Love is Blind...And Bald- An Avatar: The Last Airbender- Toph/Aang Manifesto
Title: Love is Blind… and Bald
Author: x0whitelily0x
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Spoilers: Season Two Spoilers
Note: Short, I know but quality over quantity, right?
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: TLA, or any of the characters. If I did, Zuko would be with the Gaang, Yue wouldn't have died, and Sokka would've kept Foofoocuddlypoops.
Love is Blind… and Bald
This isn’t a very long manifesto, due to the fact that Toph has only been around in the second season anyway. Not to mention that they don’t have much private interaction after the first few episodes… It's also my very first, so please be gentle with the reviews ^.^;
Aang- The Reluctant Avatar
At first when we meet Aang, he is no different than any other 12 year-old boy (if with a touch of ADHD). The fact that he had mastered Airbending at such a young age probably should’ve tipped us off that there was more to him, but since it’s a very free-spirited Bending Art, it didn’t sink in. As the show continues, and he still doesn’t display any great maturity or wisdom, it is easy to assume that he really is just like any other 12 year-old boy. When he starts having a crush on Katara, the only girl he’s ever really gotten close to, it’s no surprise. However, it is soon shown that he is suffering from a great deal of guilt and pressure; mainly brought on by the fact that he is the Avatar, charged with the duty of keeping balance in the world, and also that he abandoned his people right before they were wiped out by the Fire Nation. Combined with his naturally peaceful- almost wimpish- attitude, it doesn’t seem very likely that he’d be ready to save anyone by the time Sozin’s Comet arrives and grants Firebenders the power they need to end the war.
Toph- The Blind Prodigy
Toph got a whole lot more character development in one episode than most get in five. We are introduced to her at a secret Earthbending tournament, although her face is familiar from when Aang had a vision of a girl in a fancy dress in a magical swamp. Her parents coddle her and keep her secret from the world, because she was born blind and they think that she’s delicate, so she sneaks out and participates in these underground tournaments whenever she can. She is (arguably) the greatest Earthbender that we have been introduced to, and uses vibrations in the earth to figure out where everything and everyone is, despite her blindness. She uses Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu for Earthbending, as opposed to the rest of the known world, which uses the Hung Gar style (possibly because she had to teach herself how to Earthbend, as her parents would not let her teacher teach her anything too dangerous). The more we get to know her, the more we see that ‘the Blind Bandit’ is far more her than ‘Toph Beifong’ ever was. Strong, independent to a fault, and rivaling Sokka in sarcasm, Toph would seem to be the antithesis to all things Airbender-y.
The Horizon where Earth and Air Meet
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be much about TophxAang that would attract people, does there? Other then the fact that they are both 12 year-olds, the similarities simply do not seem to meet. Besides that, they are children. Their concept of romance shouldn’t be much more then, ‘Hee hee, we’re holding hands.’ ‘Ew…cooties…’ (Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating). Not to mention that both of them have developed crushes- Aang on Katara, and Toph on Sokka.
However, they compliment each other almost perfectly, each one covering for the faults of the other. Aang’s natural peacemaking-attitude is able to put up with all of Toph’s barbs and stingers. And when she pushes him too far, he is able to stand up for himself. Through her, he learns endurance and how to fight back, instead of just avoiding something (which is the natural way for Airbenders to fight). This is something very important for him to know, since he is the Avatar and will have to defeat Fire Lord Ozai and end the war. He cannot just keep with his passive fighting tactics if he wants to accomplish this, and he’ll have to tackle this duty head-on as well, with no distractions.
Likewise, Toph learns from Aang that sometimes it is best to compromise. When she was trying to teach him how to Earthbend, he just wouldn’t get it, no matter how hard either one of them tried. She was insistent on using a very aggressive approach, and refused to listen to anybody. But in the end, she does change her methods (if only slightly), and successfully teaches Aang to Earthbend. She even dubs him Twinkletoes, and this is the only nickname that she uses continually throughout the series (she calls Katara 'Sugar Queen' once, and 'Sweetness' another time, but that's it), and he responds to it from the start. They do have a connection, though the nature of it is debatable.
TophxAang in Canon
Admittedly, there is not a whole lot of canon evidence for this pairing. The fact that Aang’s been focused on Katara from day one doesn’t exactly help matters, either. At least with Toph, while she does have a crush on Sokka, hasn’t been showing much of an active pursuit.
