fieldtrip: (134)
Toph Beifong · 北方拓芙 ([personal profile] fieldtrip) wrote2023-11-09 08:41 am

Application (Expiation)

Player: Liv
Contact: chirality on plurk, whiskeyqueer on discord
Age: 34
Current Characters: None

Character Name: Toph Beifong
Character Canon: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Canon Point: Post-canon, during the sequel comics
Age: 13

Crime: Swindling

Background: Fandom wikia page

Personality: Toph is egotistical, brash, caustic, and persistent. She embodies the ideals of an earthbender in her stubborn, hard-headed attitude, and is unafraid to express her disapproval, even when it's toward close friends of hers. She also has no problems mocking, lying, and tricking those who she thinks deserve it-- which, in typical teenage fashion, can take a fairly broad definition.

Toph can often be sullen and defensive. In this respect she is like any other twelve or thirteen year old; for all her remarkable abilities and special circumstances, in many ways she is not at all different from a normal girl. She wants her parents to accept her for who she is, she has silly unvoiced crushes, and she is uncompromising about her views. She can be aggressive about asserting her self-image as a tough guy, not wanting anyone to think she's weak-- something she's sensitive to due to her upbringing.

But ultimately Toph is not all bark and bite. Her friends are important to her, and she is not incapable of listening to advice or admitting when she's wrong, though when she does so it's because she genuinely has changed her mind. Toph will not agree with someone just to keep the peace; she says her opinion and she says it loud, unless she's lying to get something else out of it. What you see is what you get with her. So when she does change her mind, it's quite sincere and wholehearted. She left her entire life in Gaoling behind in order to follow Aang, and the impression Iroh left her with of Zuko stayed with her for months until the time that she met him herself. She is the epitome of steadfast and forthright.

She does appreciate those that show caring for her, and she shows it with her loyalty. While Katara might get on her nerves, and Aang's inability to stand up for himself can drive her crazy, ultimately Toph defends them any time they need it and without hesitation. She does what they need when they ask her to do it-- even when she disagrees, if they really need her, she comes through. She says directly to Sokka that it means a lot to her that Katara is so motherly, as it's something she never received from her own mother. Toph seems to have a soft spot for approving parental figures, as we see her have a similar reaction to Iroh. Although she responds harshly to being told what to do, she takes sentimental advice surprisingly well, listening carefully and responding in kind.

Additionally, she isn't heartless when someone opens up to her. For someone who is so bad at expressing her own positive feelings, Toph deals well with hearing them from someone else. She might tease a little, but most of the time she empathizes and affirms their feelings. Tough and self-confident as she is, she understands that everyone has their own problems and insecurities, and she doesn't undermine them. Toph is honestly self-confident and delights in exploring, showing off, experiencing new things, and otherwise enjoying her freedom. It's not a pretense, so her insecurities center around others' perceptions of her, not her perception of herself.

Despite a penchant to showing affection through punches, Toph is not all that abrasive to the average person. She is unhygienic and covered in dirt, she's arrogant and unreserved, she's quick to violence and quick to mock-- but she is ultimately a good person. She helps those who need it, she is very dependable, and she openly admires determination in others. She laughs at jokes, she whines about long trips, and she does mind her manners when she wants to. Toph is a pretty well-adjusted young girl with some incredibly powerful abilities.

Abilities: Toph is the most powerful earthbender in the world and maybe of all time (specific abilities described here). Earthbending is the manipulation of earth through martial arts, and she can actively sense vibrations in the ground. It's good for a wide range of things from fighting to construction to art. Her acuity is so good she developed the technique for metalbending, and overcame her difficulties with sand to learn sandbending. This also allows her to do some rudimentary lie detecting when speaking with others, though it's not too difficult to fool if the person has good emotional control of their physical reactions.

Toph is a phenomenal hand-to-hand fighter and uses a form based on Chow Gar Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Her other learned skills include lying, cheating, and pretending to be a helpless blind girl. She has very good (though not supernatural) hearing and never forgets a voice.

All that being said, she is still blind, and that carries some serious limitations. She can't track things in the air and she can't 'see' unless she actively has contact with solid ground. That makes her vulnerable on the ocean, on sand, and while flying.

Inventory: Uhhh honestly probably nothing, Toph does not care about objects. I'll say she has her space metal armband just for fun but it does absolutely nothing special apart from being a sentimental gift.

Samples: TDM post!

Questions: None, thanks so much!