Ooh, great question! And difficult to narrow down to ten. Hm. I’m not sure my top ten characters would all love to be at a table with each other (or me, for that matter), but I guess all that matters is that I want them there, right? Right.

Okay. My top ten lunch-table character friends, in no particular order:

1 & 2. Vin and Elend from Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series – I love these guys so much. Vin would hate sitting at a table with everyone else, so I’ll let her and Elend sit at the end so she can keep an eye out on everyone. Heehee.

3. Katniss Everdeen – Most people found her irritating by the end of the Hunger Games series, but I just grew to love her more and more, even when she was damaged. She’d be welcome at my table. Either she can sit near Vin and they can watch everyone together, or they’ll have to sit at opposite sides, most suspicious of each other.

4. Ginny Weasley – I debated. Ginny or Luna? Both would be great choices, but I think in the end, my lunch table needs less of the whimsical and more direction. Also, I think Ginny and I could get along really well.

5 & 6. Karou and Zusana from Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Karou, with her turquoise hair and crazy (but true!) stories, would be great at my table, and Zusana? Well, Zusana is amazing, 100%. She’s got to come. If she’d consent. I might have to offer her something tasty.

7. Sturmhund from the Grisha trilogy – There are actually a whole cast of characters from this series I’d love to sit at my table, but if I had to pick one person to bring the whole group together, it’d be Sturmhund. He’d even disarm Vin and Katniss, though he’s probably the one they ought to suspect the most.

8 & 9. Howl and Sophie – The dynamic duo from Howl’s Moving Castle has absolutely got to come. And yes, I’m still just a tiny bit in love with Howl. Yes. I’ll try not to stare at him too starry-eyed, or else risk Sophie’s wrath.

10. Lord Henry from The Picture of Dorian Gray – I just now realized there’s only one person from classic lit who will be sitting at my table. Given that he’s much older than all the rest and from a completely different kind of world, I imagine he’s pretty uncomfortable. Hey, it’s Lord Henry, though, and I’m sure he’ll come up with plenty of words to explain it all to himself and befuddle his lunch-table neighbors at the same time.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.