When I saw my Twitter feed explode this afternoon, I hadn't bothered to read any of it at first. I had expected either some major video game-related news or something horribly tragic, but I didn't expect both to be true simultaneously. So naturally when I heard that Ryan Davis had passed away, I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach. It's always difficult to even imagine someone as young as Ryan (just a few years older than myself) dying suddenly, especially right after perhaps the greatest moment of his life, yet here we are trying to cope with this realization. His passing seems way too soon and I always expected Ryan to continue making people smile and laugh for many more years whether it's here at Giant Bomb or wherever his future would have taken him.

I share many of the same memories of Ryan as most people here on Giant Bomb. I watch the Quick Looks, read his reviews with curiosity, listen to the Bombcast while in the car or at home. Oddly enough, I was listening to an old Bombcast hearing that infamous giggle Ryan would do on occasion when the news broke. I was also glad to have met Ryan once just a few months ago at PAX East talking about breast milk and other stuff. It's one thing to hear Ryan on a Bombcast or watching him on the site with friends and colleagues, but after talking to him at PAX, you understand why people follow and admire him. Ryan might have been an asshole, but his brand of assholishness was infectious and always cheerful. And of course, he always was the most charmingly garrulous of the group.

It's been 5 years since Giant Bomb officially opened for business and the core four of Jeff, Ryan, Vinny and Brad was a constant for all that time, but I don't know if I will be able to get used to Giant Bomb without its podcast host and summer jam expert. They say time heals all wounds and maybe that will ring true someday, but for now the best way to heal those wounds is to remember those awesome moments. Trust me, there's no shortage of awesome Ryan Davis material. The internet proved that today.

So with that said, my condolences to the staff, friends and family. Thanks for all the great memories.

He'll be missed.

Do llamas cry?

I'm not the crying type, but I did come awfully close.

Thanks duder.

<> RIP

I gotta stop reading this shit, lol. I kind of got lost in other things...then getting back on those fucking internet...tears are coming again.

It is an absolute hole to have someone you have followed for 10 years be taken away. When I read the news, first in the forum and then on the main page, I went into what I guess was a sort of shock. I was dazed. I had to go hide a little bit at work so people wouldn't see that I was just out of it.

It's strange to invest so much in people you don't actually know, but in many ways, seeing someone every day for ten years is MORE intimate a relationship than most people have with people they know.

I looked up to him, I guess I now realize. He was a role model of mine in what bizarre way that makes sense. I think I will remember him for being Jeff's Ed McMahon, and what an amazing thing that really is to do. He was easily as funny as Jeff. He was arguably much more charismatic and friendly. But he was willing to be the guy who was always there with the assist. He seemed like he was a really good friend.

My favorite bombcast moment?

When arguing about reading the Nintendo downloads on the air

Jeff: You know, people have been writing me saying how I'm the boss and I should just be able to TELL you that we're going to read the Nintendo downloads on the air and then we just do it... and I'm thinking... yeah, I COULD just say that..

Ryan: Well, fine then. Go ahead and read them.

Jeff: Well, I don't have them right now...

Ryan: Sorry, boss.