Raise your glass in memory of a fallen duder.

The following are merely my thoughts and in no way represent anybody but myself.

Today, one year on, I raise my glass of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to honor the memory of Ryan T. Davis. He was taken from the world too young and too soon. Taswell was a great and very friendly man. Every person who I have ever heard tell of their meeting Ryan has said that he always made them feel welcome. Everyone, regardless of race, gender, or whatever else, was welcome. Ryan may have called people out on their bullshit, but I applauded him for it and I fully expect those around me to do the same for me. On this, the one year anniversary of his death, there is still a hole in my life shaped like a man I never met in person. I may not feel as sorrowful as I did on the day I found out about his untimely passing, but there is still some sadness at the event.

One of the best ways I can see to honor his memory is to continue subscribing to this website and doing my best to not bring discredit to it or the community. Unfortunately, the events of this past week, and during E3 in the chat, were a blemish on the reputation of this site and the community at large. And to be honest, I can't think of a worse week for that shitstorm to take place. By extension, Ryan's memory was not being honored by those "fans" who attacked critics of the site. As @jeff and others have said, that is unacceptable. I feel we, as a community, need to be more proactive in preventing the toxic minority from controlling the conversation, and in doing so help honor the memory of a man we all miss.

In closing, @rorie and the moderation staff deserve major kudos for doing their best to keep the toxic parts of the internet from tarnishing our little corner.

Bottoms up and stay classy, duders.

I always end up listening to his Sonic 4 rant once a week. "The people who made sonic the hedgehog are all dead." Goddamn it I miss Ryan, so damn right I'll raise a glass.

A year after his death, I'm still sadden by it.

;_; Never Forget Taswell.

I will be going out later today to buy some beer and I will surely raise a glass with you. Thank you for your thoughtful post. Ryan was one of the main influences I had in gaming when I was a kid during his gamespot days and was one of the first people I went to when getting back into gaming heavily a few years ago. He is hugely missed by me.

Hell yeah. I've got a bottle of Four Roses somewhere in the house. No better legacy to drink to, I'd say. Ryan had such a positive effect on the people around him, I only wish I got to meet him.

I've had so many dreams over the last year where it turns out Ryan was fine and it was all a joke, waking up from those sucks. Fuck Ryan Davis, for being such an incredibly lovable guy that i'll always miss and never forget.

I miss that man very dearly.

yeah i would raise a glass with you guys also.

Yeah, I miss him to say the least. It baffles me why we lost someone with such a unique personality. There was only one Ryan Davis and there will never be another.

I know Jeff shows strength in his actions, but underneath the business face, I feel for him and hope he is doing ok.

I think about him every day.

does a can of Mike's Harder count? *raise it anyways*

It's been a year since I used this picture for my avatar and I don't think I will change it anytime soon. If I do then I feel like I truly have forgotten him.

I cracked open a beer and am looking at the favorite Ryan Davis moments thread:

That man was a god damn joy.

@jiggajoe14: thanks for linking this.

Hurrah for Ryan!

I just remember seeing Rorie's post on my lunch break and not believing it. The memorial Bombcast was incredibly touching, and that standing ovation at the panel was an amazing moment. Everyone will always remember him fondly.

And although Giant Bomb was just a small part of his life, I'm sure the dude would be proud that the guys stuck together and the site he co-founded just keeps on growing.

R.I.P.

Pump yo Summer Jams.

@sgtsphynx: Honestly dude, I'd just remove the mention of the internet being crazy this week in a memorial thread. No need.

To Ryan...May his spirit carry on and continue to influence dumb video game shit for years to come

Summer Jams are engaged.

Fire.

As sad as I am every day that Ryan is no longer with us, it warms my heart so, so much to always be reminded that there are hundreds of hours of audio and video content out there with him in it, being his best, so he will always be with us in some respect. He will always be putting smiles on peoples faces.

This is my kitten Taswell!

I don't believe there is an afterlife or reincarnation or anything of that style. I know that Ryan Davis was just this personality that came and went from this Earth and I will never see another of his like again. And it sucks, it really sucked last year. I feel like I've about got over the emotional hump, I suppose I've mourned whatever expected future I had envisioned. Mourning is the period until you grow accustomed to that person not being there tomorrow, not hearing that voice, not receiving that perspective.

