The series my beloved is in has ghosts (sort of) so I can at least pretend that's canon.

Generally speaking I don't think having a 2D beloved that's dead is much different from having on that's alive. Interaction is the same, expect maybe for certain specifics and ignoring a chunk of fanart because they like to reference it unnecessarily.

I usually don't like reading the chapter where he dies but on the other hand it's not something to ignore as he died doing what he thought was right. I only read it when it's the anniversary of his death - that probably sounds more callous that it is.

What exactly are you having trouble with?

>>18574
It's the fact that most everyone seems to focus on it and act like it's the most important thing about him. Even in canon they keep throwing in references and flashbacks, not to mention the fanart. Fans seem to love talking about it and making the same jokes over and over again, then turning around and acting like they love him right after shitting on him like that.

I agree that interaction isn't any different, but I just want to focus on his life, and sometimes it feels impossible with everyone referencing his death constantly. I know I can't completely ignore it (I've tried), but I can't accept it, either. My situation's a little different from yours, because he got murdered in an explicitly pointless and humiliating way, and his murderer had his corpse treated like literal garbage.

Doesn't help that the arc's still ongoing, but it's been that way for such a long time. I'm just tired of thinking about it.

I appreciate your response, by the way.

>>18575
You seem to have it much worse than I do, in regard to how often it's mentioned. My beloved hasn't been referred to officially since his story was over - spin-off adaptations like video games not included.

>My situation's a little different from yours, because he got murdered in an explicitly pointless and humiliating way, and his murderer had his corpse treated like literal garbage.
Makes sense. Sounds like it's not something worth respecting and no positive angle. I can empathise on the corpse desecration, as that happened to my beloved as well. It happened for different reasons but I can't stand any mention of it either. It's one of those things where there was no need for it to happen, which sounds like what your entire incident was, and there's no way to bring it up nicely.
Fanart-wise it's easy to ignore but I can imagine that it's hard to get into the series when they keep bringing it back up, you don't want to skip bits because it's a series you like. My only suggestion is taking a break from it whenever it gets too much and concentrating on his life, even if nobody else seems to be doing it (though it sounds like you're doing that already).

>Fans seem to love talking about it and making the same jokes over and over again, then turning around and acting like they love him right after shitting on him like that.
Fans can be weird. I won't pretend I understand it - it probably just comes down to the lack of attachment. I found it easier to not talk to them (but I never got anything out of fan conversations so there was nothing lost for me) and it became a lot easier to appreciate the series as a whole.

>It's the fact that most everyone seems to focus on it and act like it's the most important thing about him.
That can be very frustrating. People will cling onto one aspect of a character, blow it out of proportion and ignore all the rest. Out of a need to simplify things, I suppose.

I don't think i'll be able to handle it when it happens.

>>18584
Is it likely to?

>>18585
It is and i get depressed just thinking about it

>>18583
>I can empathise on the corpse desecration, as that happened to my beloved as well.
I'm sorry you have to deal with this, too. It's so damn depressing.

>I found it easier to not talk to them (but I never got anything out of fan conversations so there was nothing lost for me)
I don't talk to them either, but it comes up all of the time, so I still end up seeing it when looking for information or fanart.

>My only suggestion is taking a break from it whenever it gets too much and concentrating on his life, even if nobody else seems to be doing it (though it sounds like you're doing that already).
Even if this seemed like obvious advice to you, I'm still grateful to hear it. I've been focusing on this too much lately, for certain reasons I can't explain without giving away who he is. I should just back away for a bit.

>>18586
I hope things work out alright for you, anon. Sorry if that sounds hollow, I'm not sure what else to say. I don't wish this kind of thing on anyone.

>>18593
Thanks, i really hope she'll be allright too.

I honor him in whatever way I can. It's my way of keeping him alive, years after I saw him dead for the first time. I'm a spiritual person by nature so maybe it's easier for me because I don't think death is the end as much as it is a transformation.

Corpse desecration is really terrible and it disgusts me too when I think about what happened to him and how his body was treated after he died. But, at the same time, that body isn't him anymore. He is so much more than a body. It's disrespectful and makes me sick but I can grit my teeth and come to terms with the fact that it isn't him and he can't feel it any longer.

Remember him as he was alive and be the sort of person he would love... that's how I deal with it, I guess.

>>18597
>But, at the same time, that body isn't him anymore. He is so much more than a body. It's disrespectful and makes me sick but I can grit my teeth and come to terms with the fact that it isn't him and he can't feel it any longer.
I do try to keep this in mind, but it's hard when people treat what happened to his corpse as a punchline. It feels like people are shitting on his memory.
Also it's disheartening how many other people have to deal with the corpse desecration issue.

Do you have any specific ways you honor him, like certain rituals? Or is it more about keeping him in your thoughts and such?

>>18593
Understandable, because it sounds pretty constant. Going through chapters in bulk that mention it might be more like ripping off a plaster, as it were.

>>18597
>He is so much more than a body. It's disrespectful and makes me sick but I can grit my teeth and come to terms with the fact that it isn't him and he can't feel it any longer.
Good point. I mostly get angry about it because it was more like an unnecessary final insult. Even in death he couldn't get a break.

>>18586
I hope she makes it out okay.

>>18598
I keep him in my thoughts and try to do things that he would approve of. He was a very giving and loving person so I try to donate time and money to charity and help people when I can, etc. We also share a lot of flaws so I've been working on getting rid of those, too. It feels like I'm honoring him by trying to make the world a better place, I guess, even if it's small stuff.

This is probably a holdover from when I was religious but I think about him very reverently before sleep, too, almost like a prayer. I feel like he's watching over me.

