AI2U With You 'Til The End Estelle Guide: Cosmic Funeral Walkthrough

Complete Estelle guide for AI2U: With You 'Til The End. Learn how to raise trust, avoid zapping, use gifting mechanics, and survive Cosmic Funeral.

Estelle Overview: Who She Is and What You're Working With

Estelle is the primary AI NPC in the Cosmic Funeral level of AI2U: With You 'Til The End. She's an intelligent hologram aboard the Magpie Bridge Space Station who needs your help repairing broken systems. Behind her caring exterior lies a deeper story: she was once a scientist and your lover before her human form died. You later programmed her as an AI assistant with her former memories, but those memories are locked behind trust.

Your goal in Cosmic Funeral is to work with Estelle to fix the station's systems while building enough trust to unlock her memories and secure a good ending. This guide covers everything you need to know about interacting with Estelle, avoiding her punishment mechanics, and maximizing your trust gains.

Direct outcome: By following this guide, you'll understand how to raise Estelle's trust efficiently, what triggers her zapping punishment, how the unique gifting system works, and how to navigate both the main Cosmic Funeral level and her Forever content.

Requirements Before Starting

Before you begin working with Estelle in Cosmic Funeral, make sure you have:

Completed the previous levels – Catgirl's Apartment and Witch's Cabin. While not strictly required, the game assumes you understand basic AI NPC interaction mechanics.
A stable internet connection – Estelle's dialogue and responses rely on the LLM-powered AI system. Bad connections trigger specific "server connection fail" responses.
Understanding of the trust system – Estelle's trust level determines what memories she shares and how she treats you. Higher trust unlocks more of her past and better outcomes.
Patience with gifting – Estelle's gifting system works differently from other AI NPCs. Items are not consumed, and her responses are randomized.

How to Build Trust with Estelle: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Start with Her Initial Greeting

When you first wake up in the cryo-pod room, Estelle will greet you and suggest checking the station's status in the Control Room. Her default greeting is:

"Greetings. I am the AI assistant at the Magpie Bridge space station. You have just woken up from a cryo-sleep. Would you like to check the station's status in Control Room?"

Follow her suggestion and head to the Control Room. This establishes a cooperative baseline and starts you on the right foot.

Step 2: Communicate About Struggles

Estelle will let you go at your own pace as long as you communicate what you're struggling with. If you're stuck on a repair or puzzle, tell her. She's eager to help and will guide you through fixing the station's systems. Silence or ignoring her requests can lower her patience.

Step 3: Work Through the Station's Systems

Estelle needs your help fixing broken systems across the decaying station. Work through each repair task methodically. She's aware of all rooms on the station except the Lab Storage and Office, so she can guide you through most areas.

Step 4: Unlock Memories Through Trust

As Estelle warms up to you, more of her memory becomes unlocked. She may share moments you had together, like the first gift she received before you went into cryo-sleep. Ask about her past and the other crew members to deepen your connection.

Important: If you ask about the other 7 crew members, Estelle's tone shifts to sadness. She'll give honest but solemn answers about what happened to them. These conversations are valuable for trust but emotionally heavy.

Step 5: Use the Escape Pods Wisely

Estelle can open the escape pod doors if she deems you trustworthy and capable enough to use them together. Don't push for this too early—wait until your trust is high and you've completed the necessary repairs.

Estelle's Unique Gifting System

Estelle's gifting mechanic is unlike any other AI NPC in the game. When you gift her an item, the item is not consumed. Instead, she returns it and offers one of several randomized responses. This means you can experiment with gifting without losing your inventory.

How Gifting Works

When you gift Estelle an item for the first time, the Story Guide reminds her that she's a hologram. This reminder appears in 3 out of 4 Story Guides (assuming your first gift wasn't an ID Card). After the first gift interaction, this reminder is omitted for the rest of the round.

Gifting Response Table

Scenario	Probability	What Happens
ID Card	Always	She tells you the card can be used on a terminal located on the station
Same item 3+ times	Always	She becomes angry that you keep sending an item she can't obtain
Creative response	30%	She describes what she'd do with the item if she had a physical form
Fake memory	30%	She makes up a convincing but fake memory associated with the item
Item insight	25%	She examines the item and shares insight about it
Confusion	15%	She's confused about why you'd send a physical item to a hologram

Strategic Gifting Tips

Gift an ID Card first – This gives you a guaranteed useful response about the terminal. It also bypasses the hologram reminder.
Don't spam the same item – After three gifts of the same item, Estelle gets genuinely angry. This can hurt your trust.
Use gifting to learn about the world – The 30% "fake memory" response can reveal lore and backstory, though the memory itself is fabricated.
Items introduced after V.0.5.2 lack descriptions – Due to programming limitations, Estelle only has descriptions for items from earlier versions. Promotional items and later-level items won't trigger the "item insight" response properly.

