Board Thread:News and Announcements/@comment-4820209-20150202184613/@comment-226878-20150209205953

The mourning period can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, so a person's death (whether personally close to you or simply someone who has served as an inspiration) is never really "old news."

They say there are seven stages of grief.

I blinked right past the first stage: Shock and Denial. I hadn't given it much thought when I heard that Monty was in the hospital. When I saw this thread, my first instinct was that it was a distasteful joke, but then I saw who wrote it. I didn't even need to read the first post to know this was serious.

In the second stage, I can't really say I felt any pain. I probably felt a twinge of guilt when I thought of all the things that I wanted to accomplish by now (I'm only three years young than Monty) and something dumb can come along any minute and squash the life out of me and I'll have left behind no legacy.

I've seen others in the third stage: Anger and Bargaining. People saying the idiots at the hospital killed Monty.

The likelihood that the artists and writers are already in stage for (Reflection) is fairly high. Looking inward and determining that Monty affected them not only in the way they present their art but emotionally as well. This stage is typically accompanied with depression and loneliness.

The final three are all about "getting over it". The Turnaround, the Reconstruction, and Acceptance. As I never really attached myself to Monty nor really consider RWBY to be a representation of him, I have already bypassed many of these. Sure, Monty was awesome. I'm going to design a character based on him (several, actually, as per my Modus) and insert them into the stories I write. However, his passing has had nowhere near the impact to my life as had those who were close to me... or, for that matter, even Michael Jackson or Robin Williams. Of course, I probably won't devote nearly as much creativity in their names as I would to Monty.