Cosplay

Alright everyone, prepare to be bowled over because for once I'm delivering on a promise I made.

Who would I cosplay as?  If you had asked me nearly three years ago I would've instantly answered Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.  The character and concept were brilliant.  Also funny as hell.  But time has tarnished it for me somewhat and now I'm forced to reconsider my answer.

As I have a difficult time just choosing one, I'm going to choose from categories. 

Videogame:

If I had the body for it (and for the sake of the list let's pretend I do) I'd almost be forced to cosplay as Farah from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.  There's just too much I love about the game and the character will always have a special place in my heart.  She's just a genuine character.  An abducted princess (a new concept, I know!) who isn't worried so much about her abducted status as she is about the fate of the world with the Sands of Time unleashed on it.  From the beginning we see her trying to protect the dagger and its secrets, and only her iron resolve to guard the world from the Sands show through.  She comes across as vulnerable at times (kidnapped princess alone with only her captor in a world full of sand monsters and crumbling architecture, somewhat difficult not be vulnerable), letting her guard down with the Prince at key moments.  She goes from seeing him as an obstacle (and the enemy) to sympathizing with him to actually caring about him to loving him.  And when he lets her down at a critical moment she puts that love aside to do what's right for the world: sealing the Sands of Time.  Her duty is paramount to her existence, and her resolve is nothing short of miraculous.  Also I love the color red and shooting things with arrows.

Comic Book:

This was a tough one.  It basically boiled down to Selena Kyle (Catwoman for those who aren't in the know), Rogue, Ramona Flowers, or our winner: Kim Pine.  I chose Kim because a) she'd be an easy cosplay (cheap, I know) and b) I related to her the best out of the Scott Pilgrim females.  I loved all of them (Roxie almost made the list, actually), but Kim is so beautifully cynical, sarcastic, and flawed that she was hard not to love and relate to.  Her little ball of snark and angry made her too kick ass to not pay attention.  The absolutely biting wit guaranteed her some of the best lines in the series.  She's trying to deal with her past, but not in a head-on way.  She just gets some distance and mellows out.  I couldn't help but relate and admire that.  Plus who doesn't love a drumming redhead full of snark?

Anime/Manga:

I was expecting this one to be really, really hard.  In a way, it actually was.  There were so many favorites to choose from, but once I closed my eyes and thought about anime, this was the first one to pop in my head and it felt so right.  Akane Tendou from Ranma 1/2.  If I were forced to pick only one of the characters I'd named so far to cosplay as (final answer?) she would be it.  One of the first mangas I'd ever read was Ranma 1/2, thanks to my roommate Robin.  And while I'd seen anime before nothing stuck with me the way that Ranma had, and has continued to do so.  Akane is at the heart of that series and one of my favorite characters of all time.  And once again, relatively easy to cosplay as.  I love her because every action and reaction she has to her situation and the people around her is so genuine, whether good or bad.  She is amazingly kind, staunchly loyal, and quick to react negatively with an angry punch.  She's perfect.  Akane is all passion and emotion, completely thrilling and strangely vulnerable.  She can't admit to herself that she does love Ranma (just like he can't admit he loves her) because it would mean leaving herself open to rejection (and also giving in to her father's plans).  All of Akane's adventures and her relationship with Ranma made her an easy choice for me to pick.  Also lots of outfits to choose from.

So there you have it.  Some more geekitude for you as well as some random reasoning.  I might even revisit this topic again.

New question: What's your favorite mythological creature and why?  Can also include fantasy characters and Lovecraftian mythos.