The next day, during his lunch break, he was browsing through Twitch thumbnails when he had a thought.

Looks like some cosplay streams are pretty popular. Maybe I could try that. Good way to mix up my wardrobe and stand out. Plus, like, just being me is a little boring, you know? It could be fun to try and play a character.

He thought about what characters he could go for. I mean, I mostly do Zelda streams, with some occasional Mario and Minecraft and other variety content. A Zelda character would make a lot of sense. Gotta make sure it’s someone who’s recognizable just from the outfit. As much as I’d love to do Beedle, I don’t think I could make my face look like that, lol. I mean, one of the Links is the obvious option, though the classic green pointy-hat outfit seems really boring. Maybe the blue Breath of the Wild one or the Wind Waker lobster shirt?

He decided to look up “zelda cosplay” for inspiration. Unsurprisingly, it was pretty much all Zelda and Link, with a distinct overrepresentation of the Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess designs. Yeah, maybe Wind Waker or one of the other BotW outfits. But not the rubber armor, that shit sounds incredibly sweaty. Eh, well, I can think about it more later.

He decided to check in on his Discord server. It generally wasn’t very active, with maybe two people who actually regularly posted, but it was reasonably chill. He had Discord notifications turned off just in general, though, because he was in some other servers that would just be constantly blowing up his phone otherwise.

To his shock, he had 50+ unread messages. The heck?

Scrolling through quickly--his break was almost over--he saw that several new people had joined after last night’s stream, including the users trans_rites and yaoiMaster69. Most of the new messages were in threads about anime, gender, and general horniness. Not really what he was used to--usually most of the discussion was in the #gaming channel--but sure, why not.

Fuck, I gotta get back to work. He could read through in more detail later.

On the bus ride home from work, he finally got a chance to do so.He could’ve also walked, but it was kinda far and he was tired and also the last time he’d walked while staring at his phone he’d ran his face right into a tree.

Huh, weird. A bunch of the discussion in #general was back and forth between the new member trans_rites and the regular melsalvia. 

 

trans_rites: i don’t see why you think it’s so problematic just to say maybe goron is trans due to the facts at hand

melsalvia: i didn’t say that, i just think it’s weird to speculate about people’s personal lives when you don’t really know them

melsalvia: parasocial relationship and everything

melsalvia: also goron is on here and i don’t want him to feel uncomfortable or anything

melsalvia: like, saying it once is probably fine but harping on about it might be awkward for him

trans_rites: I get what you’re saying but is it really that bad to say someone might be trans

trans_rites: It’s not pressuring them to be trans or anything and if just the suggestion makes them uncomfortable that’s their problem

trans_rites: just seems like transphobia

melsalvia: idk i just don’t think it’s productive

melsalvia: i honestly think it creates pressure on people just by speculating like this and if they are trans might make them take longer to figure things out

melsalvia: because of instinctually pushing back against things or whatever

trans_rites: Okay I just disagree

trans_rites: I think some people don’t even realize being trans is a possibility and I think it’s just generally a good thing if more people are aware

trans_rites: whether they end up being trans or not

melsalvia: idk if we actually disagree in general

melsalvia: im just saying its fine if u wanna speculate but maybe dont do it where goron will almost definitely see it

melsalvia: cuz no one likes other people discussing them like that i feel like

trans_rites: Fair enough

 

BigGoron5: hey 

BigGoron5: i don’t think i really get what you’re talking about but it’s fine?

BigGoron5: maybe #general isn’t the right channel tho

BigGoron5: also sorry i know i’m not actually on here that regularly

BigGoron5: it’s been fine until now but it’s way more active now

BigGoron5: maybe we should set up a mod?

BigGoron5: okay here’s a google form for mod applications: https://forms.gle/hbmKJm4PXLMnFy277

BigGoron5: @everyone

 

He figured that would be good enough for now and he’d check the responses later. With that, he returned to looking at cosplay.

I guess I’ll check Amazon? Although if I just wear a mass-produced premade costume that’s kinda lame. And I doubt I could afford anything custom on Etsy or whatever.

