Elena sat on the sofa holding her great-granddaughter and the two began to watch Totoro, without even realizing it, Elena found herself captivated by the characters' intentions.
On the balcony of the apartment, Christoffer was disciplining his son.
"How can a lieutenant be so irresponsible?! Not only did you let my granddaughter marry a random boy, but you also forgot to look for her parents, whom you hadn't seen for years."
"Grandpa, she's not a random boy, we've been studying together since high school, we've known each other for over 30 years.
"But what nonsense are you talking about, it took your grandmother and I 150 years to get to know each other properly, and another 50 to decide to get married, now you've met a useless boy and decided to marry him after a few years, that's a shame, kids these days are very shameless."
"....."
눈-눈
"Grandma told me that she took the initiative, because you were too embarrassed to do anything."
(╬ ಠ益ಠ)
"What did you say?! How dare you answer your great-grandfather, down on the floor, I want 50,000 push-ups."
"Ehhh?!"
With a depressed face, the girl got down on the floor and started doing the push-ups, Brian stood up dripping with sweat and looked at his father, Christoffer had an expression of shame and dissatisfaction, Brian couldn't help but smile.
"Dad, I know you're angry, but Daniel's a good kid, even though he's not going into the military, he's very good at his job, you know Divine Soldier, it's an animation that's become very popular lately, Daniel's company makes it."
"Animation? Divine Soldier? TSH, these things are just nonsense, there's no such thing as a supreme soldier and things like that, it's these stupid things that spoil the minds of young people, it's quite obvious that these things are made by civilians, who have just gone through compulsory military service, he must not have a good future."
"That's not true... arf... Daniel is very talented... arf... he's even trying to find... arf... the company that made that movie... arf... that Ana likes... arf... he'll fix it... arf... a lot of success with the new type of animation... arf..."
"Hm?! What are you mumbling about?! Look how out of breath you are after doing a few thousand push-ups.
Kids these days are getting lazier and more rebellious, I'll judge this Daniel for myself, but don't blame me if he's not good enough."
"All right, Dad, let's go inside while Malena finishes her exercises."
"All right, but where is this boy who hasn't come to introduce himself so far?"
"Daniel started a company recently, so he's been pretty busy, but he's coming to meet you and Mom tonight."
"Right, Elena, tonight we need to... what happened?"
As soon as Christoffer entered the apartment, he saw Elena wiping away her tears.
"Huh?! Oh, it was nothing, but this movie brought back some very old memories, and I ended up getting emotional, hehe, I think I'm getting old."
Brian felt like the world had been turned upside down, his mother, known as General Iron Blood, feared and respected for having trained literally billions of soldiers, had actually been moved by a movie.
Brian looked down at his hands, then looked around, even nudged the waist of the old general next to him, receiving an annoyed and dissatisfied expression, before he could react, a huge fist was coming towards his face.
(Yes, I think I'm dreaming.)
.......
In the evening the family was finishing dinner, Malena was sitting next to a rather thin man with a frightened expression.
Brian was next to his daughter, he was holding some ice on his black eye, since the old general had forbidden him to use any medicine.
"Dad, you didn't have to hit me so hard, I just pinched your waist, I bet it didn't even hurt."
"You brat, you're still grumbling, you've really lost your respect, tomorrow we'll go to the training center, so you can receive your punishment, but right now I want to talk to this boy."
"But Dad..."
Brian tried to complain, but only received a look from the old general, so he lowered his head and decided to stay silent.
"So you..."
"Chris, I want to talk to him."
"But darling, I wanted to..."
Christoffer tried to complain, but only received a look from Elena, so he lowered his head and decided to remain silent.
Malena, looking on, was surprised by her grandmother.
(Dad and Grandpa are very similar, but Grandma is really amazing, I think I'll ask her for some advice, in case Daniel wants to do something stupid in the future).
Malena glances at the man sitting next to her. Daniel feels a shiver run through his body.
(Damn it, calm down, they're Malena's grandparents, even though they're famous and extremely influential generals, I don't need to be nervous... shit, I think I'm going to throw up).
"Your name is Daniel, right?"
"Yes ma'am."
"My granddaughter said she's working with the company that made the Totoro movie."
