Toph Beifong's relationships

This page comprises of Toph Bei Fong's relationships with other characters in the series.

Parents

 * "I know I shouldn’t complain, my parents gave me everything that I ever asked for. But they never gave me the one thing that I really wanted: their love." Toph to Zuko in "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King"



Toph has a complicated, love-hate relationship with her parents. The fact that their daughter is blind caused her parents to see her as helpless and fragile and so they over-protected her. Toph was kept inside her family's house and guarded at all times. As a result, she never had any contact with her peers and never had any real friends. In fact, they kept her under such close guard that many people in her own village didn't even know she existed. Toph would come to resent her parents for their treatment of her, and she would often run away from home.

The relationship between Toph and her parents would change after she met the Avatar. After she used an impressive display of Earthbending to free Aang from Xin Fu and his fighters, she confronted her father, who had seen the whole thing. She pleaded with her parents to see her for herself and not as a helpless blind girl. Her father reacted by placing her under even more strict control. This caused Toph to run away from home for good, and join Aang in his journey to save the world. In the commentary for "The Blind Bandit", the creators stated that her parents love Toph, but they are scared of and for her, which causes them to be controlling.

In "The Runaway", Toph begins acting out by scamming several people. Katara confronts her about this behavior, and Toph lashes out at her, accusing her of being "motherly". Katara reasons that she only acts wild because of her relationship with her parents. After the two make up, Toph reveals that she misses her parents, and that she feels guilty for hurting them when she ran away. At the end of the episode, Toph has Katara write her parents a letter, and they sent it to them with "Hawky".

It is unknown if Toph returns to her parents after the end of the War or what the current state of her relationship is with them, as she was not seen with her family in the finale.

Aang

 * "Keep your knees high, twinkletoes!" Toph to Aang in "Bitter Work"



Aang has a vision of Toph in the episode "The Swamp", but it is not until the episode "The Blind Bandit" that the two actually meet. First encountering one another at the underground Earth Rumble VI Earthbending tournament, Toph considers Aang a rival at first when he almost effortlessly defeats her through Airbending. At first, she is unwilling to talk to Aang and tries forcefully to keep him quiet when he talks to her parents at dinner about her Earthbending skills. After dinner, however, a truce is made, and Toph discusses with Aang her ability to listen to the earth and her life under her overbearing parents. Later, Toph single-handedly saves Aang when he is held captive by the participants of the Earthbending tournament. She has since joined him on his quest after running away from home, but not before throwing him into a tree via Earthbending to even the score from the tournament.

In the episode "Bitter Work", Toph begins to teach Aang Earthbending, but complications arise between Toph's teaching style and Aang's natural tendencies as an Airbender. Earthbending is, according to Toph, about directly taking on a challenge, not trying to find a way around or over it. The two also clash personality-wise as Aang's pacifistic, carefree attitude is ill-prepared to deal with the tough and stubborn Toph. She even goes as far as intentionally acting mean by taking Aang's staff and using it as a nutcracker to get a rise out of the passive Aang. Counter-productively, Aang's peaceful nature prevents him from acting, and depression comes as a result. Only after an insightful talk with Katara about earth being his natural opposite element, does Aang start thinking positively.

Later, when forced to confront a ferocious Saber-tooth Moose-lion in order to protect a trapped Sokka, Aang finally stands his ground and learns to think like an Earthbender. Toph is revealed to have been observing all the while, and after Aang proves his new toughness by taking back his staff and moving a boulder, Toph finally proclaims him an Earthbender.

Toph often refers to Aang as "Twinkle Toes", which is likely out of friendly humor, rather than insult. The nickname originates from Aang's hovering when they fought in "The Blind Bandit". She commented then that he was "light on his feet" and asked if his tournament name was "The Fancy Dancer." In "City of Walls and Secrets" she is able to find Aang in a large crowd because of his light footsteps.