>>18599
>Going through chapters in bulk that mention it might be more like ripping off a plaster, as it were.
The problem is that they're spread out and I don't always remember exactly where they are, so it catches me off-guard.
It should stop once the current arc ends, but that will probably take years at this rate. The author's been dragging it out as long as possible.

>>18600
>It feels like I'm honoring him by trying to make the world a better place, I guess, even if it's small stuff.
Those all sound really nice, though. I bet he'd be proud of your efforts.

>This is probably a holdover from when I was religious but I think about him very reverently before sleep, too, almost like a prayer.
I've never been all that religious, but setting a certain time aside each day just to think about him sounds like a good idea.

>>18601
>The problem is that they're spread out and I don't always remember exactly where they are
Sorry, I didn't say it well. I meant as the series goes on, if you allow the chapters to build up - assuming they mention it once every chapter (or something similar) - going through four in one go sounds easier, to me anyway, that one every week/month whenever there's a new release.

If it's something you intend to read multiple times you could always keep track of when he's mentioned - I did something similar when I was counting what pages/chapters my beloved was in. Maybe by the time you want to re-read it, you won't need something like that.

>The author's been dragging it out as long as possible.
Hopefully over time it'll pop up less and less.

>>18603
>I meant as the series goes on, if you allow the chapters to build up - assuming they mention it once every chapter (or something similar) - going through four in one go sounds easier, to me anyway, that one every week/month whenever there's a new release.
It's not that constant, but that does make sense. The series has been going so slowly that I've been saving up chapters regardless.

>If it's something you intend to read multiple times you could always keep track of when he's mentioned
I think I will. Wasn't sure if that would be excessive, so I'm glad to hear the same idea from someone else.

>>18604
>Wasn't sure if that would be excessive
If it's something you don't want to read, it makes sense to keep track of where it pops up so you can avoid it. It's easier that way.

I did something similar for every appearance and mention my beloved got in his series and I know other people have done similar things. It's not the same but there's something satisfying about knowing every place where your beloved comes up. I just stop reading after a certain chapter (the last stretch of that arc isn't very good, imo, so I don't mind not reading it again) so I don't need to keep track of undesirable pages/chapters.

>>18605
>If it's something you don't want to read, it makes sense to keep track of where it pops up so you can avoid it.
It's more about steeling myself to deal with it when it does come up. They're usually in the middle of relevant things I can't really skip.

>I did something similar for every appearance and mention my beloved got in his series... there's something satisfying about knowing every place where your beloved comes up
I keep track of that, too, just with specific filenames so I know exactly where every screenshot or crop is from. It does feel nice to see him as much as I can.

>>18606
>They're usually in the middle of relevant things I can't really skip.
That's a good point. I don't know the details so I didn't think of that.

>I keep track of that, too, just with specific filenames so I know exactly where every screenshot or crop is from.
Sounds similar to my set up - I give each chapter a folder - though I have a .txt that lists all his appearances as well.

For those of you whose love has a death anniversary, do you do anything special to honor them that day? His is coming up soon and I'm not sure what to do, beyond rewatching/rereading his series.
Also, do you have a hard time dealing with their death anniversary? I've been dreading it for weeks.

>>18611
She dies in multiple timelines, whether it be from something or suicide she doesn't have a particular day. The best I do is acknowledge that there's at least one where she's happy and at peace. I can't even bring myself to take a look at the rest of her source material. Seeing her in anguish that eventually leads up with her death brings me to tears, even thinking about it can bring me down.

>>18613
I'm sorry, anon. It sounds awful having to see her die more than once. I'm glad she gets to find happiness in one world.

>I can't even bring myself to take a look at the rest of her source material.
Does this ever make you worry that you might be missing out on more material of her, assuming there could be a possibility of anything nice?
As much as I hate all of the references to his death, I think dropping the series would bother me more, in part for that reason.

>Seeing her in anguish that eventually leads up with her death brings me to tears, even thinking about it can bring me down.
I feel the same about mine. Hell, that's why I made the thread.

>>18611
I'll read all his appearances again and I'll save up a small project and do it on that day. Remembering and celebrating the time he was alive which always ends up rather bittersweet. I always feel terrible when that month rolls around.

>I'll save up a small project and do it on that day
Sounds nice. What sort of projects have you done, if it's not too intrusive to ask?

>>18614
She only has one or two works which focus primarily on her or shows what she does outside of the main story alongside other characters. I've read one of them and like I said before seeing her in agony wasn't something I was prepared for. While the other other people spoiled me on the major parts shes involved in so I don't really feel like I'm missing out. If anything new comes out she'll probably only pop up here and there but nothing too major will happen.

>>18616
Last year was a picture editing project - I'm not good at that sort of thing so it took a while for it to turn out well. Spending several hours creating something with/for him felt like a productive thing to do on that day.

I wanted to thank all of you for your advice and contributions, they really did help me think things through and try to find healthier ways to deal with this. Even just knowing that others have to live with the same issues eases the pain a bit.

I ended up having a pretty decent day on his death anniversary, even if I couldn't spend as much time with him as I would have liked. I've figured out that I prefer to use his death anniversary to celebrate his life, rather than mourn his passing. (Several of you mentioned this, of course; I don't mean to sound as if I came up with it myself, just that I finally realized it worked for me, too.) Feels healthier and more positive than bogging myself down in depression and anger. I guess it's sort of like the old Irish wake, where they'd throw a party to remember the life of the deceased.

I sincerely hope you all feel more at peace with your own situations, too, or at least that you may find that peace in future.