Sonny Carisi Star Wars Resistance Pilot AU Headcanons (Featuring BB16 aka “Teeny”)
Some of y’all wanted more so I am obliging. Buckle your seatbelts, this is gonna get overly detailed and super nerdy:
Dominick Carisi, Jr. was born circa 5 ABY, on Cloud City, Bespin. He was nicknamed Sonny to differentiate him from his father, and as the only boy in the family.
He came from a line of Honor Guards for the Baron Administrator (such as Lando Calrissian) and other police-type organizations in the city. His father was part of the Official Bespin Wing Guard/New Republic joint task force to clean up the city of all traces of Imperial Occupation around the time Sonny and his sisters were born.
He grew up on level 51, the lowest level of Cloud City’s upper-end housing district, due to his family’s middle class position and his father’s need to be geographically close to the casinos, shady businesses and the lower-class levels, hence how he picked up the Port Town accent. (Everyone in Port Town on Cloud City now has a Staten Island accent, since so far they don’t exist in Star Wars canon. You’re welcome.)
Initially, Sonny saw himself following in his father’s footsteps in a Guard role. However, the tales of rebel heroes Luke Skywalker and Han Solo inspired Sonny to be a pilot. And he worked his tail off to get into the New Republic Flight Academy.
BB16 was a gift from his sisters at his send-off party before leaving to flight school. Said he needed a proper droid to accompany him on his adventures, he couldn’t just take a kitchen droid and try to retrofit it (But he was scrappy and resourceful and he would have found a way if he had to!) They pooled their allowances together, and he swore he’d find a way to pay them back. They told him protecting and saving the galaxy would be enough.
Teeny, as he nicknamed her, helped ease Sonny’s homesickness tremendously and assimilate with his classmates.
This boy IDOLIZED Poe Dameron, who was probably in his last year/graduating as Sonny came in.
Sonny did really well at flight school, and quickly rose through the ranks of the New Republic Defense Fleet, earning the title of Captain.
However, when the war with the First Order broke out, Sonny instantly signed up for the new Resistance.
He and Teeny now serve as part of Commander Benson’s Squadron. He was hoping to be able to work with Commander Dameron, and was a little disappointed he wouldn’t be getting the chance to.
Benson is from Chandrila (possibly an Alderaan refugee?), meaning she grew up on a more refined planet, leading her squad in that manner. So Sonny’s culture shock/fish-out-of-water quality was still there at the beginning, but thank goodness mustaches were never in fashion in the Galaxy Far Far Away!
Sonny flies an X-70 model Resistance X-Wing that he’s painted yellow and black instead of orange and black, so it matches Teeny. Got him in a bit of hot water with Benson and the squad at first, but it’s come in handy in many a dogfight.