Harmony Kyrus’ Journey From Silent Webtoon To Vocal VTuber

All eight foot nine inches of Harmony Kyrus might look intimidating at first glance. A title like Autarch of Calamity definitely doesn’t help those optics.

But behind the looming figure of Invicta is someone with the softest heart and a swooning voice to match. His reserved demeanor sits in stark contrast to some of his group mates. And he didn’t necessarily have the confidence he could ever cut it as a content creator ⁠— or the direction on whether he even wanted to in the first place.

However, it doesn’t hurt to try, right?

“I was not planning on streaming or being a VTuber at all,” he explained. “I was very apprehensive of ever doing such a thing because I was never interested in content creation. 

“But I was with a group of friends at the time, and they told me ‘hey Harmony, you should stream because every time you talk about playing a game, or you’re just vibing, you make the funniest comments.’ They kept on telling me and egging me on.”

So the creative took a character from one of his Webtoons and spun it into a VTuber thanks to artist mama Jouvru. The comic idea petered out after COVID, and Harmony saw his design as a convenient option right there on hand to make it work. 

“He wasn’t designed for my type of look or my own persona. He was for a story, so I act more like Harmony would,” he stated.

“I didn’t envision him with my kind of voice. But a lot of people identify Harmony with my voice, and that’s kind of nice. It’s nice to bring him to life in some type of way outside of the webtoon.”

Having the avatar and streaming is one thing. Harmony could stomach all of that. It was all the fanfare around VTubing and the social media presence that really got to him.

On the day of his debut, Harmony was scared full stop. The fact more than 200 people turned up made his stomach churn. Even before that, the day of his model reveal, his phone was blowing up with notifications unlike he had seen before.

“I’m someone who does not have social media really,” he laughed. “Seeing a swarm of people rapidly following me for three days, non-stop, was like ‘oh my God, I’m going to mute the app.’ 

“I’m really shy, and I’m not someone who has my accounts public unless it’s for business stuff. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I left the account for quite some time, but when we all came together ⁠— we grouped up, and we all happened to click.”

That ‘we’ is Invicta, and two years on, they’re still pushing him forward to continue with content creation at his own pace.

Juggling VTubing and real life

Harmony didn’t jump into VTubing head first like many do nowadays. He wanted to do this in his downtime around his full-time job. And by downtime, that meant a stream every month if he could fit it in around his various deadlines.

But when Invicta came around, there was a bit more incentive and accountability to take streaming on the side a bit more seriously.

“I thought if I found the downtime, I would have come back to VTubing,” he explained. “I would want to relax until I get more pay and work less. That would be nice and I’d have more energy to do things and that’s when I’d dive in. 

“But back then, I would have missed that whole wave of where people were interested in our type of models.

“It really would have been on the backburner, and I would have turned to it when I wanted to. If not for the group, it would have been a hobby thing. I would have looked at the account whenever.”

There was also the push from outside. Those friends who egged Harmony into content creation? They saw a change in the gentle giant.

“I was a bit confused at first because I didn’t recall me doing anything much different in my daily life. At the time I was juggling my job, modeling, and academics for my masters. 

“However, my friend clarified there were certain days I’d seem less stressed and I do recall that when I’d stream I would have a lot of fun. At that point I decided I’d like to continue streaming as well and try to delve into it more.”

Now Invicta is like Harmony’s second family ⁠— and at times takes as much time as his day job. However, he will drop everything to help the four boys who have brought him so much joy over the last two years, who have inspired him to be himself.

“If they need any artwork done, graphics, I’ll put my Bachelor to work and I whip it up for them. For other people? I just go ‘that’s too bad.’ These guys? I’ll whip it up. ‘You need a trailer? I know how to use After Effects, let me go and do it real quick.’”

Coming out of his shell and inspiring others to do so

Harmony’s background is in computer animation. Harmony the character comes from one of his own creations. So when it comes to storytelling, there’s no limit to his creativity.

However there was a definite barrier when he started broadcasting his voice to the world. It’s not just a case of his voice not matching Harmony’s expectations, but also trying to subvert the various comments he’s dealt with his whole life.

“I had another friend group and I remember specifically when they heard me later they didn’t realize I sounded like that,” he stated. “I have some form of identity crisis where I would change the tone of my voice a bit higher to sound a bit more normal. 

“I had to train to do voice acting, but then I used that training afterwards to change the way I sounded to what seemed acceptable. That’s not the best thing to do because I wasn’t true to myself.

“When my voice did die, they would hear how I really sounded, and they’re like ‘that’s so different.’ And I would say ‘my voice is dead right now.’ I told them eventually afterwards with VTubing that wasn’t how I really sounded and this is what I do sound like. And they said it would have been nice if they knew because this voice is fine.”

Overcoming voice dysphoria is an ongoing process. So too is just dealing with the social spotlight and finding acceptance from those outside of Invicta: Harmony’s approach is just “I’ll be apprehensive until they tell me this person is fine, then I would go and talk to them.”

But from someone who never saw himself streaming, Harmony is finding himself having a lot more fun with it than ever imagined, and even inspiring people on the way.

“All my friends were like ‘hey we know you’ve never streamed before and you didn’t know what you were doing’ ⁠— I don’t really know how to take such a backhanded comment,” he laughed.

“[Some said] ‘but someone like me, who is very shy… I want to dabble in VTubing too.’ And I was like ‘go ahead.’ It’s nice to know my friends are also inspired and want to try their hand at streaming. I didn’t see myself here in a million years.”

Harmony’s 2.0, much like the rest of Invicta’s, is coming later in 2024. That’s not expected until the end of the year, but it’s got some big aspirations tied to it, including a lore video. And he’s also looking to take his next step to be comfortable with himself ⁠— not just Harmony.

“Streams will be much more energetic to fit the vibe of 2.0 Harmony,” he explained. “I act more like how Harmony as a character would be on stream due to the fact I wrote for him.

“I currently work full time, but I also have a side job to make some extra earnings. I still have a difficult time finding a sufficient amount of time to stream. 

“With me wanting to take VTubing in a more serious manner and achieve partner on Twitch, I need more time. I’m sure however I’ll be able to find days where I can stream much longer.”