Toph Beifong's relationships

This page is comprised 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 had a complicated, love-hate relationship with her parents, Lao and Poppy Bei Fong. Being that their daughter was blind, her parents viewed her as helpless and fragile and therefore were extremely over-protective of her. Toph was restricted inside her family's house and guarded at all times. As a result, she never had any contact with her peers and never managed to form any real friendships. In fact, they kept her under such close guard that many people in her own village were not even aware of her existence. Toph resented her parents for their treatment of her and as such, would often run away from home.

The relationship between Toph and her parents changed after she met the Avatar. After using 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 for them to see her for herself and not as a helpless blind girl. Her father reacted by placing her under even more restrictions which caused Toph to run away from home for good and join Aang on his journey to save the world and teach him Earthbending. She claimed that her parents had changed their mind, but in reality, they still held the same opinion of her. In the commentary for "The Blind Bandit", the creators stated that Toph's parents love her, but they are scared of and for her, which causes them to be controlling.

Toph once began acting disorderly by scamming several people for money. Katara confronted her about this behavior, causing Toph to lash out at her. The Earthbender accused her of being "motherly" and made a reference about how much fun they were having without parents. Katara reasoned that she only acted wild because of her relationship with her parents. After the two made up, Toph revealed to Katara that she did miss her parents and felt guilty for hurting them when she ran away. In the end, Toph asked Katara to write her parents a letter, which they sent to them via Hawky. It is unknown if Toph got a reply to her letter, if she returned 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 again.

Aang
"'Keep your knees high, twinkletoes!' Toph to Aang in 'Bitter Work'" Aang once had a vision of Toph before the two actually met. First encountering one another at the underground Earth Rumble VI Earthbending tournament, Toph considered Aang a rival when he almost effortlessly defeated her through Airbending. In the beginning, she was unwilling to talk to Aang and forcefully kept him quiet when he tried to talk about her Earthbending skills during dinner at her parents' house that evening. After dinner, however, a truce was made and Toph explained to Aang her ability to listen to the earth. She went on to talk about her life under her overbearing parents. Later, Toph single-handedly saved Aang when he was held captive by the participants of the Earthbending tournament. She soon 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.

Toph began to teach Aang Earthbending, but complications arose 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 clashed personality-wise as well, with Aang's pacifistic, carefree attitude being ill-prepared to deal with the tough and stubborn Toph. She even went as far as intentionally acting mean by taking Aang's staff and using it as a nutcracker in order to get a rise out of the passive Aang. Counter-productively, Aang's peaceful nature prevented him from acting and depression came as a result. Only after an insightful talk with Katara about earth being his natural opposite element, did Aang start thinking positively.

Later, when he was forced to confront a ferocious Saber-tooth Moose-lion in order to protect trapped Sokka, Aang finally stood his ground and learned to think like an Earthbender. It was revealed that Toph had been observing all the while and after Aang proved his new toughness by taking back his staff and moving a boulder, Toph finally proclaimed him an Earthbender.

Toph often referred to Aang as "Twinkle Toes", which was likely out of friendly humor rather than insult. The nickname originated from Aang's hovering when they fought. She commented that he was "light on his feet" and asked if his tournament nickname was "The Fancy Dancer." Toph was able to find Aang in a large crowd because of his light footsteps.

Aang and Toph's relationship was quite strained at times. Toph's hardheaded nature clashed with Aang's on several occasions, particularly over the subject of Appa. A tired Toph, weary of going days without sleep, blamed Appa's shedding as the reason they could not shake their mysterious pursuers. Although she was right, Aang immediately jumped to Appa's defense, which resulted in Toph abandoning the group for a short time. Later, after Appa was stolen by Sandbenders, Aang accused Toph of allowing the thieves to steal him. Only Katara was 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 were able to work together when dealing with threats, such as the Fire Nation and the Dai Li. They appeared to get along much better as time went on. Later, Aang referred 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 had shown great sympathy for Toph over her restricted life under her parents. Like Aang and Sokka, Katara gladly welcomed Toph into their group. The two were at odds with one another, however, after Toph refused to help set up their campsite, claiming she was carrying her own weight. Toph, at one point, referred insultingly to Katara as "Sugar Queen". However, over time, they reached better terms with each other. Later, Katara tried to help Toph by offering her wisdom on how to teach Aang Earthbending, although Toph naturally ignored the suggestion because of the fundamental difference between the head-on attitude of Earthbending and the redirection of Waterbending. At the very least, Toph seemed to respect Katara as an equal, bender to bender. Katara and Toph's relationship is often thought of as an older and younger sister bond.

Katara was the only one who stuck up for Toph when Aang blamed her for not saving Appa.

