Eri Tomao

> *"Being strong... it isn't about being powerful and tough and unbreakable. Being strong is just not letting fear or despair overpower you. That's it. When I go into fight, do you think I'm not afraid? Of course I am! Show me someone who's not afraid of facing death, and I'll show you an idiot! But you have to take that step forward anyway and not give in! That's what being strong is."*
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**Eri Tomao** is a female Firebender originating from the tropics of Ember Island, located in the Fire Nation. She is the current Firebender teacher and close friend of Avatar Genji. Eri is one of the driving forces behind the group, fulelled by her own self-motivation, but equally regarded to one of the strongest members of Team Avatar (second only to Genji) as she is a prodigy at the art.

Eri remarks herself to be a pretty ordinary girl, originating from some degree of wealth in Ember Island. Her father pushed her into becoming a Firebender due to her natural talent, but her mother encouraged her to go into culinary work. Eri was showered with praise throughout her life, resulting in her headstrong and overconfident personality. She has repeatedly mentioned that her parents seem to be inches away from divorce As of the time of the events of the story, Eri was living in Republic City on a gap year between her studies in Firebending, but eventually began to travel with the rest of Team Avatar as the Avatar's Firebending teacher. She also initiated a romantic relationship with Kue.

## History

### Early Life

Born around 228 AG, Eri is the only child of the Tomao's: an affluent and wealthy family that reside on Ember Island. Eri remarks that she lived a pretty uneventful childhood. Her parents loved her well enough, but would often argue and use Eri as a centerpiece for their disagreements. Eri's father encouraged her to go into Firebending training, of which she showed to be a prodigy with natural talent for the skill. Her father's lavish praise would eventually form the strong confidence that Eri possesses, but also her flaw of being unable to accept failure. Meanwhile, Eri's mother recognised Eri's growing brash personality and worried, and tried to encourage Eri to instead try other hobbies. Eri managed to settle into neutral territory to please them both, by keeping up with Firebending training extensively but also enjoying a hobby of cooking.

Around teenagehood, Eri finally recognised the manipulation her parents were putting her through by using Eri to get back at each other. This exhausted Eri and she began to distance herself from her parents. In her exploits around Ember Island, which is implied to involve a lot of partying and law-breaking, Eri made a huge amount of friends. Eventually, she tired of her life on Ember Island and broke away from her parents. She made a move to Republic City, hoping to seek fame and fortune there.

Whilst living in Republic City, she seemed to struggle to find any steady work. She worked as a contractor for cooking, working events and the like, whilst crashing on a friends couch, but spent most of her time exploring the city and getting into fights.

## Trivia

* Eri is the first known teacher of the Avatar to know how to Lightningbend, although she is yet to teach Genji the practice.
* She is the only member of Team Avatar to be in a romantic relationship thus far, with Kue.
* The character of Eri is visually inspired by Eijiro Kirishima in *My Hero Academia.*
	+ Personality wise, she is also inspired by Katsuki Bakugo in *My Hero Academia,* Inosuke Hashibira in *Demon Slayer,* and Ellie Williams in *The Last of Us.*
* The name 'Eri' is of Japanese origin, meaning 'love and clever'. The surname 'Tomao' could be a reference to the word 'tomato', an indication of the color of Eri's hair.
* Eri's favourite food is Flameo's Noodles; she's a huge fan of spicy food, and makes it her mission to find the spiciest meal she can when in a new location.
* She is the only member of Team Avatar to have killed somebody.
	+ She is the second Firebender in a Team Avatar to have killed, the first being Mako.
* Eri's hair is naturally black, and routinely dyed red. Her roots were showing after the timeskip during the Boiling Rock arc.
* Her parents wealth comes from manufacturing and selling craft beer.
* She used to own a pet turtle-duck named Tofu.