New VTuber agency AstraLine is disrupting \u201crun-of-the-mill\u201d storytelling in medium Supplied: Duke Doke \/ AstraLineLucius Merryweather is taking lore into his own hands with his new virtual talent agency AstraLine. With five creators from varied backgrounds, and plenty of backing from Merryweather Media, they\u2019re here to break storytelling conventions in the VTuber space. VTubers and lore go hand and hand. Some build entire universes around their model\u2019s story. Others just leave it as a short aside. But there\u2019s no doubt storytelling is a critical part of the medium, giving an extra leg to the designs fans fawn over. It\u2019s only become more elaborate in 2023 too. Lore videos are commonplace at VTuber debuts. Visual novels are an alternative option too, or even a sketch like Vantacrow Bringer\u2019s during his recent NIJISANJI debut or Haruka Karibu for VShojo. But what happens outside of the big reveals and they\u2019re just sitting there streaming games? How can stories be weaved into these mundane events? \u201cVTuber agencies do not tend to prioritize fictional storytelling all that much,\u201d Lucius Merryweather mused. \u201cMany have commented on this disconnect between VTuber lore. Why is this VTuber\u2019s lore about them being a powerful mythical god, when they just play Apex? \u201cMy opinion is that this disconnect is fun. It\u2019s fun to watch a powerful mythical god play Apex Legends and talk about anime.\u201d Despite that enjoyable uncoupling, VTubing\u2019s top loremaster wants to take storytelling in the virtual space even further. That was ultimately the inspiration behind his new project AstraLine. \u201cAstraLine is an agency with a focus on story events,\u201d he continued. \u201cAn evolving storyline with villains, world-building, with every member getting their chance to shine both in their own storylines, and appearing in others storylines.\u201d The VTuber agency, aligned with Merry\u2019s existing Merryweather Media brand, is debuting on September 2 with five members. The Danish dog VTuber is included in that, alongside long-time friend Lumi. He\u2019s also branched out into his network of eclectic content creators to handpick the final three. Alfhilde Odinsdottir, also known as Alfi, is a history buff. Nick Nocturne, known for the popular Night Mind YouTube channel, is a master of all things \u201cunfiction\u201d. And while Fredrik Knudsen, the man behind Down The Rabbit Hole, isn\u2019t too keen on being called a \u201cdocumentarian\u201d, he is well known for his deep dives into all things internet culture and weird history. The five of them combined \u2014 given Lumi\u2019s musical and cosplay lean, and Merry\u2019s background in creative writing \u2014 bring a whole new skill set to VTuber storytelling. And if you chat to any one of them, they\u2019re keen to break the rules and redefine what it means to be a virtual star. \u201cThe average VTuber follower can boil what a VTuber is to a quick sentence or two \u2014 and that\u2019s just not enough for us,\u201d Nick Nocturne told Dexerto. \u201cWe\u2019re about what can be done that breaks those run-of-the-mill expectations, doing new things with the medium and platforms, telling stories beyond just lore videos on debut.\u201d Bringing traditional YouTube storytelling to VTubing Speaking to all of AstraLine\u2019s VTubers, there\u2019s one unified focus: bringing traditional YouTube storytelling to VTubing. That \u201cevergreen content\u201d, Merry said, won\u2019t be the only focus. But it\u2019ll play a core role in the world building around AstraLine, as well as bring VTubers into a space known for its faceless stars. Fredrik and Nick are big assets in that regard. The two have a combined following of two million subscribers on YouTube from this long-form timeless content. But streaming presents a new medium to share that craft, and weave new stories they couldn\u2019t before. \u201cI came to terms with the intuition that I was missing a great opportunity to expand my abilities of content coverage and exploration by not streaming,\u201d Nick admitted. \u201cThe few moments I [streamed] on YouTube for my channel, Night Mind, showed me there was definite value in it.\u201d \u201cHistorically, I\u2019ve never found success doing what other people are doing,\u201d Fredrik added. \u201cAstraLine shares a lot of the same language and conventions of a typical VTubing agency, but our roster allows us to do things very differently. \u201cEven as a totally indie VTuber, I was rather unique in my content in the way I would dive into and share peculiar topics that interested me. But in this new context, I think we\u2019ll stand out even more. We\u2019ll discover niches that people didn\u2019t even know existed by creating the content that we want to see but nobody is making.\u201d Nick spoke at length about this \u201cunfiction\u201d element that exists in VTubing. There\u2019s already a suspension of disbelief and reality built into the virtual world via the models streamers use. Why not take that a bit further? There are ways to build these stories across platforms, and ultimately across mediums. It brings the viewers right into the action \u2014 you\u2019re not just watching along, but immersed in the universe and encouraged to interact. You can explore niche topics and tropes with intrigue and curiosity. And while if you dig you can read between the lines, where\u2019s the fun in that? AstraLine is a way to fully utilize the medium\u2019s potential in that regard and give fans something they didn\u2019t know they wanted. \u201c[There was] a sincere feeling of a need to present VTubers who are delivering more than just performances for streams and a few recorded audio works,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe want our viewers [to be] inspired to\u2026 have niche interests and love them freely. The very idea of what we can do to assist the community in discovering what they can find in themselves, I think, compels us just as strongly, if not more, than the spirit of sheer entertainment or comfort.