Aang and Toph's relationship has been quite strained at times. Toph's hardheaded nature clashes with Aang's on several occasions, particularly over the subject of Appa. In the episode "The Chase," a tired Toph, weary of going days without sleep, blames Appa's shedding as the reason they cannot shake their mysterious pursuers. Although she is right, Aang immediately jumps to Appa's defense, which results in Toph's abandoning the group for a short time. Later, in the episode "The Desert", after Appa is stolen by Sandbenders, Aang accuses Toph of allowing the thieves to steal him. Only Katara is able to reason with him, reminding Aang that Toph had still managed to save the rest of the group even if it was at the cost of losing Appa. Nonetheless, they have been able to work together when dealing with threats, such as the Fire Nation and the Dai Li. They appear to get along much better. In the episode "The Earth King", Aang refers to everyone, including Toph, as his family.

Katara

 * "The truth is, sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. You know, the real me. That's more than my own mom." Toph to Sokka in "The Runaway"



Katara has shown great sympathy for Toph over her restricted life under her parents. Like Aang and Sokka, Katara gladly welcomes Toph into their group. The two have been at odds with one another after Toph refused to help set up their campsite; Toph said she can carry her own weight. Toph at one point referred insultingly to Katara as "Sugar Queen". However, at the end of the episode "The Chase", they have reached better terms with each other. In the episode "Bitter Work", Katara tries to help Toph by offering her wisdom on how to teach Aang Earthbending, although Toph naturally ignores the suggestion because of the fundamental difference between the head-on attitude of Earthbending and the redirection of Waterbending. At the very least, Toph seems to respect Katara as an equal, Bender to Bender. Katara and Toph's relationship is often thought of as an older sister and younger sister bond.

In "The Desert", Katara is the only one who sticks up for Toph when Aang blames her for not saving Appa.

Later, in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" Katara and Toph get makeovers together, and the usually self-confident Toph feels down about her looks after a group of pompous girls make rude comments about her. Katara manages to cheer her up by expressing her admiration for her, for which she is rewarded with a friendly (and unintentionally painful) punch in the arm. The two of them definitely respect each other and seem to be becoming good friends by this point.

The two conflict a second time in "The Runaway" when Toph accuses Katara of being over-bearing and "motherly". However, in this episode, Toph, in a private conversation which Katara overhears, admits that Katara's motherly ways can be good sometimes. The pair makes up when Katara discovers Toph's hate of her parents to truly be guilt for leaving without telling them. She asks Katara to help her write a letter to her parents at the end of the episode.

Toph also has a nickname for Katara, which is "Sugar Queen" or "Sweetness," which links to Katara's motherly nature and habits.

Sokka

 * "Thanks for saving my life, Toph. Hey, no problem Sokka." Toph to herself after saving Sokka in "The Serpent's Pass"



Because of Toph's young age and blindness, Sokka is skeptical of her Earthbending powers at first. Upon witnessing her skills, however, he is astonished to the point of fainting. Afterwards, he gladly welcomes Toph into their group. Just as Sokka was doubtful of Toph's fighting skills, Toph thinks little of Sokka's abilities as a warrior, dismissing his fighting skills because he cannot bend.

Though they were initially hostile, in "The Chase" Sokka is the only member of the group who does not confront Toph for her apparent lack of responsibility, and later confronts Katara and Aang with the realization that they "were pretty much jerks". He is also the only one who attempts to stop her when she tries to leave the group. The two have come to an easy understanding, and frequently work together to accomplish tasks outside the range of one or the other.

During the episode "The Serpent's Pass", Toph was knocked into a large body of water while crossing it on an ice bridge. Unable to swim, Toph called for help and, though Sokka began to jump to her rescue, Suki was able to reach Toph before Sokka had entered the water. Unaware that it was Suki, Toph gleefully thanked Sokka for the rescue and kissed Suki on the cheek. She was very embarrassed to find out what actually happened, commenting that Suki could let her drown. The creators confirmed that the scene was intended to show Toph's romantic interest in Sokka.