Welp. Pretty much all the top results on Amazon for “legend of zelda cosplay” were like the image search results except worse. Looked like he either needed to search something more specific, or learn to sew.

Also some of the results were definitely not even relevant. Like, why was there a Minecraft diamond sword in there? Mystery. He did also play Minecraft a lot, though not so much on stream--he felt like it could be kinda boring to watch--so maybe Amazon was tracking his interests and lowkey slipping that in there. Well, either way, it was fine. Maybe he didn’t want to buy from Amazon anyway. Jeffy B. already had quite enough money.

He heard the bus doors open and glanced up, realizing this was his stop. “Thanks!” he yelled to the driver as he stepped out onto the street. It was just the polite thing to do, after all.

As he showered and got changed, he continued to think about possible stream outfits. Man, I suck at making decisions. Maybe I should just give chat a poll? Yeah, that seems like a good idea. Increasing audience engagement and all. Gotta please the almighty algorithm.

He wandered downstairs to get something to eat before the stream started, and found his mom home from work slightly early.

“Hey, mom.”

“Hi, Hunter, there’s some mail for you. Also, I was gonna run to the store, is there anything you need?”

“Uh… I could use more deodorant, I guess? Thanks, mom.” He gave her a quick hug before inspecting the contents of the fridge.

Let’s see… I could have some Mountain Dew during the stream? I am feeling kinda low energy and maybe the caffeine would help. Uh, what about food? Hot pocket? Yeah, hot pocket. He got one out of the freezer and started the microwave. It was the luxury garlic butter crust pepperoni pizza kind, of course. G o u r m e t.

After feeling refreshed from his gamer feast, he unloaded the dishwasher and took out the kitchen trash, then headed back upstairs to watch some YouTube. Man, why are there so many people who try to cheat at Minecraft speedruns? Like dude, c’mon, that’s just sad. 

Finally, it was time for the stream. He decided to start off with the poll.

“Hey guys, I was thinking about doing a stream where I cosplay as a Zelda character, maybe as a sub goal. Any suggestions? I’ll put the top four or five in a poll and let you all vote.”

 

melsalvia: link from windwaker

melsalvia: sheik

melsalvia: tetra

eastlySnipes: King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule

eastlySnipes: jk although that would be funny

eastlySnipes: how many times do we have to teach you this lesson old man

trans_rites: Midna?

trans_rites: That might be kinda hard though

trans_rites: I just really like her as a character

trans_rites: Midna best girl, fight me

yaoiMaster69: gerudo link 

yaoiMaster69: gerudo link tho

thats_so_craven: gonna have to second gerudo link :)

thats_so_craven: i think that sounds super cute <3

 

“Alright, thanks, chat! Let me make that poll real quick.”

 

BigGoron5: https://www.strawpoll.me/#?savedPoll=%7B%22title%22:%22Which%20Zelda%20cosplay?%22,%22dupcheck%22:%221%22,%22multi%22:false,%22captcha%22:false,%22options%22:%5B%22Tetra%22,%22Sheik%22,%22Midna%22,%22Gerudo%2520Link%22%5D%7D

 

A few seconds later the poll stabilized, with 4 votes for Gerudo Link, 2 votes for Sheik, and 1 vote each for Tetra and Midna.

“Welp… at least that’s a male character, technically? Still though, you guys are kinda weirdChamp, lol. Why were half of the suggestions girls?”

 

trans_rites: Technically Sheik’s gender isn’t clear canonically so it might be more than half

trans_rites: And I like to interpret the Gerudo Town sequence as affirming Link’s identity as a trans girl

trans_rites: So maybe they’re all girls

melsalvia: based

 

“Alright, I’ll get to work on getting a costume together, and let’s set that goal for… 50 subs? I think that’s doable. So, uh, if you want to see that, tell your friends about the stream!”

 

yaoiMaster69: dude yes

yaoiMaster69: absolutely i will do that

 

“Alright, and now on to the main event! Today we’re going to be playing some Mario Maker 2. Gotta practice my shell jumps…”