Toph is highly emotionally intelligent but a lot of people don’t see it because we tend to associate empathy with femininity and Toph is an unfeminine girl who is unapologetic about who she is and what she wants and a lot of people will look at those types of characters and go “unfeeling murder child.”
I mean, she gives advice to Iroh about his relationship with Zuko, despite never having met zuko and despite Iroh being one of the wisest characters in the series who usually gives advice to others.
She cares deeply about her parents, despite knowing that they don’t understand her, and tries to live up to what they want from her and doesn’t want to worry them. WIth the money she was making in the earth rumble, she actually could have left on her own, but she obviously loves them and even after she runs away, she worries about causing them pain.
She was gutted when she couldn’t save Appa, and Aang accuses her of not caring but that’s clearly not true at all. She holds herself accountable for not being able to save everyone and spent most of that episode blaming herself for him getting taken.
She makes an effort to enjoy the spa day with Katara even though it wasn’t what she wanted to do because Katara is her friend and that was what Katara wanted to do.
She takes a “tough love” approach to teaching Aang earthbending but also tries to build up his confidence and is super excited for him when he finally gets it.
Her face when Iroh is hurt
The way that she quickly forms emotional bonds with every single member of the gaang and gives them ridiculous affectionate nicknames.
“Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”
The way that she is the first one to believe in Zuko’s sincerity and defends him multiple times to the gaang even though he burned her because she knows it was an accident.
The way that she comforts Zuko and reassures him that Iroh still cares about him.
The way that she does rely on Katara as a motherly figure but also reassures Katara that she can still be a kid, too.
The way that she clings to Sokka, the guy who wants to be needed and feels like he needs to be the protector of this group of kids, but also has playful banter with him and can rival him for sarcasm.
The way that she gave up her comfortable life to join a fight that she wasn’t even involved in because other people needed her.
Yes, she can be rude and crude (and often does so on purpose), but she also deeply cares about people and forms strong bonds with every member of the gaang. She also has a deep understanding of other people that goes beyond just being able to detect when they’re lying through earthbending. She is really good at assessing people’s flaws and strengths. She sees no problem with cheating a cheater or pummeling some jerks into the dirt, and ignores stuffy social conventions if she sees no value in them, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have morals and doesn’t care about people.
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