Monster Fangirls

Malamorous; adjective; of a villain in a work, being appealing to fans despite being the antagonist of the work, often because of handsome appearance or justifiable motivation.
Lately I've been far too in love with villains.

I'm guessing we've all been there. Fangirls, come on. When Loki speaks with just a tad too much melancholy in his cute British voice, when Damon's smiles are a tiny bit too hot, when Moriarty's plans are too brilliant for you not to applaud...I wonder if there's a name for this problem. Chronic Villain-Loving Syndrome. CVLS. It's the new thing.
But why? Why? Why is it that I suspect that, at some times, Draco Malfoy had more fans than Harry did. And definitely more than Ron. (Poor Ron. Nobody loves you.) Why is it that we take one look a deliciously evil villain and fall in love? Is it just the delicious part?
I have a few theories.
Personally, I love heroes with a dark side and villains with a sweet side. There's just something inherently interesting in that kind of character conflict to me. Think about even something as light as, say, Queen Elsa struggling with her control. She's not a villain(though she was supposed to be), but we were taken in and made incredible sympathetic to that struggle. I'm still fascinated with it. Or when a villain starts considering going over to the good side, frequently for love. This sort of conversion can go extremely well or extremely badly, in my opinion, but it's usually interesting either way. We get to watch this person, uncomfortable i their new role, either adapt or eventually break under the pressure. So perhaps it's the problems we get to see these conflicted characters go through that really make it interesting.
Or is there just some inherent appeal to that darkness? Maybe it's the tortured thing. Or the cocky attitude. Or the fact that villains are constantly wearing the awesomest clothes.
Maybe it really is just the fact that a lot of villains are capital-H Hot. Take a moment and run it over in your head. Loki. Killian Jones(or Regina, whichever you prefer). Faith Lehane. A lot of them are. There's a name for this phenomenon.
However, I have a higher opinion of the average fangirl than that, so may I present my last theory...
They're just better written.
I have nothing against heroes who are unabashedly, well, heroic. Some of them are adorable and admirable and awesome. But every once in a while you run into one of these. The hero who's just...the hero. They seem to be little else often. Sometimes it's that they have no real faults or character arc. Sometimes it's that they simply have no character at all. Whatever it is, in comparison to the guy over there in the leather pants, he comes across as bland. The villain gets the backstory and the snappy one-liners, while Mr. Justice is stuck insisting on the same attitude and plan every time because anything else is unacceptable. You end up favoring the guy you were supposed to hate.
Or, I suppose you could chalk it up to simple fangirly serendipity. No real reasoning behind it. Just something you feel, something unplanned, like most emotions. When it comes down to it, the kind of character you fall in love with is unpredictable and not exactly easy to break down to a science. Ah, the woes of writers.
May your swords stay sharp and your chocolate stocks always plentiful.