Find yourself a travel-worthy ride and buckle your seatbelt because the lyoko warriors are off to the races on a road trip across the united states!
After flying into a new england airport, they set off to the following destinations with a taste for adventure and a thinly veiled desire for escapism:
(please open images for best experience) (thank you<33)
Another journey has reached its end. Perhaps this time, theyâre truly ready to move forward?
Extra babbles under the cut vvv
Hi morf I hope you enjoyed this :D! Though I didnât hit all of your points, I did my best to do your prompt justice.
This is a bit outside of my normal art stuff but I love road trips myself so. While things like coming up with adult(ish) designs and all the background stuff posed quite the challenge, Iâm glad to have had the chance to take it on.
Here are a couple additional imagesâall the panels together, preliminary designs for the group circa mid 2010s, and an itinerary map of their trip, including some extra locations that I would route them through:
Finally, I could probably write a book on "things I missed and why", so for completionâs sake, if thereâs anything glaring youâd like me to add (for anywhere) Iâd be happy to do a couple extra panels !
lmk if you have any questions about any of this. Iâve got plenty of notes and details on the whole thing but I didnât want to blab on here forever.!
Happy code swap again, thank you for the great prompts :]
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Hey, @crimson-vampire! It's me, your Code Swap gifter!
I saw your second and third prompts (Sissi part of the Lyoko gang and Lyoko girls sleepover with Sissi included, respectively) and decided to combine them. So have a nervous Sissi's first virtualization, and whatever the girls are discussing is up to you.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
â Live Streamingâ Interactive Chatâ Private Showsâ HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Aelita clutched the hem of her cardigan a bit anxiously as they had passed through the large glass doors of the shopping mall. She glanced back as the doors automatically closed behind her. Inside it was a bit chilly because of the air conditioning, and she was glad she had worn the cardigan after all.
Not like she had any other top to wear, besides the blouse she had underneath the cardigan. Both were dreadfully old-fashioned, by Oddâs proclamation. Yumi was more diplomatic and only said that Aelita needs something more casual, if just as an alternative option.
That was the reason the three of them went to the mall today, actually. Her first ever shopping trip as a real human teenager in a real shopping mall.
âWell, Princess,â said Odd, turning to face her and attempting to walk backwards, âwelcome to the land of recreational spending and questionable fast food. Letâs⌠oh, pardon me,â he quickly apologized as he walked right into someone on his way.
Aelita suppressed a giggle, while Yumi looked completely unimpressed.
âWe have a list,â she said, pulling out a folded piece of paper from her back pocket, âand a tight budgetâ.
That made Aelita fidget uncomfortably. She was painfully aware of the fact that her friends pulled together all their pocket money and some extra savings too â which, as theyâve quickly figured out, were not nearly enough to buy a whole new life for a person that basically appeared from nowhere.
Well, not exactly from nowhere, but living in the virtual world for over a year, Aelita didnât have to bother herself with such trivial things like owning a toothbrush. Or a hairbrush. Or whatever other brushes existed out there. She was still doing her research.
Regardless, living required a lot of things and a lot of money to purchase them. At one point Aelita suggested faking a bank account balance while they were doing âcreative libertiesâ, as Odd jokingly said, with her documents and school grants. For a second, Jeremy even considered something, but Yumi quickly shut it down. So, they just pulled their money together and were trying to make it work. Aelita got a few hand-me-downs from her friends: she desperately needed at least some items, since âairline lost my luggageâ could only get her that far. Clothes, however, were tricky, shoes even more so. Aelita didnât mind the ones she had. They were functional and comfortable enough, though she often wished she could just walk barefoot, allowing herself one more way to explore the world around her, but that wasnât an option for reasons she hadnât fully grasped yet.
The girls in the dorm had opinions about her shoes as well.
Aelita shook her head, pulling herself from that spiral of thoughts, and focused on her friends. Odd waved his wallet around as he was trying to make a point.
âDonât worry about that.â
âHow did you get extra money?â Yumi hissed, dragging him to the side by the elbow. âAnd why didnât you tell me that before I had to re-prioritize our shopping list multiple times?â
Odd smiled, looking both too proud of himself and a bit bashful.