However, the two do have their moments. In ‘The Swamp’ episode, when Aang sees his vision of a faceless girl giggling with her flying boar, a lot of fans began to suspect that Katara might not be his only opportunity to have a girlfriend. Especially since this swamp was also where Sokka had a vision of Yue. According to the old man who lives there, the swamp shows visions of people they’ve loved, people they’ve lost. While this might mean that Toph will die or be lost to Aang at some point, it also means that at some point, Aang will love her. It may be familial love, mentor love, or the romantic love us Taangers are hoping for, but he will love her.
Later, when we actually meet Toph, Aang is determined to make her his Earthbending teacher. During a dinner he has with her family and teacher, he keeps trying to drop hints about how talented she is to her family. This does not amuse her, so she keeps using her Earthbending to make him shut up. When one of her little escapades ends up with his face in his soup, he is quick to return the favor.
After dinner, she goes to his room to declare a truce, and the two go outside to the garden to talk. She explains to him about her Earthbending and how she can see with it, and how her parents insist on treating her like a fragile doll. Aang keeps trying to get her to come with him, and after a point it seems like he isn’t just worried about getting a teacher, he wants her to come, and to get away from this place where she isn’t happy. But before he can convince her, they get kidnapped.
After a scene where Toph proceeds to kick the tar out of the kidnappers and their accomplices in front of her father, she then proceeds to be put under more or less house arrest, and her parents refuse to accept the real her. They send the Avatar and his friends away, but before he leaves, this little scene emerged.
Aang: "I’m sorry Toph."
Toph: "I’m sorry too. Good-bye Aang." A single tear runs down her cheek.
It’s hard to believe that this strong, independent girl would allow herself to cry just because she couldn’t leave with someone she barely knew. Aang has begun to mean something important to her- he listened to her complaints and didn’t judge her, and he found the real Toph and brought her out for the world to see, which was what she needed, whether she would admit it or not. As Aang looks out at the Bei Fong’s mansion, and has a brief conversation with Katara.
Katara: Don't worry. We'll find you a teacher. There are plenty of amazing Earthbenders out there.
Aang: Not like her.
Interpret that however you want, but don’t you think that he means more than just her fighting style? Up until the point where Toph comes running up to Appa with her pack and travel clothes, Aang looks upset and regretful. But as soon as she shows up, his mood is immediately lightened, and he is eager to have her come along- the fact that she Earthbends him into a tree doesn’t damper his enthusiasm either.
Unfortunately, after this episode, Toph and Aang have a noticeable lack of canon evidence. In ‘Bitter Work’ Toph picks on him and tries to get him to teach him very aggressively. But watching her tease him like that is adorable, and it reminds you that they really are just children, even though they have to act grown-up all the time. Their interactions are sweet and funny, and it is clear that they have a relationship that is different that Aang’s and Katara’s or Toph’s and Sokka’s. Whether this will evolve into anything romantic has yet to be seen, but there is always hope.
TophxAang in Fanon
Taang doesn’t have a very large fanbase when you compare it to some others- like Kataang or Zutara. However, it does enjoy a good deal of popularity and theories. One popular one is that Toph is the reincarnation of the woman whose face was stolen by Koh, due to the fact that in Aang’s vision, he could not see her face. To add to that, Koh was in a swamp-like area of the Spirit World and Aang had his vision in a swamp. There is even a Taang community here on LiveJournal, go look it up!
If you are interested in Taang, here are some good places to go to meet other fans.
Taang fanart clubs:
http://tophang.deviantart.com/ - Larger then the one above, and more diverse, but both are worth checking out.
http://tophaang-club.deviantart.com/ - A small but dedicated club, with a lot of good pictures in their favorites.
Taang fanfic communities:
http://www.fanfiction.net/c2/36556/3/0/1/ - Another one dedicated to Toph, but more focused on pairings. A good amount is Taang, but there are some Tokka and Katoph as well, so be prepared.
http://www.fanfiction.net/c2/35520/3/0/1/ - This one has a lot of wide range of story types, but all are about Taang! Most are drabbles, so it’s good if you just want to read some shorts.
http://www.fanfiction.net/c2/31980/3/0/1/ - The smallest, and it has a lot of cute drabbles. Good if you don’t have much time on your hands.
http://www.fanfiction.net/c2/38819/3/0/1/ - Dedicated to Toph and her character. There are a lot of well-written stories, but not many are Taang.