Toni Topaz

"I'm Toni Topaz. I was supposed to give you the full animatronic tour of Southside High, but some of the robots went insane and started killing the guests, so, we'll just wing it."

- Toni to Jughead

Toni Topaz is a recurring character in the second season of Riverdale. She is portrayed by Vanessa Morgan.

Toni is a student at Southside High, and a member of the Southside Serpents, who may cause trouble for Jughead and Betty's relationship. She will also act as Jughead's guide into the world of the serpents. After Jughead transferred to Southside High, he re-opened the school's newspaper, known as "The Red and Black" and recruited Toni as the school photographer.

Character description
Toni is a vivacious member of the Southside Serpents, who is known for her signature pink hair and impressive appetite.

Season 1
Toni commented under Chuck Clayton's post of him and Veronica Lodge, in which he claimed to have given her a "sticky maple". In response to this post, Toni commented "No gracias". Notably, the spelling of Toni was different, being spelled in its masculine form, Tony.

Southside High's Welcome Wagon
Toni arrived at school that morning to find Jughead Jones, Southside High's newest student passing through security. While taking a quick photo of him, Toni called out to Jughead by his first name, Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, before introducing herself as his mentor. She was supposed to give him the full animatronic tour of the school, however, she joked that with some of the robots going insane and killing people, they would be forced to wing it. Toni made sure to tackle the basics as she guided Jughead throughout the school. The classrooms don't have Wi-Fi. The bathroom stalls don't have doors. And the school paper, The Red and Black, had long since been closed down due to budget cuts. To their right was a rare glimpse of Jingle Jangle (highly addictive gutter drug) being consumed in its natural habitat. On to the cafeteria, where she informed Jughead of the Ghoulies, a rival gang of drug dealers, street racers, and rumored cannibals. As for her and Jughead, they sat on the other side of the cafeteria with the Southside Serpents, which Toni failed to mention earlier, though her affiliation to the Serpents is precisely why she volunteered to be his mentor. However, Jughead would rather sit alone, which baffled Toni considering that he was a Serpent by blood; the son of FP Jones. Toni advised Jughead to stick with the Serpents. Should the Ghoulies discover that he's alone and vulnerable, they'll attack.

The next day in class, Toni warned Jughead against answering Mr. Phillips question in relation to the dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451. However, Jughead failed to heed her warning.

Later that day, she joined Jughead in the Red and Black offices to help him unpack after receiving approval from staff to revive the school paper. She congratulated him on finding his safe space. All he needed now was a photographer with an amazing eye and a hunger for social justice, looking to Toni in hopes that she would agree to join him. However, before Toni got the chance to reply, they were interrupted by Sweet Pea and two fellow Serpent members, who were wondering if Toni and Jughead would be joining them at the quarry. Although Toni was prepared to leave, Jughead declined Sweet Pea's offer, which left him feeling a bit upset considering that Jughead had come to them in the past for assistance. They were good enough for him to ask for help, but not good enough to hang out with, Sweet Pea concluded. While Jughead appreciated what they had done for him and his father, he was through with the Serpents, which angered Sweet Pea, enough to make him attack. Fortunately, Toni was there to keep the two of them apart, telling Sweet Pea that Jughead just wasn't that into him.

That night, Toni accidentally walked in on Jughead kissing his girlfriend, Betty Cooper. Toni apologized for the intrusion, sarcastically remarking that she didn't see the sock on the door. Betty was not at all what Toni had pictured. She imagined someone more resembling of Emily the Strange. Jughead then pulled an old kettle pot out of the box of items that Betty had brought over. Surprisingly, Toni had brought one off her own, commenting that great minds think alike.

Toni joined Betty and Jughead in FP's trailer the next day, following an attack on Jughead, presumably orchestrated by the Ghoulies. However, he lied to Betty, telling her that the cuts and bruises were the result of a motorcycle incident. While cleaning him up, Betty was initially worried that Jughead was going to tell her that he got jumped by the Ghoulies, which according to Toni, the Serpents would never allow because they had Jughead's back. Even though he wasn't an actual member, there was still that connection of family loyalty. Before leaving for school, Betty asked Toni if she could keep an eye on Jughead while she was gone, to which Toni replied that she was all over it. Once Betty was gone, they were able to speak freely. Toni reminded Jughead that she had warned him about the Ghoulies and how they would attack. She was hoping that this would serve as a lesson to take the threat more seriously.

The following day in the cafeteria, Jughead voluntarily joined her and Sweet Pea at the lunch table. It would seem that he had finally realized the severity of the threat, as well as accepted their offer to join them.

Physical Appearance
Toni is a beautiful teenage girl, with dark brown hair with stand-out light pink highlights. Additionally, she has a small frame, light brown skin, and almond-shaped, brown eyes.

Personality
Toni Topaz shares similar traits with Jughead, such as seeking out justice and the truth in journalism. For those reasons, Jughead offered her to join the Southside High "Red and Black" school newspaper as the photographer. Even though Jughead wasn't officially in the Southside Serpents gang, hanging out with the members, Toni and the rest of the Serpents still had his back, as they considered him one of them, identifying Jughead as a "Serpent by Blood".

Toni is a very kind and accepting person. She's loving and very friendly to the people who she likes, as seen with Jughead. As a gang member, she's also very loyal. This is evident as she warned Jughead about the Ghoulies and, that without them, he'd be vulnerable. This loyalty was displayed once again as she didn't reveal the real reason behind Jughead's bruises, getting beaten up by "the Ghoulies", to Betty, going along with his secret.

Trivia

 * She is Riverdale's first (openly) bisexual character.
 * According to showrunner, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Toni is Jughead's guide into the Serpent world. She has a lot of the same interests as Jughead – it's almost as if she's a female Jughead.
 * As well as her 'siren-like' call for Jughead, deeper into a Serpent lineage, this could mean trouble for Betty and Jughead's relationship.

Gallery

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Promotional Images

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Season 1 Screencaps

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