âYouâd be surprised how many people canât be bothered to make the project for Art class themselves. And how many of them are willing to throw around a bit of pocket money to make it someone elseâs problem. However,â he said, dragging Aelita closer, so the three of them stood in an awkward embrace near the entrance of one of the shops, âthatâs not important. I half-assed a few craft projects so we could get Aelita something fun. So, Princess,â Odd grinned at her, and Aelita felt her muscles finally relaxing, âready for the day of decadent shopping? And by decadent I mean we might get some cute knick-knacks for your room and maybe burgers and milkshakes to commemorate your first shopping trip.â
âIs there a bookshop here?â Aelita asked timidly. She wasnât sure what else she could possibly get for her room. She knew others put posters on the walls, but she had no idea what she might want a poster of.
âWas there one with discounted books? One of those that sell misprints and stuff like that,â said Yumi, but she sounded a bit unsure. âI think itâs on the third floor, somewhere in the side corridor, but Iâve never gone there.â
Odd shrugged.
âNo idea. But I think we should take our sweet time window shopping and check every store. If itâs there, weâll find it.â
âThat way weâre going to blow through our budget before we even reach the third floor,â Yumi crossed her hands in front of her, frowning. She towered over Odd, lean and intimidating, but Odd didnât seem to be affected in the slightest.
âI said window shopping, not buying,â he pointed out. âCome on, Yumi, thatâs half of the fun!â
âWhy are we shopping for windows?â finally asked Aelita, unsure of whatâs going on. She glanced at the shop nearby and the large, floor-to-ceiling pieces of glass that separated the shop from the main corridor. âThe dorm already has windows⌠right?â
Odd giggled softly, but before Aelita could feel embarrassed, Yumi explained:
âThatâs just a figure of speech. The other word for window shopping is browsing.â
âWeâre going to walk around and look at the stuff for sale, maybe try something on,â Odd continued for her. âWe donât need to buy all of that, donât worry!â
âThatâs allowed?â Aelita was uncertain. There were a lot of glass displays, bright lights or shiny things that looked so delicate it took her breath away.
âWell, it depends,â said Yumi. Then she saw Aelitaâs confused frown and tried to explain further: âSome stores wonât, especially if itâs pricey. But those are way out of our budget anyway.â
She grabbed Aelitaâs hand and dragged her further into the mall, completely ignoring a few stores at the very front, despite Oddâs remarks and whistling.
âBut how would I know,â questioned Aelita, still uncertain, âwhich ones allow it and which donât?â
âYouâll know,â simply said Yumi and didnât elaborate.
âThe ones where consultants behave like any teenager could blow things up if they breathe wrong,â Odd giggled, âthere you probably shouldnât touch anything, even if itâs not behind a case already. But donât worry about that. Letâs go!â
Aelita wasnât entirely sure if he was joking or not.
In the past few weeks she was never able to shake off her worries. All the research she did while staying on Lyoko didnât seem to even scratch the surface of what it means to be human, to live alongside them. But the stores were extremely distracting and piqued Aelitaâs curiosity in a multitude of ways â she didnât have time to worry that much.
Living required a lot of things, and the shopping mall had more stuff than anyone could ever need.
They drifted from one store to another, looking and touching and exploring, and Aelitaâs mind was buzzing with excitement. Some things she recognized; some were completely novel. The moment Odd noticed that, he started pointing out random items and asking what Aelita assumed they were meant for. Then he would give his own suggestion, deliberately making up the silliest things. It was absolutely ridiculous, but even Yumi was amused, though she kept pursing her lips and pretending she wasnât having fun.
Eventually they had picked some toiletries, though the process took them almost an hour: Aelita was amazed by the fact there were different scents available and insisted on carefully sniffing every bottle. With some things checked on their shopping list, Yumi finally relaxed. The trio reached the first clothing store in a great mood, but Aelita was hit by another wave of uncertainty.
âAre there different sizes?â she asked, flipping through the rack of blouses that, to her, looked exactly the same. She squinted, comparing the letters on the tags and admitted silently that it made no sense to her. âWhich one am I supposed to pick?â
âOh fuck,â mumbled Odd, facepalming. âWe shouldâve taken your measurements. How did I forget?â
Yumi waved a hand at him.
