The Blueprint
It was just another ordinary day in Baltimore Maryland. Well, as ordinary as you could get in a city like this. I was on my way to my first shift as an unpaid intern, how exciting. I couldn't wait to be thrown in front of a classroom full of angsty high schoolers. I was just praying that I landed a good mentor teacher. I was acutely aware of the horror stories that many student teachers went through at the hands of maniacal mentors. Hopefully I would catch a much-needed break.
As I strode down the block towards my destination, I whipped out my phone. Nothing like a little scrolling on Instagram to take the mind off things. I swiped to the explore page and within seconds something peculiar caught my eye. Tapping on it revealed some rather unexpected news.
According to the post, there was an upcoming live action adaptation for Avatar. No not the one with the blue people, the other one. I scoffed, instantly pocketing my phone.
Yeah because live action Avatar went so well last time. I could still remember dragging my mother out to the theater just to catch secondhand embarrassment from what was happening on screen.
Ugh. I shivered a bit just at the thought of it.
In truth, Avatar had been one my favorite things growing up. When book one was airing, I watched it on repeat every day. I still had nightmares of waking up at three in the morning to The Great Divide playing on my TV. Why was it that they always aired that damn episode?
When book two came out, nothing changed. Even after seeing every episode, I continued to watch them every time they came on. It was the perfect show.
But then there was book three. Everything was going fine; I was watching the show as it came out and it was honestly peak. Zuko joining the gang was probably the most hype thing in all of fiction.
That was, until the last episode.
There I was, eating my cereal before school and watching the series finale with bated breath. Aang gets a kiss from Katara and the camera pans out to the most heart wrenching 'the end' of all time. My elementary school brain couldn't process it. The end? As in the show is over? As in the characters who've kept me company the last few years are gone?
The tears began to flow, and they wouldn't stop. My cinnamon toast crunch grew soggy. My hands shivered. I felt something in my chest implode.
"Um… you ready for school son?" My dad asked, confusion written on his face as he walked into the living room with his car keys in hand.
After that I stayed as far from the show as I could. Every time I saw it come on I'd immediately change the channel. I felt a sense of betrayal. My childhood friends had left me. The stupid live action movie was just the final nail in the coffin.
Of course, I'm an adult now and I can recognize the stupidity of my reaction. Even so, I never returned to the show.
That Korra thing came out and I remember feeling insulted on a personal level. When news of the Avatar's return to television broke, I was ecstatic. Then I learned that it wasn't my Avatar, it was some cheap Katara knock off. Aang was dead. Way to kill the vibe nickelodeon.
Of course, I never actually watched the show, but I felt it was a safe bet to assume that it wasn't worth my time.
Now another live action attempt? What was so complicated about understanding that I just wanted the good old days back?
"Fuck outta the road white boy!" My train of thought collapsed as the voice of a concerned man on the sidewalk pulled me back to reality. Directly in front of me was a giant yellow school bus.
Time began to move in slow motion as I contemplated a means of dodging the vehicle. There was no opening, no cool combat roll or dolphin dive. I was about to get blasted by this damn school bus. The irony was not lost on me.
I let out a primal scream as I slammed my eyelids shut in fear of the impending collision. I screamed with everything I had, vowing to keep my hollering sustained as it was the only proof of my continued existence.
I screamed and screamed until my voice felt hoarse. Even then, I persisted. Eventually, my screaming began to feel weird. My voice felt different. Something was off. I could still feel the sensation of exertion in my lungs but now it sounded like someone else was screaming. Some unfamiliar voice.
Tentatively, I opened my eyes. I was alive!
That part was good news, but I certainly didn't understand how. I scanned the room I was in. Lots of wooden furniture, almost antique in nature with an odd fixation on the color blue. Where the hell was I? This place looked like it was outdated by like a hundred years. Everything was all overly decorated like it was a room meant for nobility.
As my senses adjusted to the room, I realized that I was in bed. I quickly removed myself from the blue sheets of the bed, huffing in exasperated confusion.
This wasn't my apartment and it certainly wasn't a hospital. I stumbled across the room, clutching my head in pain and squinting my eyes as harsh sunshine assaulted me through the bedroom window. I ran over to the window and swiftly stifled the blinding light with, you guessed it, blue curtains.
