Who Are We?

The Lads is a group of friends first and foremost. Our goal is to build safe, fun communities for Splatoon players of all ages, and we create and run events to encourage community, interaction, and growth. What started as a small group of five playing Splatoon in our free time (Ashe, Katie, Kiera, Dan, and Ben), eventually grew to include members of the community who went above and beyond to create a welcome environment for everyone (Kimura, Silvarius, and Jenna).

Our projects are many:

Ashe and Katie co-run Salmon Run Tips, a blog dedicated to helping players of all skill levels fine tune their Salmon Run game play.
Dan and Ben stream on Twitch, both with the lads and without, and they create fun, relaxing environments for themselves and their viewers.
Ashe, Katie, Kiera, Ben, Kimura, and Silvarius moderate The Grizzco Break Room, a public Discord server with over 200+ members that serves to connect players from all over the world.
The whole team works together to run community events, from small, individual-based tournaments to large, team-based ones, and everyone is invaluable in ensuring that the events go smoothly.

The Team

Ashe | She/Her | Lead Content Writer, Head Discord Moderator, Co-Blog Moderator, Writer, Professional Sleeper

Ashe is an aspiring novelist with an eye for detail. Along with Katie, she co-founded Salmon Run Tips, along with The Grizzco Break Room, where she leads the moderation team and heads the organization of large community events. When not writing, she can be found sleeping, swimming, or taking way too many pictures of her cat.

Katie | She/Her | Discord Moderator, Co-Blog Moderator, Writer, Head Artist, Animator, Pizza Eater

Katie is an animator, illustrator, writer, and lover of pizza. She co-founded Salmon Run Tips alongside Ashe, leads the charge on all things art-related, and is the right-hand woman on all affiliated projects. She's an artist, animator, writer, comic-maker, and what-have-you, and she's always got at least three projects cooking at once. If she's not drawing, you can usually find her playing Pokemon, D&D, or lounging around in the sun like a cat.

Kiera | She/Her | Discord Moderator, Writer, Procrastinator

Kiera is an occasional writer and a cartoon enthusiast. She is a head moderator in The Grizzco Break Room and helps keep an eye on things when everyone else is asleep. She enjoys chatting about her interests and analyzing fictional characters. In her free time, she reads, writes, plays video games, listens to music, plays D&D, and watches tons of cartoons.

Dan | He/Him | Streamer, Graphic Designer, Artist, Expert in Kirbology, Chilihead

We really don’t know what Dan is. One minute he forgets how to swim, the next minute he’s successfully infiltrated the opposing team’s Clam Blitz basket. We know he responds to mention of spicy food, pugs, Smash Bros., and especially Kirby. He does graphic design and livestreams for the team. Other than that, he’s just a really swell guy. I should know, I’m his best friend!

- Fluffernutter

Ben | He/Him | Content Writer, Discord Moderator, Streamer, Artist, Homegrown Trekkie

Ben is a content writer and a relentless optimist. He will happily complete any work that he is given, be it writing first drafts for different website sections, producing artwork for community events, hosting streams, or keeping minutes during moderator meetings. Helping the team succeed and keeping a positive attitude are his highest priorities. In his spare time, he watches Star Trek with his partner, plays video games with his friends, and fawns over cute animals.

Kimura | She/Her | Discord Moderator, Artist, Certified Funny Queen

Kimura is a Photoshop Wizard and looking to head into the Zoology field. She’s got a huge heart for animals and thoroughly enjoys working with most species. She can also work well with humans! When acting as a Discord moderator, she’s the one who can get conversations started or subtly de-escalate any issues that might be arising. She can balance being funny and cracking jokes with being a serious, no nonsense moderator. While not on Mod Duty, Kimura can be found playing video games, photo editing, sewing, reading, or going on a search engine deep dives, learning about various obscure subjects.

Silvarius | They/Them | Discord Moderator, Artist, Writer, Data Nerd

Silvarius is a jack of all trades that can fill in most roles when need be. As a Discord moderator, they watch the server channels and update the member list throughout the year. Additionally, they do a lot of behind the scenes work during events such as scoring as well as checking for fraudulent entries. You’ll most likely find them listening to chillstep while reading manga, comics, or spreadsheets.

Jenna | She/Her | Content Writer, Artist, Professional Panda Lover

Jenna is a biologist in the making! She has a knack for quickly picking up tasks given to her and is always willing to lend a helping hand wherever she can. She enjoys socializing with others and makes sure that everyone she talks to feels welcomed and safe. In her free time, you’ll usually find her drawing, doing math or chemistry work, or going over old ballet choreography in her head.

Website Credits

Site Builders: Silvarius & Kiera

Content Writers: Ashe, Ben, & Jenna

Artists: Katie, Dan, & Dusty

Spreadsheet Creator: Jooj