But maybe it's not all bad. I should stop and consider how lucky I am to live in a time where I could have had any sort of connection with Ryan Davis (HE SAID MY NAME ON TNT ONCE!!!!!!!). It's sheer chance and luck that the first time I sort of carelessly searched iTunes for video game (what is this called, pod-cast? Alright...) podcasts happened to be a Tuuuuesday and thus I listened to my first Bombcast. The first time I listened to the Bombcast, my mental image of Ryan was that he looked more like Brad, and that Brad looked more like Ryan. My mental image of Jeff was spot fucking on. I think I listened to a few and thought they were funny but never wanted to get more involved. Around the time Borderlands came out, and they had that conversation about being an asshole in multiplayer video games, I took the plunge and started visiting giantbomb.com on the regular. I discovered the video content has secretly been fucking amazing this entire year or so I've been keeping it Bombcast. And it kept up. I can remember the feeling of engagement and that this voice resonated with me that must have been how pirate radio listeners felt while rock was young; we're doin' it, man, we're really doin' it!

The one thing I can lean on when trying to look at the better of things is that thanks to this annoying magical communication technology we've stumbled onto, I can try to share Ryan Davis' work with people who didn't get to know him in the moment. We will always have breast milk. We will always have shaking the baby. And I can say that it's not entirely unselfish; I want people I know to understand Ryan Davis' perspective, because I feel that lets them understand me.

Aw fuck it man, smoke 'em if you got 'em. Ryan Taswell Davis, fuck yeah!

I miss that dude. I really, really miss him.

@darkwingduck said:

I miss that dude. I really, really miss him.

I need to type words for a reply. This is everything i wanted to say.

<3

I'm eternally grateful for all the hours of hilarity and enthusiasm Ryan provided in his too short a time on this earth. The man knew how to find the pure joy in any situation, even if it was cutting something down (Sonic sequels) to their shitty-core, he could take something ostensibly terrible and find some level of entertainment for all of us.

Duders forever.

Cheers.

i miss him, but I only have skunky beer for him.

My favorite way to remember Ryan is by rewatching all of TANG on my TV through my Roku. TANG is some of his best work, and he really gets into it in the later episodes and just nails it. Fantastic editing from Vinny, too.

Also, this: Greatest Giant Bomb livestream ever

Regret not going to PAX, it would have been awesome to meet him in person. R.I.P Ryan.

rest in peace still, forever appreciated and remembered

Raising a glass today. I turn 30 today and will have many drinks for Ryan tonight.

Rest in Peace brother! The world lost a great person, and we all lost a great friend. Thanks for everything Ryan.

You'll always be in my heart Ryan, your laugh made me smile always. So me and all my Ponies will raise our glass (of cider) in honor of you!

Can't believe it's been a year, we miss you dude!

This is how I remember Ryan, always laughing and smiling.

@machofantastico: I love this video and the music. I still find it funny that they (Ryan and Will) think that its the Takin' Care of Bushiness people.

I'm glad I was able to be a part of this site before he passed. He's been a major inspiration and definitely had an impact on my humor. Thanks, Ryan Davis.

See you around, Space Duder.

@machofantastico: Also I love that that video points me to the "Power" video of Ryan after it's down.

GLHB Duder, we miss you.

If I would still drink alcohol I'd buy a bottle of the finest wine out there just to raise my glass to him. Thanks for everything Ryan.

Hard to believe it's been a year, cheers to Ryan, miss you duder.

Man, I didn't want this day to come. Remembering how shocked and sad I was one year ago today to hear about the loss of such a great person is really hard to do.

If you knew Ryan Davis at all, you know it doesn't seem crazy at all to say that I've never felt so sad about someone I've never met passing away. Thanks for everything.

Sigh I'm unable to watch any of the Qls involving him anymore. They were the funniest, but I just can't enjoy them any longer :(

I miss Ryan, raise my bottle of diet coke for you.

Still remember hearing the news and it knocking the wind right out of me. So many of us here might not have ever shook his hand, met him or even talked to him, but I think we all consider him an inspiration and a friend.

C'mon Ryan, the joke's old now, you can come out from behind the green screen already.

Watching Ryan play No One Can Stop Mr. Domino on Button Mashing on Gamespot way back when was my introduction to him. That and everything that followed over the next 7 or so years made me think of him and the whole crew as guys to look up to. When I was thirteen I saw these guys as invincible. It still twists something in me when I think of Ryan being gone. I didn't really know him, but I felt like I did. I think that's the point of this whole site and what makes it special. But that just makes it hurt so much more when someone has to leave. Love you GB

Fuck I still miss that dude so much

Me too. He was such an awesome dude. Raise your glasses everyone.