Later, Katara and Toph got makeovers together and the usually self-confident Toph felt down about her looks after a group of pompous girls made rude comments about her. Katara managed to cheer her up by expressing her admiration for the fact she did not usually care about other people's opinion about her, for which she was rewarded with a friendly, and unintentionally painful, punch in the arm. The two of them definitely respected each other and seemed to be good friends by this point.

The two were in conflict a second time when Toph accused Katara of being overbearing and "motherly". Katara claimed Toph was acting this way because of her parents and because she was feeling guilty about running away. This made Toph exceptionally angry. She did, however, admit in a private conversation with Sokka, which Katara overheard, that Katara's motherly ways could be good sometimes. The pair made up when Toph confessed to Katara that the real reason she was so angry when Katara accused her of acting out was because she was feeling guilty about her parents, thereby proving the fact that Katara was indeed correct.

Toph had nicknames for Katara which included "Sugar Queen", "Madame Fussy Britches" and "Sweetness" , which linked to Katara's motherly nature and habits. She had used them to insult her whenever they have argued.

Sokka
"'I don't know. They missed you or something. I didn't care.' - Toph while secretly blushing in 'Sokka's Master'"



Because of Toph's young age and blindness, Sokka was skeptical of her Earthbending powers at first. Upon witnessing her fight Xin Fu's entire group of Earthbenders, however, he was astonished to the point of fainting. Afterwards, he gladly welcomed Toph into their group. Just as Sokka was initially doubtful of Toph's fighting skills, Toph thought little of Sokka's abilities as a warrior, dismissing his fighting skills due to his inability to bend.

Though the two were initially hostile, Sokka was the only member of the group who did not confront Toph for her apparent lack of responsibility and later confronted Katara and Aang with the realization that they "were pretty much jerks". He was also the only one who attempted to stop Toph when she tried to leave the group. The two came to an easy understanding and frequently worked together to accomplish tasks outside the range of one or the other.

When Toph was knocked into a large body of water while crossing an ice bridge, she called for help and, though Sokka began to untie his shoes to come to her rescue, Suki jumped in the water without second thoughts and 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. This showcased her budding affection for Sokka.

When Sokka briefly left the group to pursue the tutelage of a renowned sword 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 returned, Toph claimed that she had not missed him, but turned aside and blushed afterwards, providing more evidence that she had a crush on him. By this point, Sokka also seemed to connect with Toph more than with any other character in the group, giving her a piece of meteorite that was used in crafting his sword after they left the swordmaster's residence. Being composed of earth and metal, Toph was able to mold the fragment into any shape or form she desired and wore it as an arm bracelet. She later expressed how valuable her meteorite arm bracelet was to her when she let herself get captured by Fire Nation soldiers, only to have her plan backfire on her. When Katara asked if she had the bracelet so that they might escape, Toph told her she left it at camp because she feared it would be taken away from her by the soldiers. Sokka remained the only person who managed to settle the argument between Toph and Katara which occurred right before the girls were captured. He also trusted Toph to the extent where he told her that he couldn't remember his mother's face, rather only seeing Katara's when he tried to picture his mother's face; this is a fact which he hadn't told anyone before. Toph trusted him enough to tell him how she actually appreciated Katara's motherly attitude sometimes.

When Sokka became suspicious of Hama while Team Avatar stayed at her inn, Toph ignored the apprehensiveness of Aang and Katara and helped him unlock a mysterious chest (which ended up containing Hama's Whale Tooth Comb), briefly blushing as she did so, providing further proof of her crush on Sokka.

During the search for Fire Lord Ozai during the Invasion of the Fire Nation, Toph used her expert Earthbending and Metalbending abilities to locate the underground bunkers. Sokka consistently expressed his admiration for Toph's abilities during this search and how happy he was that Toph had been added to the group.

Toph and Sokka ("Captain Boomerang" as Toph called him) made a superb team while destroying Ozai's Airships alongside Suki upon the arrival of Sozin's Comet. When Suki was separated from them, Toph helped Sokka continue their assault. Unfortunately, the two fell off one of the airships and hung helplessly as Sokka gripped onto the hull. He desperately tried to defend Toph and himself as the Firebenders attacked, but was soon rendered powerless. Toph cried when she realized both of them would die. Fortunately, the duo was saved by Suki and they succeeded in finishing the attack. They celebrated their victory with the gang at Ba Sing Se. Although it was never confirmed that Toph was over her crush on Sokka, her seeming acceptance of Suki as they joked after Ozai is subdued shows that she she has learned to deal with the older girl's romantic relationship with Sokka by this point. Because of this, it is generally regarded that their relationship is basically platonic during the time immediately subsequent to the end of the War.

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



Toph met Iroh in an Earth Kingdom forest when she temporarily separated from Aang, Sokka and Katara. The two sat around a fire which Iroh used to make tea and engaged in conversation, although neither indicated their purpose for traveling or the identities of their relations. Iroh noted that Toph was similar to his nephew in the sense that they both tried to do too much by themselves. He commented that there was nothing wrong with needing help and sometimes people offer help because they want to, not because they believe the other person is incapable. Toph thanked him for the advice and suggested that Iroh tell his nephew how much he means to him.

