]

+ Greyson Connors [break][break]


[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

he nearly missed what the woman had said, when his phone began to gargle out the secrets of satan — or whatever the fuck that was. what the fuck was that?

he felt the pang of irritation rise at the small inconvenience, when something clicked, and his eyes widened as they took her in again. it took the words a moment to register, all the while his eyes absorbed the information in-front of him.

this small, but beautiful woman, was in actuality his long-time friend and raid partner. her voice didn't hold the same level of soft masculinity he'd always attributed to shyness, but rather the tinge of someone, noticeably feminine, who was confident.

what the hell was going on?

"...griff? uh, you're—"

he doesn't finish.

kennedy quinn

Kennedy is content with keeping quiet as Greyson's gears seem to turn slowly. Holt mirrored her amusement, his grin turning wider and wider with each passing second. The Rotom let out a cackle at the poor man, while Kenny slyly covered her mouth to hide her own smirk. "I told you, I'm not as muscular as my avatar." [break][break]

She extended her hand for a shake. "It's nice to meet you, formally. I'm sorry for the trouble just now." There's a beat of silence before she tried to make things less awkward. "I...mmm. I quite like my privacy." she added. Despite the catfishing there are similarities there. Her typing style at least matched her speaking style. Stilted and awkward.

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+ Greyson Connors [break][break]


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"somehow i think the muscular thing is the least surprising thing here," he adds with a clearly bagfled chuckle.

the backsrop of rotoms staticly laugher fits the fuzzy confusion of greysons mind, but he does his best to push past it. after another moment, he finally takes her hand.

"greyson," he says, releasing the breath of hair he'd been unknowingly holding, "it's nice to meet you kennedy."

kennedy quinn

"If it makes you feel better, you're not what I expected either." she said. "Couldn't picture anything else but bulk and armor." she admitted. You were your avatar in her brain. It was easier to remember. The Rotom is quick to invade Greyson's personal space flashing around the gym leader to study him before eventually orbiting around his head and finally coming in to nuzzle as close as he could the hair.
[break][break]

Always the hair.
[break][break]

Holt's aim? Statifying the FUCK out of any and all humans in the vicinity. "Holt." Kennedy warned, voice low to indicate the thread of putting him back in his pokeball. The rotom shook with a laugh, innocently going back to their trainer. She huffed through her nose before nodding over at her teammate. "So, we are actually going in right?" she asked wondering if this had just been a security measure. "I've never been, frankly." she added, eyes wandering the entrance at the high ceilings and colorful signs posted.

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+ Greyson Connors [break][break]


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her reasoning was odd — perhaps too simple? — and he found himself chuckling despite himeslf. tits or no tits, it was definitely his friend.

like swatting a fly he waves off the rotom, holding back his annoyance at the creatures invasion of his bubble. "yeah," he says after getting a moment or reprieve, hand patting down his now ruined hair, "let's head inside."

his own eyes follow hers and take in the majesty of it. it paled in comparison to the shock he felt at the turn of events.

"so, uh, first time meeting someone online?"

kennedy quinn

Holt is more than happy to speed away, excited to make silly faces at whatever exotic water pokemon were put on display. Kennedy, for her part, fell in step with her friend. Normally critical eyes, wander lazily about the different signs and panes of glass as the lights changed.[break][break]

"Yes." she stated curtly, before turning her attention back to Greyson as her brain urged her to say something else. You know, help the conversation along?? "I'm rather private, all things considered, and I only started voice chatting and streaming out of necessity." The game they played required faster communication than just simple, fast acronyms. The harder the raids became, the more pressured she'd become to use her mic. Which she had, only once before investing in a voice changer. "You are my first friend that's been that close. What about you?" she asked, offering a smile as she did. Being the one to preposition her, she figured he was far more experienced with that sort of thing.


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+ Greyson Connors [break][break]


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[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"that makes sense," he gives in reply, his hand reaching up to pat down his hair reflexively. it did make sense, even if some areas of it didn't.
[break][break]
"it is my first time, yeah." so why wasn't he more nervous? in-truth it didn't feel like he was meeting an online friend, considering they lived in the same region; how was it any different than visiting a friend a few cities off?
[break][break]
it was a dumb question, with an obvious answer. greyson tosses it to the back of his mind, however. violet hues trace a pair of children as they race past, eager to see more of the exhibit.
[break][break]
"so... do you pretend to be a guy online to avoid harassment or something?"

[attr="class","notes"]kennedy quinn

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

She nodded before replying with, "Ah, you seemed like a natural to me." For her part she felt a little stiff, and a lot awkward but that was also sort of the norm with her, unfortunately. Maybe she was still just really tired. Exhausted? Mmm. Then again, Rocket didn't really give you a chance to polish your social skills. At least not in her department.
[break][break]

Kennedy was distracted watching a sort of eel move through darker waters. She hesitated to answer, though it was to be expected. Why go through the effort of disguising herself? Well, it wasn't like it was anything different form how she lived now. Just another layer of anonymity to protect herself from any Rockets that might want to come for her. Or well...maybe that wasn't even a worry any more since the last boss had died. But the anxiety of just one person, just one test subject that still held a grudge coming for her held it's grip on her mind. She didn't want to risk it.
[break][break]

Plus, if he was alive and he knew where she'd gone, he'd follow. There was an 85% chance he would. And she wasn't sure what the results of encountering them again would be like. Much less, she didn't want to find out.

"Partially." she said, pushing aside the uncomfortable thought buzzing in her brain. "More so, I-...I am attracted to my avatar and watching a handsome avatar go through the game makes it more enjoyable for me." It's a little embarrassing, but she hadn't spent 4 hours modling his face to goddamn perfection to look at an end product she didn't like. "As I understood, it's not that uncommon of a practice." she added with a snort. "I also would prefer to avoid any sort of online connections with my job. Some of my associates play...and they'd figure out pretty quickly I'm overworking myself again." After all, one obsession would only replace another. And this was hers.

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+ Greyson Connors [break][break]


[break]

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her explanation brings about a small, tinkling laugh. his head bobs and lips quirk, understanding her sentiment immediately.
[break][break]
"i can see the appeal, i've definitely done the same in previous games." male models were always bulky, disgusting messes, or just all around unappealing; not the type of person he be if he was isekai'd into a game like that.
[break][break]
"overworked though, huh?" his mind flicks back to the rotom, then places itself squarely back into the present. "what kind of work do you do?"

[attr="class","notes"]kennedy quinn

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