âItâs fine. The sizing could be all over the place anyway.â She looked at the clothes on a rack with a critical eye. âYou want to try this on?â
Aelita hummed noncommittally, rubbing the fabric of the shirt between her fingers. The color was nice and calm, the stormy bluish gray of the rain clouds. The smooth material on her skin was slippery like water.
âYou should!â Odd smiled at her, also checking the material. His eyebrow creased a bit, and he fished out the larger cardboard tag, attached with a string to the one sewn under the neckline. He glanced at it once, then with a completely unreadable expression he hid it inside again, before Aelita could read the price. âYou have to try things on to figure out what you like to wear.â
âDo you think it would suit me?â
âIt looks romantic. Elegant,â said Odd, not answering her question directly, âis that the look youâre going for?â
Aelita creased her eyebrows, deep in thought. Frankly, she didnât have âthe lookâ in mind. She had no idea what she was going for, actually.
âI think the color is nice, neutral,â Yumi carefully voiced her opinion, âIt would offset your hair color nicely. But I think itâs maybe too formal? You donât have enough casual clothes, really. If you like the color, letâs find something similar.â
Odd huffed and folded his arms across his chest.
âIt wonât look the same when itâs not in satin,â he grumbled. âThis color would be just dull on anything else.â
âLike youâre the expert on that,â Yumi raised an eyebrow, pointedly looking him up and down. Aelita suppressed a laugh. Oddâs choice of purples and pinks that were borderline eyesore definitely wasnât dull nor neutral.
âFor your information,â said Odd with a tone that could had been mildly offended, if not for a smile on his lips, âI have five sisters. I can talk about outfit silhouettes and fiber composition for days on end.â
Yumi stepped closer to the rack and fished the cardboard tag out of the blouse's neckline. After a moment, she turned and silently stared down at Odd with all the menacing height the platform boots gave her.
âIâve never said we should buy that one,â said Odd, completely undisturbed. âI agree that this price for a polyester is absolutely abhorrent. But Aelita has to figure out what colors and materials she likes, then we can hunt for something on the sales rack. Or in a thrift store.â
âWe have to narrow the search,â Yumi nodded, finally getting his point. She still didnât look excited by the prospect of the whole day in the shopping mall, but she didnât look as annoyed at Odd as she was before. âSo, Aelita?â
âPrincess, state your wish,â proclaimed Odd with a dramatic bow, which got a laugh out of both girls.
âActually,â carefully said Aelita, turning this thought inside her head, examining it, as she let go of the sleeve of the blouse and took a step away from the rack. âI was thinking something⌠Pink?â
Yumi, much to Oddâs surprise, actually giggled.
âI thought youâd say so.â
âPaying it safe, huh?â Odd playfully nudged Aelita with his elbow. âWhat happened with âexpanding my horizonsâ and all that?â
âSays the guy whose wardrobe is fully purple,â Aelita, unexpected even to her, sassed him out.
Odd momentarily stumbled, before grinning wildly. Yumi also laughed and threw a hand over Aelitaâs shoulders.
âThen pink it is. Letâs go, we have a lot to do.â
They had walked through shops that by the second hour blurred into endless rows of glass windows and posed mannequins. Aelita lost count of the racks of shirts and tables with jeans folded in neat rows, of tall displays of sunglasses and cheap jewelry. She touched countless of items, trying to memorize the fascinating variety of textures and the whole rainbow of colors, the way metals glinted brightly under artificial lights. It was just as overwhelming as her first night on Earth when she walked the dark streets by Jeremyâs side, and a whole new world washed around her, like the ocean waves that wash around a stone. Her head was buzzing, and there was tingling in her fingertips that she associated with information overload.
Luckily, before the world became too loud and too much, Odd called for a break.
âIâm starving!â he whined, accentuating each syllable.
