Going to miss that laugh.

You get to a point where you feel you know someone after listening to them weekly for five years. Which is why it really hurts that Ryan Davis has passed away. It is always sad when someone dies, even if it is someone you have never met and never will meet, someone who doesn't even know you exist. But when you feel that you know this person on the level that I feel we have all come to know the Bombsquad... then it is like the passing of a dear friend.

I started following the Crew when they did The Hotspot. I know that, but I cannot remember much of it. I was in a bad place mentally at the time and have repressed years of memories it seems, but the guys helped me immensely. When Jeff "left" some of the magic was gone, and I remember not visiting Gamespot much after that. At the time he was the one I really followed. When he and Ryan Davis got together to start a new site, I was overjoyed. Joined one of the first days it was possible to sign up for an account. I had not anticipated what the site would become.

Every member of the Crew is someone I hold dear, in a way. They all have specific qualities and personalities making them people I wish I could hang out with, which have always been wildly unlikely since I live in Norway. While every member of the crew is funny, the one who never failed to make me laugh was Ryan. Simply by laughing he would brighten my day. Seriously, that laughter of his should make anyone smile. You can just hear how much fun he is having, how much he enjoys whatever happens at that specific moment. That laugh has gotten me through recent dark periods, as whenever I feel very blue I just find snippets of Bombcasts or Quick Looks where I know he breaks out in laughter.

The fact that we will never hear that laughter applied to future moments saddens me. But I can take solace in the fact that I can always find that laughter somewhere, in the myriads of videos and podcasts he was in.

And when Saints Row 4 has arrived I shall make my character as close to Ryan as possible. A small way of honoring him, but at least it is something. Rest in Piece Ryan Davis. And thanks for all the great moments.