For all that Toph is a great bender, I feel like she keeps figuring out how to bend weird stuff more out of spite than anything else. Like, metal has tiny earth impurities in it, therefore I can bend metal. Oh, salt is a mineral so I can obviously bend the ocean. Bones are mostly limestone? Sweet, I'm a people bender now. What's that? This delicious confectionery is called rocky road? Great, now I can bend chocolate. Toph's ability was never earthbending, it was her ability to bend the rules.
She’s actually the Avatar but doesn’t tell anyone because she just rationalises that anyone can bend other elements if they weren’t a little bitch about it
toph: *bends some clouds*
aang: ???
toph: it’s just earthbending lol
the gaang: no?? it’s not???
toph: clouds are the same colour as rocks
katara: how would you know what color the clouds are
the separation of elements is an illusion
like pants