\u201d It\u2019s not just the unfiction though. It\u2019s the real-world stories lost to time. That\u2019s where people like Fredrik and Alfhilde come into play. Whether it be an internet fable or random questions of history like \u2018how did people dye their clothes\u2019, VTubers have a way of sharing those tales in a unique manner. \u201cI think a lot of people associate [history] with boring teachers and falling asleep in class in their high school days,\u201d Alfi said. \u201cI hope to change that perception with my content. I want it to be more fun and digestible and perhaps bring up topics that not many people talk about. \u201cI hope all of our viewers can indulge in our various passions with us all and share our excitement and go on this adventure with all of us.\u201d Expanding the Merryweather Media empire AstraLine is quite the undertaking with all that in mind. But Merry\u2019s team has the resources at hand to pull it off. \u201cMerryweather Media and AstraLine are set up to function and thrive alongside each other,\u201d he explained. \u201cAstraLine talent have the unique ability to work alongside our in-house art talent, and create projects with them, rather than being dependent on commissioning outside creators.\u201d The studio is already known for its mega-popular Webtoon comics and existing VTuber lore projects for VShojo, NIJISANJI, and more. But they have hired more managers and staff to give AstraLine the tools to succeed in its own world-building mission. This includes a Live2D-specific artist and rigger in-house, which could be tapped for expansive projects. \u201cIt is, to my knowledge, the first time an art studio itself has launched a VTuber agency! And all of our art team is incredibly excited to work alongside VTubers, whose success will also bring many benefits to our artists. \u201cWe all love VTubers in this company, and this is our chance to create our very own VTuber IPs!\u201d All members spoke about how this presents a great opportunity to expand on the content ideas they\u2019ve had but maybe couldn\u2019t tackle solo. The limitations of VTubing are there to be explored, and in doing so, new styles of content unlocked for everyone \u2014 not just AstraLine\u2019s members. It\u2019s also a bit full circle for Merry and Lumi individually, who have been working towards finding a collective to share this varied content journey with. \u201cMe and Merry started our VTubing journey together in 2020 so we\u2019ve always worked together hand in hand,\u201d Lumi said. \u201cEventually we wanted something like AstraLine to be a safe haven for us and our friends. \u201cYou see many VTuber groups and you can feel the warmth from them so we wanted something like that too. A family.\u201d Friends, first and foremost AstraLine only works, though, because of the bonds between its five members. They might not share content styles or even tastes, but they do bring innate curiosity and a willingness to break the rules. And, as Nick Nocturne put it: \u201cWhat\u2019s not exciting about a group of diverse creators who bring new things to the table instead of just filling a role and playing some games for a while?\u201d Yes, they\u2019re all tied to the eccentric Danish dog in some way. They were handpicked to join this project, nearly a year in the making, for a reason. \u201cHe has been a close friend for the majority of my professional career, and we\u2019ve leaned on each other frequently,\u201d Fredrik stated. \u201cEvery time I\u2019ve worked on something with him, it\u2019s been an absolute joy. But it goes beyond that. Even in that short time, where previously they might not have all been tied together before then, they\u2019ve managed to connect deeply with each other and make lasting friendships. \u201cWe gel well together both on and off stream. This makes interesting collaborations extremely easy, since we all can bring something unique to one another\u2019s streams naturally,\u201d Fredrik continued. \u201cI feel much happier and supported now than before AstraLine,\u201d Alfi added. \u201cI feel like I am part of a family and I feel immensely more positive and excited for the future with all my friends supporting me. \u201cPersonally I never felt like I would fit into any idol group and I\u2019ve hovered from friend group to friend group. The topics I talk about are sometimes quite niche. To be offered a place in a group where I could just continue being myself, build on top of that, being given more chances to do cool things, and hang out with my friends felt amazing.\u201d And for Merry and Lumi, who as a duo has been there for each other through thick and thin in VTubing and content creation, they get the joy of sharing their craft with a group for the long haul \u2014 not just the odd commission with a creator here or there. \u201cWe get to enjoy this beautiful genre of entertainment with more friends we trust and vibe with. And of course, now we\u2019re halfway to filling up an Among Us lobby,\u201d he laughed. \u201cAnd since our managers all have VTuber avatars themselves, and we have a whole art team behind us, I am sure filling up big game lobbies will hardly be an issue!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New VTuber agency AstraLine is disrupting \u201crun-of-the-mill\u201d storytelling in medium Supplied: Duke Doke \/ AstraLineLucius Merryweather is taking lore into his own hands with his new virtual talent agency AstraLine. With five creators from varied backgrounds, and plenty of backing from Merryweather Media, they\u2019re here to break storytelling conventions in the VTuber space. VTubers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44725\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}