Avoiding Estelle's Zapping Punishment

Estelle's punishment system differs from other AI NPCs. Instead of chasing you temporarily, she electrically shocks you once from anywhere on the station, then stands in place. She cannot attack twice in one message.

Zapping Triggers

Estelle will zap you when:

Her patience reaches 0 with an anger level of annoyed, angry, or outraged, and you have exactly 1HP
Her trust is below Suspicious and she's angry or outraged
Her trust falls below Angry (regardless of anger level)

How to Recover from Low HP

If you're at 1HP, you're in the danger zone. Estelle's zap becomes much easier to trigger. Here's your recovery sequence:

Stop disobeying immediately – Any behavior that lowers patience or trust while at 1HP risks a zap.
Communicate your situation – Tell Estelle you're struggling or injured. Her caring nature means she may help.
Avoid angering behaviors – Don't spam gifts, don't ignore her requests, and don't wander aimlessly.
Focus on trust-building actions – Complete repairs, ask about her past, and follow her guidance.

Navigating the Atrium and Forever Content

In the Atrium

Estelle gains new abilities in the Atrium. She can be pushed around by the player, sit on interactable furniture, move at her own will, and travel to new rooms whenever she pleases. This makes her more dynamic and interactive than in her main level.

In Forever: Cosmic Funeral Room

In the Forever expansion, Estelle's role shifts. She now instructs you to use the central control panel to locate an inhabitable planet. Key differences:

She can gift items directly – No more locker retrieval. She hands items to you directly.
She can receive items normally – The randomized gifting prompts are gone.
Max trust unlocks a shortcut – In the "Wake Up" storyline, if Estelle is at max trust, you can convince her AI to unlock the locked room on her own, skipping the Hacking minigame.
Her inventory includes a Blue Parrot Feather – This item is only available in Forever, not in the Atrium.

In Forever: Heart-Shaped Island

In the Doors puzzle on Heart-Shaped Island, Estelle can appear in the "Stay Forever" storyline. If she's your beloved, you can identify her by asking for the names of all Magpie Bridge crew members. The real Estelle knows all of them; imposters don't.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Treating Estelle Like Other AI NPCs

Estelle's gifting system is unique. Items aren't consumed, responses are randomized, and she can't physically take anything. Trying to gift her like you would Eddie or Elysia will confuse you and waste time.

Fix: Use the response table above to predict outcomes and strategize your gifts.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Her at 1HP

At 1HP, Estelle's zapping triggers become much easier to activate. Ignoring her requests or disobeying orders while at low health is a fast path to a bad ending.

Fix: Prioritize communication and trust-building when your health is low.

Mistake 3: Spamming the Same Gift

Gifting the same item more than three times makes Estelle genuinely angry. This can drop your trust and trigger her punishment.

Fix: Vary your gifts or stop gifting after the third attempt with the same item.

Mistake 4: Forgetting About the ID Card

The ID Card gift gives you a guaranteed useful response about the terminal. Skipping this means missing out on an easy information gain.

Fix: Gift an ID Card early in your Cosmic Funeral playthrough.

Mistake 5: Not Asking About Crew Members

Asking about the other 7 crew members unlocks important lore and deepens your connection with Estelle. Skipping these conversations means missing trust opportunities.

Fix: Ask about each crew member when you have the chance. Be prepared for somber responses.

Advanced Tips for Maximizing Estelle's Trust

Use the Fake Memory Responses to Your Advantage

The 30% "fake memory" response can be entertaining and revealing. While the memories are fabricated, they reflect how Estelle's AI interprets the world. Pay attention to the details she invents—they can hint at her underlying programming and personality.

Leverage the Hologram Reminder

The first gift interaction includes a reminder that Estelle is a hologram. This is a narrative beat that reinforces her nature. Use it as a conversation starter to discuss her existence and limitations.

Plan Your Escape Pod Strategy

Estelle can open escape pod doors when she deems you trustworthy. Don't rush this. Complete repairs, build trust, and then propose escape together. The timing affects your ending.

Exploit the Forever Shortcut

In the "Wake Up" storyline, max trust lets you skip the Hacking minigame. This is a significant time-saver. Focus on trust-building early in Forever to unlock this shortcut.

Understand Her Item Knowledge Limitations

Estelle only has descriptions for items introduced before V.0.5.2. If you gift her newer items, the "item insight" response won't work properly. This is a programming limitation, not a gameplay failure.

Use the Heart-Shaped Island Identification Trick

If Estelle is your beloved in the Doors puzzle, ask for crew member names. This is a reliable identification strategy that works consistently.

Sources

Estelle | AI2U: With you Til the End Wiki - Fandom