"... I... we're not working with them, in fact we're trying to get in touch, to try a partnership."
"....."
"I see, my granddaughter seems to like you a lot, I hope you don't disappoint her."
Elena stood up and looked at her husband, who seemed dissatisfied.
"Let's go to sleep, it's been a long trip and I'm tired."
"What?! But darling..."
"Is there a problem, Christoffer Maxwell?"
"I wouldn't want to, you're right, come to think of it I'm tired too, children, we'll go to sleep first, don't make a sound."
"...."
"...."
"...."
"Is it just me, or did your grandmother look disappointed?"
"Hmm?! I don't know, it's hard to tell since her expression never changes."
......
Later, Daniel and Malena were lying in bed, and just as Malena was about to fall asleep, a light suddenly illuminated her face.
"Hmm?! What the? Hey, what are you doing? I was almost asleep."
"I'm sorry, dear, but I can't sleep."
"They haven't answered yet?"
"No, I tried looking for any other way to get in touch, but I couldn't find it."
"I don't understand why you're so anxious, it's just a fledgling animation company, even though Totoro is very good, it was still put on for free."
"Don't be naive, this Batata Produções, it's just a front, this movie only has 500 million views, so it's not very popular with the general public.
But if you look at the comments, most of them are cheerleaders, questioning how this movie was made, when you think about it, it's obvious..."
"....."
"I'm not in the mood for this, just say it and go to sleep."
"... Okay, okay... this kind of movie is something that's never been done before, nobody would swap ultra-realistic animation for 2D animation, it would be difficult to predict the audience's reaction to such different animation, and besides, making 2D animation is simply too difficult.
Today's AI can't help much when it comes to 2D animation, so you have to do almost everything by hand."
"Wow, that's amazing, I'm going to sleep now, so turn off that bracelet."
"Honey, you don't understand, this movie is probably a test by some big programming company, they must have developed a super animation AI, I bet this new AI can change the animation line, and replace all the manual work..."
"Daniel, I swear, if you don't shut up and turn this thing off, I'm going to rip your arm off with that damn bracelet."
"....."
"....."
"... Sorry, I'm going to sleep."
..........
Pov Alexandre Lockhart
..........
As soon as I finished the song, I stopped for a moment before laughing, my heart pounding, it had been a long time since I'd played a song like that, I think I got a bit carried away.
"WOW, that was amazing, brother plus one."
"Haha, thanks Meli, but we've already annoyed the store owner enough."
"Huh?! Don't mind me, I was actually just as excited as your sister, that's the first time I've seen someone play a musical instrument so well.
I'm sorry, it seems I haven't introduced myself yet, my name is Maria Belmont, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Almost as if someone had pinched her ass, Mom jumped up with wide eyes.
"Wait, you're Maria Belmont?"
"Do you know her, Mom?"
"She's one of the greatest singers of the last few centuries, the Belmont family is super rich, they've developed all kinds of weapons for the army.
But hundreds of years ago, a big problem happened that destabilized the family for a while, the main heiress refused to take over the family business, and decided to be a singer, that was big news a few centuries ago.
Hm?! I'm sorry, I shouldn't say it like that."
"Haha, it's okay, it's been a long time, I really was kicked out of the family, but I've never regretted it, I wanted to follow my dream and that's what I did, I can even say that I achieved a little success."
"If even you have achieved a small success, then what about the others?"
We were all lost in this conversation, Mom looked at us and rolled her eyes.
"Maybe you've heard of the singer Amethyst Moon."
"Haaaa, you... you're Amethyst Moon, I...I, I'm a big fan, I love her music."
Jade seemed to have received a shock, she even began to stutter.
"Is she that famous?"
"You don't know anything, Amethyst Moon is one of the biggest names in music, how can you not know her?"
(￣～￣;)
"... I don't know much about music, but I'll listen to some of yours later."
"Hahaha, it's okay, I'm actually a bit curious about you."
"...."
"Where did you learn to play like that? I know a lot of people, but very few can do that"
(Really?! I even missed several notes, since it's been years since I held a guitar).
"I studied a bit, some time ago I made an amateur animated film for my sister, so I picked up some knowledge about musical instruments.