Look, I liked the color blue but even this was a bit too much. The whole place was color coded like a sports team locker room. I made my way over to the dresser at the end of the room and took note of the large mirror on the wall above it. Staring into the mirror, I was met with the image of a middle-aged tan fellow with a sharp beard and a freakishly unfashionable ponytail.
I rolled my eyes at the man's blue outfit. Of course, he was wearing blue. Then I remembered I was looking in a mirror.
Without hesitation, my hands shot up to my face, gripping my skin and beard in disbelief. How was this possible? And what was going on?! I fell back in shock, landing on the blue rug beneath me. I jumped back up from my shock, convinced that I was ready to face the mirror again. I quickly turned away from the sight.
I'm just tweaking. All I need to do is slowly turn around and… Yeah, I was still seeing things.
"What is this nonsense!" I roared in frustration. My face went pale as I heard the sound of my voice thrown back at me.
"AHHHHHH!" I let out in a high-pitched squeal. I glanced down at the dresser below the mirror and noticed something especially alarming. Engraved on the dresser in fancy italics was the name 'Sokka'.
No, there's no way.
Now that I gave it some thought though, this guy was basically just an aged up Sokka. He had the same complexion, the same eyes, and the same shitty haircut. Now that I thought about it, what kind of psycho goes to sleep with their hair back?
I suddenly felt the return of my headache and the extreme compulsion to throw up.
"A drunk psycho..." I muttered as the hangover began to set in. I frantically scampered around the apartment in search of a bathroom. When I finally found one, I stuffed my face into the toilet and dispensed the contents of my stomach out. I fell back onto the ground in relief as the demons had now been exorcised.
"Guess this explains why everything's blue." I whispered to myself as I pinched at the blue towel hanging above me.
Wait a damn minute. If I was stuck in Sokka's body, why did I have to get stuck in his body while he was so damn old! I could feel the age in the body as I got up off the floor. The hangover might've been exaggerating things, but this dude was definitely older than me. Probably mid-twenties if I had to guess. The powers responsible for this couldn't have put me in a young Sokka? Or at least a character who could bend!? I always wanted to waterbend as a kid and here I was, so close and yet so far.
I made my way back over to the bedroom window from earlier and ripped back the blinds. The light burned my irises for a few moments but once it passed I was met with the sight of a bustling city. It looked like an older version of New York or something. Everything was all grey and industrial and people walked back and forth with purpose in the streets, assumedly all having jobs to get to. Jobs…
I shut the blinds and sprinted over to the dresser. I rifled through the different drawers in search of an outfit that didn't smell like barf and booze. Unfortunately, all of my options were blue but after a bit I found something I liked.
It was still obnoxiously blue and looked like something you would hunt polar bears in, but it was comfy, and I had to admit that it complimented Sokka's face well.
"A job… I wonder what kind of job adult Sokka has?" I wondered aloud. I just hoped it wasn't something super complicated. If only I could remember more about the darn show, then I could probably get a general idea of what the guy did for a living. It was just… so long ago.
I decided to stop burning daylight and exited Sokka's apartment in search of answers. Luckily for me, I didn't have to look too far.
"Good morning councilman Sokka." A polite looking lady my age said from beside me. Well, not my age but Sokka's.
"Oh, good morning… neighbor?" I nervously replied, unsure as to who she was or why she was standing in the hallway. Trying to avoid any unnecessary awkwardness, I attempted to make a speedy exit down the hallway, but something made me catch myself before I could leave.
"Wait, can you repeat what you just said?" I asked, turning back to the woman.
"Good morning?" She hesitantly replied with a raised brow.
"No, no, no, the other part." I clarified.
"Your name?" She inquired, her brow raising further.
"No, the title woman the title!" I shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders. If she was bothered by being in my clutches, she made no show of it. She simply wiggled back and forth in my arms like a lifeless noodle.
"Councilman?" She offered; her voice unchanging.
"Yes, that must be it!" I exclaimed, releasing her. I had my answer. Sokka was a councilman!
"You're asking some odd questions today councilman." She observed in a laid back but calculating manner.
"Oh… my apologies madam I'm simply a bit ruffled up at the moment." I said, switching to an overly posh tone.
"Yes, well I suppose that makes two of us." She remarked, fixing her hair which had come undone as I was shaking her.
"By the way, what exactly is a councilman?" I asked in what I believed to be a low-key manner. The woman let out a light chuckle at my question.
"Oh wait, you're serious, aren't you?" She asked in response to my dire expression.
