alright so we've all seen the two other blog posts that highlight the appeal of morally grey love interests+ and golden retriever heroes+ (and if you haven't, go read those now, @BookDinosaur and @Lost_Robin have great insights), but here i am to complete the circle with my own addition to the unhinged discussion that i fully acknowledge i caused. today i will be listing characters from media (books, tv shows, movies, etc.) along with categorizing them as follows:

• golden retriever - see robin's blog post, but a golden retriever character is one that is pretty much there for vibes and snacks. lovable, charismatic, sometimes with a deep secret, and usually with blonde curls (notes on this below)
• himbo - hot, dumb, respects women. adjacent to the lgbtqia+ community due to himbo-lesbian solidarity
• jock - sports enthusiast

now, characters can be a mix of these three categories, but they can also have additional labels such as:

• bi wife energy - usually in conjunction with himbo, self-explanatory
• simp - another self-explanatory one, doesn't have to be given to just soft characters (see: kaz brekker)

now for the characters. please note that i won't not be taking criticism, but if you do decide to criticize my categorizations, be prepared to back your argument up, and to be told that you are objectively wrong because this is my blog and i have a very high opinion of my decisions

• harry from harry potter - harry is a jock, himbo, AND golden retriever. also bi wife energy
• oliver wood from harry potter - jock, himbo
• john logan from the mistake - jock, golden retriever, simp
• conor edwards from the dare - jock, himbo, simp
• cal from red queen - jock, golden retriever
• peeta from the hunger games - himbo, golden retriever, possibly simp
• matthias helvar from six of crows - himbo, bi wife energy, simp
• alex from red, white & royal blue - golden retriever, simp
• percy from percy jacson - himbo, golden retriever, bi wife energy, and simp, all around all star and i could be persuaded on jock based on capture the flag
• alec lightwood from the mortal instruments - himbo, simp
• mac from macgyver -  as robin said, total golden retriever
• peter kavinsky from to all the boys i've loved before - jock, himbo
• john ambrose mclaren from to all the boys - golden retriever, possible simp (if he ever got the chance!!!)
• nikolai lantsov from the grishaverse - golden retriever, bi wife energy
• emmett cullen from twilight - himbo, bi wife energy
• eros from electric idol - golden retriever with a dark secret, simp
• jameson from the inheritance games - golden retriever
• lucien from a court of thorns and roses - golden retriever, and possibly himbo
• cassian from a court of thorns and roses - golden retriever, bi wife energy
• kronk from the emperor's new groove - himbo, bi wife energy
• thor from the mcu - golden retriever, himbo

now, those are some characters, if there are others you'd like me to categorize i can definitely do that but i want to note something. almost all of these characters are white men, and like i mentioned, a good chunk have blonde hair that may or may not be curly. there is something to be said about media where the nice, sweet love interest is almost by default a blonde white man. i'm not going to pretend like this isn't also a problem that i inherently have - i need more diversity in the media i consume, which is something i hope to accomplish once i'm out of school, so hopefully i can add some more diversity to this list soon! this involves the race of the characters, as well as their gender. while creating this list, i could really only think of one female character to add to this list - luisa from encanto. and unfortunately, i had no ideas for a non-binary or simply non-cis character. 

if you have recommendations on soft characters that don't conform to the traditional form of white man, i would also love those! more softness for 2022!!