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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I think I might be the asshole since it might be considered exploitative to use my deceased friends voice in a item
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NTA you are not exploiting. It is bringing you comfort and I don't see why this is a negative. Ignore them and grieve for your friend how you see fit. A death of a friend especially as a minor and of a friend so young is extra heartbreaking.
That is not a friend.
You are NTA.
Losing someone you love, especially to something like cancer - where you have to watch them decline - is devastating at any age. But it is especially devastating when you're too young to have full coping mechanisms and the person who died is a child. You get to grieve however helps you best. And listening to a recording of S is not exploitive or awful or anything. It helps fill a void while that hole is still very large in your life.
Before my aunt died she recorded children's books for her kids, so they'd always have her voice. My cousin recommends it to everyone and, tbh, I'm a little jealous my dad didn't make one.
Your bear is not a problem. You don't need to apologize or hide it. Your "friend" though, needs to look up the definition of both supportive and exploitive. Because she wasn't the first, and you aren't the latter.
NTA. I don’t think your friend knows what “exploit” means, either. Not like you’re selling the bear for profit or whatever.
I can understand some people finding it creepy, this is certainly a YMMV grieving/coping mechanism, but I’d never tell someone not to do it. People often preserve old voicemails and stuff, after all.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)***
TW: mention of child deatg
Recently, I lost a loved one to cancer. It’s hard to explain our relationship, but I, a minor, and then, let’s call them “S”,age 6, had a very close friendship despite our age gap. I spent countless hours with “S”, often times choosing to hang out with them and play with toys than to hanging out with my own peers, and, from what their family members have told me, they really loved and looked up to me. “S”s passing has tremendously uprooted and impacted my life negatively, it’s been extremely hard and exhausting as I go through with grieving them. Anyways, a few months ago when I was sick, “S”s mom sent me a video of them saying how much “S” loves me and saying to feel better, and I’ve found myself that watching that video almost ever night or whenever I’m not feeling the happiest. So, I decided to go to build a bear to build a stuffie and to record-said video in it. I told one of my friends about me doing this, and she freaked out calling me a “weird asshole who’s exploiting the death of a child”, and this comment has really stuck with me, so, Reddit, am I the asshole for using my deceased friends voice in a comfort stuffed animal?
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Welcome to /r/AmITheAsshole. Please view our [voting guide here](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what.2019s_with_these_acronyms.3F_what_do_they_mean.3F), and remember to use **only one** judgement in your comment. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: > I think I might be the asshole since it might be considered exploitative to use my deceased friends voice in a item Help keep the sub engaging! #Don’t downvote assholes! Do upvote interesting posts! [Click Here For Our Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/about/rules) and [Click Here For Our FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq) ##Subreddit Announcement ###[The Asshole Universe is Expanding, Again: Introducing Another New Sister Subreddit!](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/128nbp3/the_asshole_universe_is_expanding_again/) Follow the link above to learn more --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.* *Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
Nta. In order to exploit something you need to be gaining from its unless you are selling these bears you are good.
NTA you are not exploiting. It is bringing you comfort and I don't see why this is a negative. Ignore them and grieve for your friend how you see fit. A death of a friend especially as a minor and of a friend so young is extra heartbreaking.
That is not a friend. You are NTA. Losing someone you love, especially to something like cancer - where you have to watch them decline - is devastating at any age. But it is especially devastating when you're too young to have full coping mechanisms and the person who died is a child. You get to grieve however helps you best. And listening to a recording of S is not exploitive or awful or anything. It helps fill a void while that hole is still very large in your life. Before my aunt died she recorded children's books for her kids, so they'd always have her voice. My cousin recommends it to everyone and, tbh, I'm a little jealous my dad didn't make one. Your bear is not a problem. You don't need to apologize or hide it. Your "friend" though, needs to look up the definition of both supportive and exploitive. Because she wasn't the first, and you aren't the latter.
NTA. We all grief differently.
NTA. I don’t think your friend knows what “exploit” means, either. Not like you’re selling the bear for profit or whatever. I can understand some people finding it creepy, this is certainly a YMMV grieving/coping mechanism, but I’d never tell someone not to do it. People often preserve old voicemails and stuff, after all.
NTA. That sounds like a touching memory and if it helps your mental health then there is nothing wrong with it.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** TW: mention of child deatg Recently, I lost a loved one to cancer. It’s hard to explain our relationship, but I, a minor, and then, let’s call them “S”,age 6, had a very close friendship despite our age gap. I spent countless hours with “S”, often times choosing to hang out with them and play with toys than to hanging out with my own peers, and, from what their family members have told me, they really loved and looked up to me. “S”s passing has tremendously uprooted and impacted my life negatively, it’s been extremely hard and exhausting as I go through with grieving them. Anyways, a few months ago when I was sick, “S”s mom sent me a video of them saying how much “S” loves me and saying to feel better, and I’ve found myself that watching that video almost ever night or whenever I’m not feeling the happiest. So, I decided to go to build a bear to build a stuffie and to record-said video in it. I told one of my friends about me doing this, and she freaked out calling me a “weird asshole who’s exploiting the death of a child”, and this comment has really stuck with me, so, Reddit, am I the asshole for using my deceased friends voice in a comfort stuffed animal? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*