When I picked up the guitar, I just thought I'd give it a go."
She squeezed her eyes shut slightly, before smiling.
"Really? I guess you must be a genius then, too bad people don't recognize that kind of talent."
She looked at me with a fond expression, and ruffled my hair.
"It's been a long time since I've heard such good music, so as a thank you you can have this guitar."
"Really, can I have it? Thank you then"
PA
"Kid, aren't you ashamed? How can you accept something expensive like that?"
Mom slapped me upside the head, almost making me fall, she should learn to control her strength.
(Shame, nonsense! If someone wants to give me something expensive, who am I to refuse?)
"Haha, he's an honest kid, that's good, his name is..."
"Oh, I didn't introduce myself, I'm Alexander Lockhart."
"Okay, so Alex, I'll give you the guitar, but you have to promise to take good care of it, and whenever you have some free time, come by the store and play me a song, what do you say?"
"He accepts."
"Mom?"
"Don't worry, we'll definitely bring him here whenever we have time."
Mom and Jade answer for me, I guess they really are fans.
......
Sitting on the sofa after dinner, I can't help but give Mom and Jade the stink eye.
"I can't believe they made her sign all those things, poor woman, she just wanted to rest, but she had to keep making videos and taking photos."
"Stop complaining, she said it's fine, she even said we can come back whenever we want."
"She was just being polite, Mom..."
I looked over, and Mom was holding up her shirt with Mrs. Maria's signature on it.
"Huh?! Ah, look at the time, Alex, Jade are going to bed, and you Mark are waiting for me in bed, while I take a shower, I'm excited today, so your punishment is over."
"....."
"....."
"Okay kids, time for bed."
Dad got up and ran into the bedroom, I think I understand why women talk about how easy men are.
I looked at Jade, and she didn't even pay attention, she just got up and went to my room while I watched a video that Mrs. Maria had recorded for her.
As everyone went to bed, or almost everyone, I lay down on my bed/sofa and started researching Mrs. Maria, and only now do I understand why Mom and Jade are such fans of hers.
Not only did she reject inheriting one of the richest families in the universe, but when she was banished, she began her career as a singer, and her songs were so successful that she was chosen as a model by the government, as a poster girl against the war.
All her songs are about the loss of someone important, and the sadness and pain that war brings.
The more I researched, the more I realized how incredible she was, you could say that she was the one who shaped the current music market, with all the success she had, the other musicians simply followed the wave without even thinking.
She seems very interested in me, unfortunately I don't intend to become a singer or anything like that, maybe sell a few songs to make some money to start my own company, that's something I can think about later.
........
After finishing my routine, I took a shower and was ready to go back to work, as soon as I opened the door I saw Jade sitting on the bed waiting for me.
"What's wrong?"
"I want you to teach me."
"Are you sure? I can be a bit rough."
"It doesn't matter, I can take anything."
"Hehe, that's fine, but don't blame me when it starts to hurt."
"A little pain won't stop me."
"Right, let's get started then."
.......
"You're doing it wrong, how many times do I have to tell you."
"It's not my fault, my fingertips are hurting."
"That's obvious, you're hitting the guitar strings too hard, you have to be softer, more delicate.
But it went well on the first try, let's stop the lesson here, tomorrow we'll continue."
"Since you're going to play your game, I'm going to play with Melissa."
She got up, ran outside carrying the guitar, she must have thought I was going to take it back, I can only laugh at that.
Sigh
(It seems my time for God Of War is getting shorter and shorter.)
After stretching, I log on to the creation desk, and soon I'm in the white universe with a single planet below me.
"Sir, you have some messages you'd like to see."
Luna appeared at my side with a smile.
"Messages from who?"
"They're all from animation companies."
I had a quick look at some of the messages, and I couldn't help but laugh; apparently some animation companies had watched Totoro, and believed that I had created a kind of AI, capable of creating animation with all kinds of features.
I logged into Vortex, and saw several comments about the birth of a new type of animation, some people even asking when the AI will be released.
"Luna just ignore that, I'll think about what to do later, now let's get to work."
........
Note: I've been quite busy over the last few days, to make up for the delay, a slightly longer chapter.
I should make a time jump in the next chapter, and I'll start focusing more on the games.