There's two wonderful experiences (though sometimes overwhelming) that you can absorb from reading. Get under the skin of the character. Learn what they are thinking and feeling and let it resonate with our experiences. Also, since the subconscious can't separate fact from fiction. A character's death is more strongly felt than for a screen character.

Your deathfics come from a writing gusher! Very cool! Just curious, did you note in the summary or header that your story was an afterlife fic? Sometimes it takes a corporate attorney or diplomat to figure out the best way to approach "truth in advertising" for a fanfic. I wrote one that was difficult to describe. I spent almost as much time on the summary and header as the fic.