February is winding to a close

And oh, it’s been fun! Thank you for coming along with me on this adventure.

I thought that today I’d share with you a list of the top five ahem… apparently I couldn’t keep it to five… fantasy characters I’ve met in books that I would most love to sit and have tea with.

As a somewhat shy introvert, my picks are all about who I think I’d actually get along with. Sure, there are interesting and heroic and amazing characters I’d love to meet and I’d love to sit with and ask them all sorts of questions…. but I think I’d also get kind of tongue-tied and overawed by a lot of them. If I’m going to invite someone over for a quiet chat… I’m always going to pick the someone I feel is a real “kindred spirit” as Anne would say.

Cimorene from Dealing with Dragons

Of all the books I have ever read, Cimorene from Patricia C. Wrede’s “Dealing with Dragons” continues to be the truest Kindred Spirit I’ve ever found in the pages of a book. Her snark, her wit, her pragmatic approach to problems and life in general assure me that we would get along well. I’d love to just run errands with her around the Enchanted Forest, or sit and chat in Kazul’s cave over cherries jubilee. If I had to pick just one character to meet in real life, it would be Cimorene.

Pet and Athelas from The City Between

Athelas would be a little terrifying on his own, but at the same time, that mildly amused dry, witty sense of humor is exactly the sort I like to banter with (I often find myself in trouble because of it). And even though I know that bantering with Athelas could be hazardous for my health, that doesn’t really stop me from wanting to.

I also think that Pet would just be a lot of fun to chat with, maybe run around helping her solve a mystery or a crime or something.

Amarante Flora from The Herbwitch’s Apprentice

Although she’s a newer acquaintance, I really enjoyed my time spent with Amarante. I would love to travel around Olderea with her and I just think we’d get along well. She is spunky and witty and a loyal friend. She makes the same kinds of sarcastic observations about things around her that I would make (so maybe we’d just get into a lot of trouble together, but we’d have a blast in the progress).

Prism from the SVR universe

While most of the SVR characters would be fun to hang out with, I just love Prism a lot. Her eternal optimism, the way she only ever chooses to see the good in the people she loves, the way she wants to protect everyone and take care of them…. Prism is the ultimate fantasy mom-character and I think we could be great mom-friends. I mean, her favorite movie is the Princess Bride, so we have that in common right there!

Megan Bradshaw from Escape to Vindor

I found another kindred spirit inside the Vindor duology in Megan. Her creativity and imagination in creating the world of Vindor in her head are just the start. But it’s her resourcefulness once she actually gets to Vindor that make me admire her so much. Sure, she’s taken off guard and confused and way out of her element, but she doesn’t curl up into a miserable little ball inside her own head or whine about her circumstances or spend the whole book terrified. No, she gets things done. She might not always do the right thing, but she keeps moving forward, even when she comes up against obstacles and setbacks, and I really admire that about her. She’s very down-to-earth in a lot of ways, and I think we’d get along grand.

Mercury from the Mercury Hale series

I think we might be finding a troubling theme here, because the thing that mostly draws me to Mercury is his snarky/sarcastic sense of humor. Our tea would of course get interrupted by some dimension-traveling monster, but fighting it off side-by-side would be good exercise and make for a great story later!

Taran from the Prydain Chronicles

Really, all the Prydain Chronicles characters are welcome to come have tea with me any time. I love them all to bits. But there is something special about Taran. His diligent perseverance. His loyalty. His determination. His ability to just slice through all the distractions and get to the heart of any matter… I admire him so much and I could see having a long, fairly quiet, extremely pleasant lunch with him.

Chrestomanci from The Chrestomanci Chronicles

Of all of Diana Wynne Jones’ books/characters, Howl of course gets all the love. And I do love Howl. But Chrestomanci has first place in my heart, and is definitely the character who would be a more pleasant companion for tea. The stories he could tell! And he would be an excellently behaved guest or host: charming, as well as unfailingly, sincerely polite, and I just feel like Chrestomanci is the sort of person who makes people he’s with feel like they are somehow the most important person in his world, and that is a rare talent, indeed.

Zinder from the Swordspeaker Saga

The little nyn with miles of wisdom is one of my favorite characters of all time. Almost all my favorite quotes and memorable lines in the Swordspeaker Saga are ones that Zinder has said. And he’s just so cheerful all the time, I think having tea with him would be grand fun.

And there you have it… I was going to make a list of 5 characters and it morphed into 10… but it’s probably no surprise to anyone that I couldn’t keep my list of favorites as short as I intended.

So what about you, dear Reader? What fantasy characters would YOU most like to have over for tea and a nice chat? Why did you pick the characters you picked?

Five (or ten!) Characters I'd Invite for Tea