When Sokka briefly left the group to pursue the tutelage of a renowned sword master in "Sokka's Master", Aang, Katara, and Toph all expressed regret over his absence, reflecting that his humor and strict adherence to a planned schedule had given them entertainment and focus in their lives. When Sokka returns, Toph claims to have not missed him, but turns aside and blushes afterwards, providing more evidence that Toph has a crush on him. Sokka also seems to connect with Toph more than any other character in the group. As they depart, Sokka gives her a piece of meteorite that was used to craft his sword. Being composed of earth and metal, Toph is able to mold the fragment into any shape or form she desires and now wears it as an arm bracelet. She later expresses how valuable her meteorite arm bracelet is to her when she lets herself get captured by Fire Nation soldiers, only to have her plan backfire on her. When Katara asks if she has the bracelet so that they might escape, Toph tells her she left it at camp for fear of it getting taken away from her by the soldiers. In "The Runaway" Sokka remains the only person who managed to settle the argument between Toph and Katara. He also trusts Toph enough to tell her that he can't remember his mother's face and only sees Katara's face when he tries to, which he hasn't told anyone before, just as she trusts him enough to tell him how she actually appreciates Katara's motherly attitude sometimes.

During the search for Fire Lord Ozai in the "Day of Black Sun", Toph uses her expert Earthbending and Metalbending abilities to locate the underground bunkers. Sokka constantly expresses his admiration for Toph's abilities during this search.

Toph and Sokka ("Captain Boomerang" as Toph calls him) make a superb team while destroying Ozai's Airships alongside Suki during the arrival of Sozin's Comet. When Suki is separated from them, Toph helps Sokka to finish the attack. Unfortunately, the two fall off one of the Airships and hang helplessly as Sokka grips onto the hull. Sokka desperately tries to defend Toph and himself as the firebenders attack, but is soon rendered powerless. Toph cries when she realizes she and Sokka will die, as Sokka is about to be struck down. Fortunately, the duo is saved by Suki, and they succeed in finishing the attack. They celebrate their victory with the gang at Ba Sing Se. Although it was never confirmed that Toph is over her crush on Sokka, her seeming acceptance of Suki as they joke after Ozai is subdued shows that she probably doesn't mind her and Sokka's relationship. Because of this, it is generally regarded that their relationship is platonic.

Do NOT add information about Toph holding on to Sokka's arm while riding Appa in The Crossroads of Destiny. Anything mentioned would just be interpretation instead of factual. Discuss interpretations on the "Discussion", not the article.

Iroh

 * "I met him in the woods once and knocked him down. Then he gave me tea and very good advice." Toph to Aang and Sokka in "The Crossroads of Destiny"



Toph meets Iroh in an Earth Kingdom forest when she temporarily separates from Aang, Sokka, and Katara in the episode "The Chase". The two sit around a fire that Iroh uses to make tea and engage in conversation, although neither indicates his/her purpose for traveling or the identities of his/her relations. Iroh notes that Toph is a lot like his nephew because they both try to do too much by themselves. He also comments that there is nothing wrong with needing help, and sometimes people offer help because they want to, not because they believe the other person is incapable. Toph thanks him for the advice and suggests that Iroh tell his nephew how much he means to him.

Toph and Iroh encounter each other again later in the episode when the two participate with Aang, Sokka, Katara, and Zuko in cornering Azula in an abandoned Earth Kingdom town. Iroh's attention is distracted off of Azula when he notices Toph's presence and her association with Aang, Sokka, and Katara. Taking advantage of his lack of focus on her, Azula wounds Iroh with a blast of fire before successfully fleeing. Toph shows particular concern for her new friend, but leaves him after Zuko violently demands that she and the others leave him and Iroh alone.

In "The Crossroads of Destiny", when Iroh seeks Aang, Sokka, and Toph in order to seek their help in rescuing Zuko, Toph refers to him as an old friend.

Appa

 * "I'm sorry, Appa." Toph to Appa after he gets captured in "The Library"



Toph hates and fears flying, as it renders her truly blind; at best, she's bored and restless while flying on Appa. This is emphasized in "The Library" when she claims to have spotted the titular library from Appa's back, only to remind her friends that she is blind.

