Downloading In Person

Two terminally online friends, Amelie and Jessie, meet in person for the first time after an online relationship that spanned several years.

Jessie had grown up an outsider in Alberta Canada, unsure of her own gender and sexuality in a time and place where neither was accepted. A long and traumatic history of judgment, hatred and even violence against her had led her to seek the safety of online relationships.

Amelie had trouble connecting with people in real life, always feeling like she needed to mask her emotions and thoughts, to put on a facade that grew more exhausting to maintain the older she got. Online the need for the mask was diminished, and with Jessie, it was non-existent.

And so for years the two spent most of their waking hours together before finally, on a group trip organized by their circle of online gaming friends, the two finally meet in person. Will their deep connection lead to a romance that can transcend distance, or will the stark realities of maintaining an international relationship prove too much to bear?