Toph and Iroh encountered each other again later at Tu Zin when the two participated with Aang, Sokka, Katara and Zuko in cornering Azula. Iroh's attention was diverted from Azula when he noticed Toph's presence and her association with Aang, Sokka and Katara. Taking advantage of his lack of focus on her, Azula wounded Iroh with a blast of fire before successfully fleeing. Toph showed particular concern for her new friend, but left him after Zuko violently demanded that she and the others leave.

When Iroh sought Aang, Sokka and Toph for help in rescuing Zuko, Toph referred to him as an old friend.

Toph referred back to her meeting with Iroh in order to reassure Zuko about Iroh forgiving him. She said that Iroh's constant talk about Zuko was "kind of annoying" but "very sweet." When Zuko pulled out Iroh's stinky sandal in order for June's Shirshu, Nyla, to track down Iroh's scent, she said that Zuko's keeping of Iroh's stinky sandal was "kind of sweet", referring back to her general knowledge about Iroh and Zuko's relationship that was founded upon this first meeting.

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



Toph hated and feared flying, as it rendered her truly blind and severed her connection to the earth; at best, she seemed rather bored and restless while flying on Appa. This was emphasized when she claimed to have spotted the titular library from Appa's back, only to remind her friends that she was blind.

Toph expressed dislike towards Appa when she angrily pointed out that Appa's shedding left a large trail that allowed Azula to find them no matter how far or fast they flew.

Toph tried her best, however, to protect Appa from being stolen by Sandbenders. She was unable to fight her hardest, however, since she was preoccupied with keeping Aang, Katara and Sokka's only exit from an ancient library from falling into sand, which curtailed her abilities. This caused her to fail in protecting Appa; her sadness afterwards showed that she did care for him as a friend.

Toph, along with everyone else, was overjoyed to see Appa again when he returned to the group at Lake Laogai. Despite her persistent dislike for flying, Toph cared 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 to the rest of Team Avatar in 'Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King'"

Toph was the only one in the group, aside from Appa, who didn't dismiss Zuko right away after he expressed his desire to join the team, 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 storm off. She was also a realist, pointing out that, besides Zuko, there was no one else who could teach Aang Firebending, stressing the prince's importance. At night, she secretly visited Zuko at his campsite; Zuko, assuming it was an enemy or a wild beast, accidentally burned her feet. This, however, did not deter her opinion of him and after he defended the group from Combustion Man, she let him join them under the pretext that it would 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 at Tu Zin.

Unlike Sokka and Katara, Toph gave helpful advice to Zuko when his Firebending became weaker. She suggested that he relearn Firebending directly from the original source. When Aang disappeared prior to the arrival of Sozin's Comet, Toph grabbed Zuko's arm and insisted that she join him during their search for Aang, stating it was her turn for a "life-changing trip" with him; Zuko blushed at the sudden act. Toph told him about her life-story and her troubles at home; however, much to Toph's chagrin, Zuko brushed her off as well as he could without hurting her feelings, obviously more occupied with finding Aang. Despite this, Toph and Zuko still remained friends after the end of the war; they were seen in Ba Sing Se at Iroh's tea shop with the rest of the gang.

The Duke


Toph had a friendly relationship with The Duke. The two presumably met while Aang was still unconscious from Azula's attack. When the crew of a Fire Nation ship ambushed them soon after Aang's awakening, The Duke acted as Toph's seeing-eye guide so that she could fire boulders at the ship correctly. The Duke offered Toph his helmet (which she vomited in) when she became seasick from riding in a submarine during the invasion of the Fire Nation. At the Western Air Temple, The Duke suggested looking for Toph after she disappeared from the group upon her meeting with Zuko. They were separated when Azula attacked the temple. At the end of the War, they reunited where The Duke hugged her (Toph appearing to accept this only reluctantly). Afterwards they were sitting next to each other, The Duke on Pipsqueak's shoulders and Toph on The Big Bad Hippo's shoulders. However, there is no indication she thought of him romantically in any way.

Badgermoles


"'I learned from Badgermoles. They don't talk, but they're still good teachers.' - Toph to Sokka in 'Sokka's Master'"

Toph harbored great respect and sympathy toward these creatures. When she was younger, she ran away from home and met these giant Earthbenders in a cave. She recognized herself in them, as she understood their blindness. They taught her Earthbending and showed her affection as well. The Badgermoles were Toph's true masters and for this reason, she showed respect while discussing them.