Toph expresses some dislike towards Appa in "The Chase" when she angrily points out that Appa's shedding left a large trail that allowed Azula to find them no matter how far or fast they flew.

In "The Library", Toph tries her best to protect Appa from being stolen by Sandbenders. She can't fight her hardest since she also has to keep Aang, Katara and Sokka's only exit from an ancient library from falling into sand, which curtails her abilities. This causes her to fail in protecting Appa, and her sadness afterwards shows that she does care for Appa as a friend.

Toph, along with everyone else in the gang, is very happy to see Appa again when he returns to the group in "Lake Laogai". Despite her persistent dislike for flying, Toph cares much more about Appa in later episodes.

Zuko

 * "I’m going with Zuko! What? Everyone else went on a life changing field trip with Zuko. Now it’s my turn." Toph says to the rest of Team Avatar in "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King"



In the episode "The Western Air Temple", Toph is the only one in the group who doesn't dismiss Zuko right away after he expressed his desire to join the gang, scolding Aang, Katara and Sokka afterwards for letting their hurt feelings cloud their judgment. She even went as far as to yell "I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here!" and then stormed off. She is also a realist, pointing out that, besides Zuko, there is no one who could teach Aang firebending, stressing the prince's importance. At night, she secretly visits Zuko at his camp site; Zuko, assuming it was an enemy or a wild beast, accidentally burns her feet. This, however, does not deter her opinion of him, and after he defends the group from Combustion Man she lets him join them under the pretext that it will give her plenty of opportunities to get back at him for burning her feet.

Presumably, her ability to remain neutral or objective towards Zuko may stem from the fact that she was not yet a part of the group at the time they were heavily persecuted by him, having only had a brief exchange with him during The Chase. Furthermore, instead of fighting or confronting each other, they end up teaming in order to handle Azula, whose firebending prowess seems too much for any single fighter to handle.

In the episode "The Firebending Masters", unlike Sokka and Katara, Toph gives helpful advice to Zuko when his firebending becomes weaker. She suggests he relearn firebending by learning from the original source. During the first part of the Finale, when Aang disappears prior to the arrival of the comet, Toph grabs Zuko's arm and insists that she join him during their search for Aang, stating it was her turn for a "field trip" with him (Zuko blushes at the sudden act). Toph tells of her life-story and her troubles at home, however, Zuko somewhat brushes her off, obviously more occupied with finding Aang, much to Toph's chagrin. At the end of the war, Toph and Zuko are still friends and they are seen in Ba Sing Se at Iroh's tea shop, the Jasmine Dragon, with the rest of the gang.

Judging by her affectionate actions towards Zuko in The Ember Island Players and Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King, it is arguable that Toph may have a crush on Zuko. However, judging by her buddy-buddy attitude towards him later it is likely that she harbors no romantic feelings for him.

The Duke


Toph has some relationship with The Duke. The Duke offers Toph his helmet (which she vomits in) during the invasion of the Fire Nation and the two of them hug and sit together as Zuko becomes Fire Lord. Then at the end of the war in the last episode, The Duke hugs her, much to her surprise. Afterwards they are sitting next to each other on Pipsqueak's shoulders.

Badgermoles
Toph is shown to have great respect and sympathy toward these creatures. When she was little she ran away from home, in a cave. She met badgermoles which she recognized herself in them, she understood their blindness. They taught her how to earthbend like one, and they showed affection to her as well. The Badgermoles are somewhat Toph's masters, which she shows respect and discipline to when speaking about them.

Suki
At the Serpent's Pass, the Team avatar hits a section which is completely submerged by the lake. Initially discouraged, the group is brought together as Katara tells everyone to get in a single file line as she parts the water for them to walk the path. Aang helps out and they create a bubble for them to walk in. Momo jumps into the water looking to catch some fish when suddenly something large swims by. The bubble is burst by the creature, Toph earthbends the floor of the path high enough to get them above the waterline. The creature circles them and then shows itself. As Sokka states, we now know why it's called the Serpent's Pass. Aang tells Katara to get the others to safety as he distracts the serpent. Katara makes an ice bridge for the others to cross and then heads out on top of the water to assist Aang. Sokka encourages Toph to cross the ice, but mid-way the serpent smashes the bridge, sending Toph into the water. Suki rescues her, but thinking it was Sokka, who had called out to Toph that he was coming for her, Toph kisses Suki instead. When she realises, an embarrassed Toph says "You can go ahead and let me drown now."

