Lysatran culture is very rigid and the parents dictate everything about their children and their life paths. Eli's elder sister runs the day to day of Vanto Freight and Transport, Eli's 'job' was switched from cargo master to Imperial Academy student, putting him in a position to send those lucrative Outer Rim and Wild Space contracts to his family. It did not go as planned, and his family was furious about it.
Eli is the middle boy of three and the middle child of five. All of the Vantos are mathematically gifted, so he never really stood out for that reason. Myomar's focus was shipping, logistics, supply chain management, civil engineering, and shipbuilding.
He was admitted to the Myomar Academy when he was fourteen, before it was integrated into the Imperial Academy system. He was held back a year to meet the minimum age for his shakedown cruise as he was seventeen and the Imperial system required that he be eighteen.
While Eli resented the hell out of Thrawn at first, but they bonded largely over being two pariahs - a Wild Space yahoo and a near-human alien.
Over the years, Thrawn saved Eli from his Angry Middle Child spicy temper many, many times. Sometimes a quiet "Eli." Sometimes a hand on his shoulder and a good grip. Sometimes picking him up and carrying him off over his shoulder.
Eli is cursed with a baby-face. He never appears to age as much as one expects. Even in his late twenties and in uniform, he still has to pop his chain code to get into a bar.
Eli gets murderous hangovers. Shoot me now hangovers. Thrawn keeps a supply of Fly-Rite on hand and a lot of I-Told-You-So. He can't understand why Eli drinks enough beer and k'ila to fill the pilot area of a standard TIE fighter and expects a different outcome.
He has a serious case of potty-mouth. Curses like a sailor. He's calmed down a lot as he gets older. He says that's because Thrawn has burned out his WTF button.
From time to time, he can still be heard to mutter, "Good day, Lieutenant Vanto?!"
He was inconsolable after the Space Whale Fleet Yeet over Lothal. He considered jumping ship and trying to find Thrawn and the Chimaera, but was stopped multiple times by Ar'alani.
