This month we asked our readers to admit to some previous “movie crushes” they had on various characters. Embarrassing? Vulnerable? Shameful? Sure, but it should make for some good reading, so that cancels it out!

Anthony: Not gonna lie, had a huge crush on Ally Sheedy’s emo inmate in The Breakfast Club. Everything about her, from her creepy sugar sandwich to her high-pitch squeal, was just too friggin adorable. And then they ruined her with that makeover to have Jock Boy notice her. SHE WAS PERFECT AS SHE WAS DAMN YOU!!!!

Emilio didn’t deserve her… Oh, and I feel the same now. Shared the last 26 years of my life with a wonderful woman who reminds me a lot of her.

Thomas: My earliest movie crush in memory was the iconic manic pixie dream girl Leslie Burke in Bridge to Terabithia, played by Anna Sophia Robb. In the years since 2007, I’ve forgotten just about all concrete details about this character and movie, and I’ve never revisted it. Honestly, I try not to think about it, for obvious reasons.

Since then, my movie crushes have been few and far between. When you’re as young as I was and become so enamored with a character who is so full of light and life, only for all of that joy be brutally whisked away in a plot turn I naively had no idea was coming… that trauma stays with you for life.

Justin: I had more than I can count, to be honest. But the ones that really stick out in my mind were the adorable Joan of Arc (Jane Wiedlin) from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, smokeshow Tara (Karen Mistal) from Return of the Killer Tomatoes, determined Monique (Diane Franklin) from Better Off Dead, techno-savvy Kate (Angeline Jolie) from Hackers, virtual-made-reality Lisa (Kelly LeBrock) from Weird Science, wholesome Amy (Amy O’Neill) from Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Alli-with-an-I (Elisabeth Shue) from The Karate Kid, and my long-held ’90s crush Moira Kelly, most notably as Courtney in With Honors.

You know? I feel like I’m completely incriminating myself here as some sort of cinematic creep. But the truth is that I was lonely and fell into crushes way too easily. Can you blame me, really?

Al: I definitely had a thing for both Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat and Ellie Sattler in Jurassic Park. In one sense, they couldn’t be more different. In another sense, I like no-nonsense blondes wearing shorts. No regrets.

Sitting Duck: Mine was Gloria of Kids Incorporated. Part of it is how she’s the show’s eye candy. But she’s also a really good singer, whether belting out Sheila E’s “The Glamorous Life,” Lindsey Buckingham’s “Go Insane,” or Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga.” Though through 21st Century eyes, a lot of the fashions she exhibited could be quite unfortunate. In particular, the Eighties Hair she sported in the first season was ill-advised. But every decade has its fashion shames, and at least the Eighties didn’t stoop to the depths that the Seventies did.

How I feel about her today is a bit complicated. Back when I started working on my ’80s Couch Surfing column for the show, I has this presumption in the back of my head that the actress portraying her was one of the many adults being passed off as teenagers in film and television. So when researching, I was surprised to learn that she was 15 when she first appeared on the show (14 if you count the pilot episode). It just so happens she was one of those mature-looking teens who, with a decent fake ID, could have probably bluffed her way into an adults-only establishment. Even knowing that she’s currently in her fifties, recalling this crush now feels awkward.