hijackspace said: i’ve been meaning to ask u about culling of the fold. my sense of serial murderers is that their empathy typically is not so functional. in stories often they consciously choose to not kill innocents, like selective empathy? romantic>realistic? ._.
If you’re asking why they tend not to kill innocents in stories, I would relate this to being the author’s empathy playing out through the character. We see several instances of serial killers throughout history who killed/raped/mutilated children, women, etc. I actively chose not to have either character in Culling of the Fold intentionally killing children because that exists outside of my comfort zone as an author. I will never, ever, write an anti-hero who kills or abuses children or the handicapped. It disgusts me beyond all reason. I cannot and will not ever romanticize taking the life or harming a child or the medically dependent. It is far easier for me to write an anti-hero who acts as a limb of our own inner monsters.