Suki
"'You can go ahead and let me drown now.' - Toph after mistakenly kissing Suki in 'The Serpent's Pass'"

While navigating the Serpent's Pass, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki, along with Tahn and his family, arrived at a section which was completely submerged underneath the water. Initially discouraged, the group was brought together as Katara instructed everyone to form a single-file line as she parted the water, allowing them to walk the path. Aang aided her in creating a bubble in which they could walk. Momo jumped into the water, seeking to catch fish when something large suddenly swam by. The bubble was burst by the creature and Toph was forced to Earthbend the floor of the path above the waterline. The serpent circled them then showed itself, revealing the origin of the name, the "Serpent's Pass". Aang told Katara to guide the others to safety while he distracted the serpent. Katara created an ice bridge for the others to cross before heading out to assist Aang. Sokka encouraged Toph to cross the ice, but mid-way through her progress along the bridge, the serpent smashed the pathway, sending Toph into the water. Sokka immediately alerted that he was coming for her and started to undress in order to swim out and save her but Suki was quicker and rescued Toph. Toph, however, thinking it was Sokka, kissed Suki after being brought to the surface. When she realized this, an embarrassed Toph said, "You can go ahead and let me drown now."

Suki, Toph and Sokka joined together in an attempt to prevent the Fire Nation Airship fleet from destroying the Earth Kingdom. Suki was abruptly separated from the others during their mission, forcing Toph and Sokka to continue on their own. When it seemed like the end for Toph and Sokka, Suki arrived just in time to save them, piloting an airship and warding off the attacking Firebenders.

Suki, Sokka, and Toph journeyed to Wulong Forest, where Aang had just defeated Ozai. Toph and Sokka invented nicknames for Ozai like "Loser Lord" (Sokka) and "Phoenix King of getting his butt whooped" (Toph). Suki tried her hand at the game, but could only come up with "King of the guys who don't win?" Toph dismissively replied, "Leave the nicknames to us, honey."

Azula
"And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes."

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



Azula was an indirect enemy of Toph. Being that her main goal was to capture Aang, she considered Toph as more of an obstacle to her trophy, rather than a true enemy. Like Sokka, Toph never had a direct battle with the Princess with the exception of the duel at Tu Zin. . She, along with Team Avatar, was often forced to dodge the attacks of Azula and her allies throughout the Earth Kingdom until the events in the Fire Nation Capital's underground bunker. She and Aang both attempted to land a blow to her, though Azula proved to be a formidable foe even without her Firebending power. Toph's aggression toward Azula also clouded her realization that Azula was simply stalling the team until the eclipse ended. Although Sokka was able to see through her ruse, Toph was still baited by Azula following the princess' nasty joke towards her blindness. Unfortunately, Sokka did not keep a level head, allowing Azula to prompt him into attack her. She prepared to injure Sokka with a concealed shuriken-knife only for Toph to intervene, pinning Azula to the wall and ultimately saving Sokka from serious harm.

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

Xin Fu
"'Hey! Who do you think you're dealing with?' - Toph after being captured by Xin Fu in 'The Earth King'"



Xin Fu and Toph did not have a very well defined relationship for most of their history knowing each other, as he was limited to being an Earth Rumble VI host, whereas Toph competed and showed her prowess as an Earthbender. Xin Fu apparently had known or discovered 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 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 as bounty hunters to bring Toph home.

The two men traveled throughout the Earth Kingdom and eventually to Ba Sing Se, where they finally caught her by setting a trap. As they escorted Toph back to her home, Xin Fu reminds Toph that her Earthbending skills are rendered useless being that she was contained in a metal chamber. Toph, however, teaches herself the unique ability of Metalbending, allowing her to escape imprisonment within the box; she subsequently trapped Xin Fu and Yu within the box. The two are never shown meeting again.

Master 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 hired Yu as 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, traveling with Lao Bei Fong to recover Toph from Xin Fu, wherein he watched her defeat the other benders with ease. Yu would, however, prove to be an enemy in the long run, quickly accepting Lao's monetary bribe to forcibly bring Toph back, as Lao thought Toph had been kidnapped by the Avatar. He was, however, considerably less hostile towards Toph than Xin Fu. He and Xin Fu captured her in Ba Sing Se, though she was able to escape from the metal box in which she was contained by teaching herself Metalbending, trapping Yu and Xin Fu within the box in the process. She never meets Yu again.

Long Feng
"'He's your puppet!' - Toph about King Kuei to Long Feng in 'City of Walls and Secrets'"

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. In order to gain entrance into the party, they told Long Feng their parents were waiting for them and that they had lost their invitations. Long Feng permitted them to enter, but quickly apprehended Toph and the rest of Team Avatar. Following his apprehension, he strictly warns them to no longer interfere with his conspiracy, or else they will be expelled from the city. The team listened to him at first, but soon defied his orders by infiltrating his secret headquarters underneath Lake Laogai and later invading the palace where they informed Kuei of the conspiracy, resulting in Long Feng's arrest.