"I mean yeah." I followed up. She paused for a moment and looked up at the ceiling pensively. What began as a moment turned into almost a full minute before a light bulb finally went off in her head.
"It's like a politician." She replied blankly, hoisting a finger into the air proudly.
"It took you that long to formulate that answer?" I grumbled.
"Well I'm not the one asking what his own job entails now am I?" She replied with a coy smile.
"You really ought to be on your way though. I've never seen you depart this late for work." She warned, opening her apartment door.
"Oh! Of course! Wouldn't want to be late to work now would I!" I nervously laughed, speed walking past her and down the hallway. I was almost certainly going to be late for work.
"The staircase is the other way councilman." She informed me before shutting her door behind her.
"Uh yeah, I knew that…" I muttered under my breath, shifting my feet in the opposite direction.
When I stepped out into the city streets, I was hit by a blast of energy that only the city could provide. The ambience of movement was just so satisfying to my ears. Baltimore had nothing on this place. Not to say that I didn't like Baltimore, but I mean come on. This was just next level.
The city was great, that much was certain, but it was also overwhelming. Just where was I supposed to be? I decided to throw caution to the wind and just picked a random street to run down. As I ran, I got the occasional wave or holler. Sokka had really made a name for himself huh? I had to figure that councilman was a political position of some sort but what brand of political position it was, well that was a mystery. I just hoped I wasn't the equivalent of president or something. I could not handle that.
"Sokka?" an inquisitive voice asked from behind me as I ran. I ignored it just like the others. I had no time to waste. I needed to find this dude Sokka's office. My stride was interrupted by the movement of earth under my feet causing me to fall face first into the pavement.
"I don't like being ignored." The same voice spoke from behind me as I pried my face from the ground.
"Sorry about that, I must've tripped on a stray rock or…" I trailed off as my eyes were met with the sight of a grown up Toph. All I could think was 'woah'. She definitely looked different from what I remembered.
"You didn't trip on anything Snoozles, that was earthbending." She complained, stuffing her finger into my chest. She was a lot scarier than I remembered too.
"You want to tell me why you're out here running around like an idiot when you're supposed to be at work?" She asked in a no bullshit tone of voice. I gulped in apprehension.
"About that, would you mind pointing me in the direction of my office? I'm a bit turned around at the moment." I said nonchalantly, slinging an arm over her shoulder. In my experience, the best way to defuse a tense situation was with a laid back response.
"You can't remember where your office is?" She questioned; arms crossed. I took note of her lack of opposition to our physical contact. Just as I remembered, Sokka is a rizz master extraordinaire.
"No, you see I awoke this morning in a bit of a stupor and my mind is all… fuzzy." I explained, pulling away from her to draw circles in the air around my head, emphasizing the fuzziness of my mind.
"Sokka, nobody loves alcohol more than me, but if you're having memory issues then it's probably time to take a break. Don't you think?" She told me with concern written across her face. Did Sokka have a drinking problem or something? Toph certainly made it sound like this wasn't just a one-time thing.
"Oh, don't worry about me man, I'm just a bit of a party animal but it's nothing old Sokka can't handle." I reassured her, playing the comment off. Her brows furrowed in response.
"So where is this office of mine again?" I leaned in with a whisper.
"Ugh, fine if you don't want to talk about your drinking problem then go right ahead. Your office is in the council building on the other side of town." She told me before storming off.
Well that was certainly a productive conversation. Now I had two valuable bits of information. Sokka has a drinking problem, and I'm looking for a place called the 'council building'. You know what, maybe I should've been able to figure out that second part on my own.
After about thirty minutes of asking random pedestrians for directions to the 'council building', I finally found my destination. Strutting into the building, I was met with a number of stares all varying in purpose. Some of were angry stares, some were concerned stares, some of them were annoyed stares, and then, last but not least, were the kind of stairs you had to climb. Boy were there a lot of those. I was getting real sick and tired of all these stairs. One of these idiots needed to hurry up and invent an elevator before my hungover ass started to spew chunks again.
After much exertion and many near barf experiences, I had finally arrived at my office. The words 'Councilman Sokka' decorated the space above my office door, or rather, Sokka's office door. It was going to take some serious adjustment before I got used to being an entirely separate person.
I entered the office and took in the surroundings. There was no doubt about it, this place was nice. Still very blue, but nice. I ran my hand over the oak desk, taking in the feel of every little ridge and divot. I plopped down into the cushioned chair and was delighted to find that it rotated. Gleefully, I began to spin around the office in circles before kicking up my feet on the desk. I rolled my head to the side, appreciating the view of the city that my office window provided.
