how can people be so heartless

The blurred experiences and devastated love stories tend to make a heart insensitive. When it has been injured too much or too often, and they are inclined to build a fence around their own heart to prevent any further injuries sustained. For example, if you were to take a character from a compelling drama series such as 'Breaking Bad' or "The Sopranos'... that kind of figures appear to be without any vulnerable place for affection, layers upon layers of misery and failure turned them cruel even if they were not actually bad people deep down. However, beneath the hard-faced traveler there's always some trace of tenderness left alive. Therefore, if you accuse someone of being unfeeling, it's necessary first to know their story and what kinds of trials they have undergone.

Selfishness often blindfolds people to the feelings of others. Characters in many animations works like 'Goblin Slayer' or 'Berserk' are sometimes portrayed as heartless but they are often so because of their single-minded pursuit of their goals. It's the survival instinct, the primal need to protect oneself first that comes into play. So while actions might seem heartless from the outside, they are often carried out to protect their own interests, which is just human nature.

People aren't born heartless, circumstantial forces often shape them that way. In the world of video games, for example, many antagonists from 'The Last of Us' or 'Final Fantasy' series are seen as heartless till their backstory is revealed, illustrating how they became what they are due to their past bitter experiences.

Wow, we do wonder sometimes, don't we? Well, look at it this way: heartlessness can be a sort of emotional armor. In anime series like 'Attack on Titan' or 'Tokyo Ghoul', characters possess cold, heartless sides. But mostly, this heartlessness stems from despair, pain, or perhaps a mechanism they built to survive in their harsh realities. Often, they're wounded warriors rather than heartless beings.

I reckon it's all a matter of perspective. We label people as 'heartless' based on their actions that may seem cruel to us, but in their perspective, they might be doing what they believe is right. Just like how many characters in novels such as 'Game of Thrones' appear heartless, but a closer look uncovers their motivations, their fears, and their justifications.