"No. I don't even have a consistent personality. I think it's kind of dumb to call the other Avatars 'me' in any meaningful sense. Might as well call people who used to have some fraction of the calcium in my bones my 'past lives', really, since the spirit isn't doing anything with me-as-a-person, just the nifty powers. And influencing my taste in playthings when I was a baby."

"...That's really weird. That it would have an effect but such a small one seems more improbable than both having no effect at all and having a larger and more consistent one."

"Is it even meaningful to say you're reincarnating at that point?"

"That's the way it's customary to talk about it, but compared to someone who remembers things or even just acts the same life to life, no, it is not meaningful. I was just born when the last Avatar died and have the relevant powers."

"How strange. Well, it's inarguable that there's something going on there, but I wouldn't call it reincarnation."

"We don't have your kind around to confuse the issue."

"Shame. Not being dead twice over is pretty great."

"Not that going through infancy and childhood again were much fun, but they weren't drive-you-to-suicide levels of unfun."

"Yeah, I'm holding out hope for the advance of science to the point of biological immortality and trying to be popular enough that no one will mind keeping me instead of trying for Water Tribe Boy next generation."

"Oh, good, the last two people here were far less technologically advanced than us. Well, Lu was--that's the woman who looks like you--I didn't actually ask Stormy, but she behaved like someone who didn't have access to things like refrigeration facilities and whatnot."

"That sounds inconvenient. How technologically advanced are you?"

"Solar hexes for roads, universal wireless internet, decent refrigeration facilities...I don't usually have to describe my world's technology level."

"Maybe about like ours, then. Although we don't do solar stuff for roads most places - it's still usually cheaper to get an earthbender to flatten a rock and put your solar panels somewhere else where they don't have to tolerate load."

"Explaining internet to Lu was...not totally futile, but interesting. That makes a lot of sense, we don't generally get straight-up duplicate powers--not in two different people, anyway--and similarish powers aren't all that common either, but there's still a lot of money to be made if you have the right power doing public works projects or interesting things for bored rich people."

"Sounds cool. I can do some unique combined element stuff, and also I can, from the right meditative state, talk to the spirits of past Avatars and steal their knowhow. Supposedly they could also possess me but I have yet to be in a situation where that would be useful. But for most purposes most of the time I'm not more useful to hang around than one of each."

"Unfortunately, the most common applications of powers in our world are vigilanteism and being the kind of person vigilantes deal with."

"...I recognize that a lot of people with completely idiosyncratic superpowers is not the sort of situation economies are designed to solve, but that still surprises me."

"It's sort of...culturally expected, in a way. Before powers showed up, most of the fictional stories about idiosyncratic powers like that were of superheroes and supervillains, and people reacted accordingly. Being a caped super is the best way to become a powered celebrity, and you can make a lot more money off your power in various ways if you're famous."

"I guess it would be easier to find would-be customers if you make your existence obvious and let them find you."

"Also, having a socially acceptable excuse to don a ridiculous costume and get in fights with people who also have flashy powers is fun."

"I like sparring as much as anyone, but if the fights are real someone's going home with a broken neck or third-degree burns over sixty percent of their body. I have some noninjurious options; many benders don't if they're dealing with an opponent who actually wants to hurt them."

"Most of our kind of powers have noninjurious options, or at least non-killing or maiming. If you don't you don't become a vigilante or a villain. If you do anyway you go to jail fast."

"I mean, it does depend on control. Adult benders who keep up with their lessons can usually avoid injuring you right at the moment. But being significantly encased in stone or ice doesn't do a lot for your ability to take deep breaths, and the latter will also cause temperature problems if left long enough; firebenders have all the obvious limitations; and airbenders mostly have 'swat you into solid things' at various levels of remove if we don't want to keep you floating in midair forever, and even me, in the Avatar State, trying really hard, can't guarantee that somebody doesn't have an eggshell skull or a neck injury history or no ability to land intelligently. Are you a vigilante type?"

"...Ish. I was first time around, I was going to do a night out this time, but I got--interrupted before I could do any actual vigilanteing."

"I guess suddenly appearing barriers has decent nonlethal containment value."