"I could get used to this..." I muttered with a relaxed sigh.
"Councilman Sokka, where have you been!?" A panicked woman screeched as she threw my office door open. Pouring in behind her was a lengthy number of other equally tense looking people, all of which were carrying very intimidating looking stacks of paper.
"I need you to go over these documents for me! Our trade deal with king Kuei is almost at a close and we simply cannot afford to mess this up. Please have these back to me by the end of the day." The first woman ordered, dropping her hefty stack of papers onto my desk.
"Of course, King Kuei, how could I forget?" I sighed, this time in mild annoyance. The stack of papers certainly looked like a bother and I had no clue what the context of it all was, but I was a smart guy. A day would be enough to piece things together. Based on the papers it seemed like most of them just needed signatures anyways.
"Councilman Sokka, Executive Satoru has implored that you approve these new designs for the Northern drawbridge before Earthen Fire Industries begins construction." A small looking guy with round glasses told me, dropping yet another pile of paperwork onto my desk.
Okay, so some guy needed my signature before his company would begin construction. Big deal. Shouldn't take all that long anyways and it didn't even come attached with a time limit like the last stack of papers did. I could handle it.
"Sir, councilman Sokka, sir, The Duke has kindly requested an audience with you to discuss what he only would refer to as 'freedom related endeavors'. Here are the details of where and when he wishes to meet with you, sir." The nervous yet overly linguistic man relayed to me, placing another stack of papers on my desk before running off. I began to massage my temple with my hand as I peered down and around the side of my office door. There looked to be quite the large line of people stacking up, all with accompanying piles of paperwork.
Maybe I couldn't get used to this after all.
"Sokka, there you are. I've been looking for you all day!" A stern voice exclaimed from my office entrance. Oh joy, another stack of paperwork to do how exciting.
I looked up from the documents I had been scanning over to find a beautiful woman with a blue outfit and looped hair standing by the doorway. Katara. My childhood crush was a mere stone's throw away and it made my heart skip a beat.
Wait a second, if I'm in Sokka's body, then that means this is my sister. And if Katarar is my sister then that means…
"Ah why couldn't I have been isekai'd in as someone else or even just myself?!" I lamented, stuffing my face into my paperwork.
"Sokka what are you talking about? How come you were so late to work today? Has this been an ongoing thing? Are you not only letting alcohol get between your personal life but your work life too?!" She said her voice raising to a crescendo as she stomped up to my desk.
"Woah man there's no need for such harsh words!" I said, throwing my arms up in a show of compliance.
"No need for harsh words? Sokka, did you forget what you did at last night's party or are you just intent on dodging accountability?!" She inquired mere inches from my face. This was devolving into an interrogation at this point.
"Let's just say that I did in fact forget what happened at last night's party. Would you be willing to fill me in?" I asked with a nervous smile. Katara let out an exasperated grunt.
"You need to figure this alcohol problem out now! I cannot believe the way you reacted last night. I don't care how drunk you were, you can't punch the fire lord in the face!" She shouted, glaring daggers into my soul.
"I punched the fire lord?" I asked, my confusion compounding by the second. Katara paused as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"Look, I know that things have been hard since your breakup with Suki…" she started slowly.
"Who's Suki?" I chimed in.
"Very funny Sokka, but you couldn't have forgotten that much, I don't care how drunk you were." She replied with an unamused look on her face.
"Oh, you know me and my jokes!" I said, trying to play the moment off. I didn't need anybody finding out that I was an imposter.
"Anyways, I get that it wasn't easy finding out that Zuko and Suki are dating but that doesn't excuse the way you behaved." Katara lectured.
"Wait, Zuko stole Sokka's girl!" I screamed in disbelief as I shot up from my chair. Damn, I always knew Zuko was a chad, but I figured he would've stolen Aang's girl, not Sokka's.
"So you forgot that too?! Also please don't refer to yourself in third person. It's super creepy." She complained. Katara's face only seemed to get more contorted with each additional statement of mine.
"I just can't believe that the last rizzbender would allow such a thing to happen." I slumped back into my chair disappointedly. Sokka was always my favorite as a kid. How could he let something like this happen? And who was Suki anyways? If only I had rewatched the show before being sent here. Although for all I knew this Suki girl could've been someone from after the show. It was impossible to know without more details but Katara wasn't exactly giving away information here. Not without making my false identity too obvious at least.