âYou have a black hole for a stomach, youâre always starving,â said Yumi absentmindedly. She put their bags on a bench and started rearranging items, trying to save space. âBut a snack sounds nice.â
âPerfect!â Odd grabbed one of the bags that Yumi had just finished reorganizing, and took Aelitaâs hand. âThen, to the food court we go!â
Aelita barely managed to grab another bag with her free hand before Odd dragged her to the elevator. Yumi, grumbling, took the last one and followed hastily.
âSo, Princess,â said Odd after the doors of the elevator closed behind them. âAny wishes? Preferences? Special requests?â
Aelita frowned. Her period of life outside of Lyoko was still brief, but she had been methodically going through the list of available cafeteria food, figuring out what she likes and what she doesnât. But Aelita knew that she barely scratched the surface. The smells, the taste, the textures, even the colors â everything was novel and unexplored.
She had no clue what was included in the food court options.
The ding of the elevator pulled Aelita out of her thoughts. Odd was still staring at her, awaiting. She shrugged.
âOkay,â he nodded and drew his eyebrows together, âokay⌠So, trying a bit of everything?â
âWe can get three different milkshake flavors,â suggested Yumi. âYou can take a sip and decide what you like.â
âYes!â Odd smiled enthusiastically. âOh, I know! We have to get a few different sauces for the fried potatoes! We just need to decide which burgers to pickâŚâ
Aelita relied on Odd's recommendations for that decision and let out a breath she didn't noticed she was holding. She tried to focus on the things that felt familiar: the tile floor, the rows of tables and plastic chairs, the trays of food that customers picked up. But the process was completely different, the phrases said and the proper order of things was unknown, so Aelita allowed her friends to make an order and listened carefully. But she completely relaxed only when they took a table on the far end of the floor, waiting for their food. They put the bags on the floor under the table, where they wouldn't be in anyone's way, and soon Odd and Yumi left to grab the food, leaving Aelita to keep and eye on the stuff they've bought.
The top floor, where the food court was located, ended in a wide balcony with glass panels that allowed one to look at the wide corridor of the floor below. Aelita, sitting in a mildly uncomfortable plastic chair, leaned closer to the barrier. From that angle, the people who scurried below were absolutely fascinating. The crowd got denser as the time got closer to the evening, flowing in a pattern of movement that Aelita hadn't deciphered yet. It felt like the ocean waves crashing, incomprehensibly grand and constantly in motion â though she only saw that on a video so far. And while it was beautiful in it's own way, like a force of nature, it also made Aelita feel somewhat lonely. The waves were moving below her, and she was standing on a rocky shore, alone.
Luckily, that all-encompassing feeling of loneliness didn't last.
âSpecial delivery for our Princess!â singsonged Odd, placing a tray in front of her. He was practically beaming, clearly excited to have a snack after a few hours of shopping. âDon't go anywhere, I'm going to pick up mine,â he waved a hand in the direction of the pick-up counter, where it was waiting. Yumi was standing nearby with her own tray in her hands and tapping her foot impatiently. Aelita smiled, watching her friends as they walked to the table. They were arguing about something, but Odd kept smiling, with a spring in his step that looked like he was about to start jumping, and while Yumi rolled her eyes, she didn't look genuinely annoyed.
If the vast mass of people flowing around Aelita were ocean waves, then her friends were the shore behind her feet, supporting her when the world wanted to crush her down.
That unconditional support took many forms, including the three milkshake flavors and the selection of food put on the table in front of her. Aelita tried a little bit of everything, while listening absentmindedly to Yumi's complains (apparently, the sauces that Odd picked had too strong of a flavor, overpowering everything else), and watching the flow of the people below. There were a lot of shops they hadn't visited yet, and Yumi expected them to spend a few more hours shopping, but Aelita had already been thinking about going to the mall again, hopefully with all of her friends together. She wondered what milkshake flavor Jeremy would pick and if Ulrich would like to get anything in the sportswear shop they've noticed. She wanted to go to the record store that was hidden in the far corner of the first floor and listen to all the albums her friends had recommended. She wanted to go to the arcade and to the rollerskating rink. She wanted to not just try on clothes herself, but to help her friends too â or suggest something objectively horrendous just to make them laugh.
She wanted to have another perfectly normal day with perfectly normal worries, like she had today.