Princess Azula

 * "I'll roll your whole head!" - Toph to Azula in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse."



Azula is an indirect enemy of Toph. Her main goal is to eliminate the Avatar, thus Toph is more of an obstacle to her "trophy". Like Sokka, Toph never had a direct scuffle with the princess, usually dodging the attacks of Azula and her allies with Team Avatar throughout the Earth Kingdom until the events in the Fire Nation Capital's underground bunker. She and Aang both attempted to land a punch on her, though Azula was proven to be a formidable foe even without her Firebending. Toph's aggression toward Azula also clouded her realization that Azula was simply stalling the Team until the eclipse would end. Sokka was able to see through her ruse, though Toph was still baited by Azula, as Azula made a nasty joke toward her blindness. Unfortunately, Sokka did not keep a level head, and Azula was able to trick him into attacking her. If it was not for Toph's timely intervention of pinning Azula to the wall, Sokka would have been stabbed and likely killed.

Toph and Azula indirectly met for the last time at the Western Air Temple in the episode "The Southern Raiders." The two did not meet again, as Azula was defeated by Katara during the arrival of Sozin's Comet.

Xin Fu

 * "You might think you're the greatest Earthbender in the world, but even you can't bend metal." - Xin Fu to Toph in "The Guru"



Xin Fu and Toph did not have a very well defined relationship for most of the time they knew each other, as he was limited to being an Earth Rumble VI host, where Toph competed and showed her prowess as an earthbender. Xin Fu apparently found out or had known her true identity, as he was able to locate her in the Bei Fong Estate, while most people only knew Toph as The Blind Bandit. The two finally had a formal scuffle under the ring after Toph defeated all the other opponents. In a short matter of time, Toph easily defeated Xin Fu. Later that day, after Toph ran away with Team Avatar, Lao Bei Fong appointed Xin Fu and Yu to bring Toph back.

The two men traveled through the Earth Kingdom, and eventually to Ba Sing Se, where they finally caught her by setting a trap. As they carried Toph back to her home, Xin Fu reminds Toph she is stuck in a metal cage, and that she can't bend metal. Toph, however, teaches herself to bend metal in no time, allowing her to escape from the box, trapping Xin Fu and Yu within the box in the process. The two are never shown meeting again.

Yu

 * "It's another one of her tricks!" Yu to Xin Fu in "The Guru"



Unlike Xin Fu, Yu and Toph seemed to have a more interactive relationship. When Toph was discovered to have Earthbending abilities, her parents had Yu become her master, giving her private lessons in which she was only allowed to be taught basic forms and breathing exercises, despite Toph's already perfect mastery over those techniques. At first, Yu seemed to be an ally, as he went with Lao Bei Fong to recover Toph from Xin Fu, wherein he watched her defeat the other benders with ease. Yu would, however, prove an enemy in the long run, as he quickly accepted Lao's cash bribe to forcibly bring Toph back. He is, however, considerably less hostile towards Toph than Xin Fu. He and Xin Fu capture her in Ba Sing Se, though she is able to escape from the metal box they used to transport her in by teaching herself Metalbending, trapping Yu and Xin Fu within the box in the process. She is never shown meeting Yu again.

Long Feng


Toph and Long Feng first met when she and Katara were attempting to sneak into Bosco's party so they could talk to the Earth King. They told Long Feng their parents were waiting for them, and that they had lost their invitations. Long Feng let them enter, but he quickly apprehended Toph and the rest of Team Avatar to tell them that they are no longer to interfere with his conspiracy, or else they'll be expelled from the city. The team at first listens to him, but they soon defied him by invading the palace and informing Kuei of the conspiracy, resulting in Long Feng's arrest.

Relevant enemies only