"Sokka, what are you even talking about? What is rizzbending?" I was about to answer her question when she continued on with her lecture.
"You know what? I don't even want to know. You have been acting like a complete child for almost a year now. Me, Aang, Toph, Zuko, Suki, we're all tired of it. You need to start acting like an adult before you lose your job too!" She finished, capping off her lecture with finger against my nose.
"I am doing adult stuff though! I mean look at this paperwork! This guy calls himself the Duke in all of these documents, but he never clarifies what he's the Duke of! How unprofessional is that!" I yelled, holding up the paper for emphasis. Katara gave me a very concerned look.
"Now you can't remember the Duke either Sokka? Are you sure your head is doing alright? You seem… off." Katara was now in full on sibling mode, looking me up and down like some sort of doctor.
"No sis trust me I'm fine! Just a little rattled after last night is all." I insisted, trying desperately to get her off my case.
"Well either way, try to make an effort to apologize to Zuko before he leaves republic city." She pleaded, finally leaving my office. God why did I ever have a crush on her again? She was so intense about everything and all she did was complain like a mom. Aang was probably a natural bald after years of dating that tyrant.
After hours more of grueling paperwork, I finally was able to turn in. I got the immediate stuff taken care of, somehow, but I was still drowning in documents. I would need to be up bright and early tomorrow if I wanted any chance of staying afloat.
Being a councilman sucked.
I released an exhausted groan as I heaved myself up the final set of stairs. Finally, my apartment was in sight. All I had to do was make it down this hallway and then I could collapse into Sokka's stupid blue bed. I leaned on the wall for support as I lugged myself to my room. A world without cars and a world without elevators. Truly, this was a dark place. Maybe Aang would let me rent Appa if I asked nicely. At least he might've if Sokka hadn't built such a terrible reputation for himself. I couldn't believe the way Katara talked about him.
"Fun day at work councilman?" A voice asked from ahead of me. I lifted my eyes up to find the same quaint woman from earlier outside of her apartment door.
"Yes neighbor, it was just the best." I told her with exaggerated sarcasm. She chuckled for a moment but then her face morphed to one of disappointment.
"You don't even know my name, do you?" She asked dejectedly. Oh brother, I certainly wasn't doing Sokka's reputation any favors by getting dropped in here with no context. I wish I knew her name, if she was my neighbor in the real world then I certainly would've remembered it but unfortunately for us both, that wasn't the case.
"Sorry, I'm not the best with names…" I revealed apologetically, scratching the back of my head.
"It's okay, most people don't remember my name. It's Kina." She spoke softly, keeping her eyes trained on the floor.
"Well from today forward I vow to not be like most people." I announced, perking up a bit to back up my tone. She looked like she was in need of a little cheering up.
"Thanks for asking me about my day Kina. How was yours?" I put on my best cheerful expression, hoping the emotion would spread. It wasn't working.
"Uh, if you don't mind that is." I followed up. She glanced up from the floor at my added statement with appreciation.
"Thanks for asking councilman, but I know you're a busy man. You seem especially tired today, so I won't bore you with the details. It wasn't very fun anyways." She said politely.
"Yeah work was rough today, I just haven't been feeling myself lately you know?" I joked. It dawned on me that my inside joke had zero chance of landing with her right as I finished saying it.
"Really? You seem the same to me?" She told me quizzically.
"Huh, I guess I do don't I." I remarked more to myself than her as I opened the door to my apartment.
"Well, good night Kina." I waved.
"Good night councilman." She replied with a smile as I closed the door.
So, I seem the same huh? Now that I gave it some thought, I definitely got some remarks about behaving weirdly today but no one outright questioned my existence. Even Sokka's own sister just thought I was having some sort of alcohol induced lapse in memory. As a matter of fact, now that I gave it some thought it all made sense! I always tried to emulate Sokka as a kid and even after I stopped watching Avatar that sentiment never really went away. Sokka was the blueprint after all.
"Extra emphasis on the blue part…" I grumbled as I collapsed into the blue sheets lining Sokka's bed. As soon as I made contact with the bed I was stricken with a harsh realization. I still needed to shower!
"UGGGHHHHH" I grunted, rolling out of bed and begrudgingly making my way to the bathroom.
Being Sokka sucked.