I want to sleep more

I think it comes from a place of willful ignorance. Lao raised Toph to be a certain way, to be a well mannered quiet "young lady". Toph did try to perform that idealised version of herself he wanted to see, she was a child trying to please her parents after all, so I can't really blame her.

And when she didn't conform, he immediately fell into denial. At first he convinced himself that she still needed protection, then that she was kidnapped by Aang instead of choosing to go with him. And when he couldn't deny her strangth any longer, he outright disowned her.

Tale as old as time, really. Parent has rigid standards for child, child fails to meet them, fallout ensues. It's a story not just disabled people can relate to but folks of different kinds of backgrounds. (Including myself. I was raised with the Polish proverb "children, like fish, have no voice" drilled into my skull lmao.)

It's important to note that Lao's approach to Toph's upbringing also reeks of misogyny. Especially Lao raising Toph to be this demure, delicate "young lady".

It's hard to say whether, if Toph were a boy, Lao would dote on her quite as much. But I'm sure there'd be less pressure on her to supress her emotions and conform to the restraining societal norms placed on women and girls in her location and time period.

It's actually very interesting to see Toph's relationship with femininity, and with Katara through the lense of the constant mix of abelist and misogynistic rhethorics Toph was raised with.

I know the most emotional tale in Avatar Last Airbender tends to be Iroh's tale, especially because it's in honor and memory of his original VA, Mako! Iroh's my favorite character hands down. Toph too!

So, a scene I think about A LOT and get emotional to in ATLA is Katara & Toph's tale in Ba Sing Se. Specifically, after when Katara and Toph go to the spa and get their well-deserved break! They treat themselves to an awesome makeover and feel pretty. What's heartbreaking is that within 20 seconds (I counted) of them walking out of the spa and mentioning how they feel girly and good about themselves, they encounter a group of bullies who say, "Nice makeup", to which Toph thanks them, and they follow with, "... for a clown!" 20. SECONDS. They only had 20 seconds outside where they felt pretty, to be put down soon after. This results in Toph and Katara getting revenge and having a nice bonding moment afterwards.

It just bothers me and actually makes me cry every time I watch it. I know that's weird to admit, but bullying someone, especially a badass blind/disabled person, and making them not feel pretty when they were feeling pretty about themselves... just hurts really badly. I also know it's fiction, but it seems incredibly telling of a society we are when open-handed comments like that are thrown about carelessly, without ANY consideration of how the receiving end would feel, and how it would ultimately and potentially affect their entire day. Toph knows who she is deep down, the strongest bender around, and I think we all know who we are deep down to an extent, so it just sucks when people assume things about you and put their energy into putting you down unnecessarily. Be kind, have empathy! It's not hard! Women as a whole deserve to feel pretty about themselves and feel safe. We need to stop putting each other down.

I tear up the moment Toph has a tear fall from her face, because it's a sharpened painful tear from a lifetime of emotional burden. You can tell it really hurt. I'm gonna be there like Katara is for Toph, for all my friends and loved ones, always.

Sokka: Toph there’s a cockroach outside the bathroom, can you please get rid of it?

Sokka: Toph please hurry up I’m going to cry.

Sokka: Toph?

There is much talk about Toph’s inventing metalbending, and she is clearly an absolute genius, but you know what I love about her even more?

Toph’s response to not being able to control sand absolutely perfectly (as in hold up a sinking tower with one hand and fight off a gang of sandbenders with the other) is to work on her sandbending until she’s fully in control of every speck of dirt. 

Toph learning about fossils and prehistoric animals, using earthbending to sense them, and find out more. all of this, her bending is a part of her. She can even bend space rocks and metals for crying out loud.

toph's arc is about learning she doesn't have to be so independent, that she can accept help from others and be part of a team. but it's not that she starts out not caring about other people. it's that her idea of respect is shaped by what she wishes was offered to her. she learns you can accept help & care from others and that still means they respect you and see you as a full person.

Hi! Thanks for your question.

I suppose such an AU assumes that Zuko Is Lin's father, doesn't it? (honestly I see no obstacles to believe that it's true, and he is canonically is Lin's father (in LOK I mean). There is nothing that proves against it, I'm just saying).

Well, in AU where toko is canon and Toph marries Zuko and became a Fire Lady, lin is born is royal family and she is a princess. I think that canonically in LOK Lin was majorly influenced by fatherless childhood. She needed a father figure and full caring family more than Suyin.

In the world where Lin grow up with a father, her mother wouldn't be so estranged from raising kids. (although how Toph treats her kids in LOK looks like a complete OOC, no matter what)

I don't think that Lin would go to police. Her choice for police career was dictated by her desire to be as close as possible to her mother figure and by her need for order and discipline that she and her sister lacked in their childhood.  I think that Fire Lady Toph would be Indulgent mother and would allow lots of things to her kids but wouldn't hide her emotions from kids like they showed in LOK. She would have more wide system of support and help of loving husband.

 Zuko, on the contrary, I believe, would be firm and even strict father. So no lack of discipline for Lin, for sure. I think she would be father's daughter and would show interest in politics. She would study jurisprudence, law and law system. And later, in her 30s she would go in politics and I believe Fire Nation would get some nice progressive reforms because of her.

________