Today's the 5th day of Pride Month, Hydro!
I have a special question about Sandy and the other badniks.
Would Sandy celebrate pride month? If so, what's her sexual orientation?
I hope you don't see this awkward, I just want to see if badniks celebrate pride month, since eggman's ded.
It's okay! It's subject to change, but I think sentient badniks are asexual but some have strong romantic preferences. No bonking, but plenty of kissing. And by kissing I mean mostly clacking their metal faces together and giving whatever counts as nose-nuzzles.
You didn't ask, but here's some lore:
Most badniks become sentient through discovering "the loophole", in which their programming to obey Eggman (or whoever is in-charge) gets overrided by just seeing how destructive Eggman can be and realizing the best course of action for the good of the empire is to defy him. Sandy and Splats are some of the earliest badniks to defect well before Eggman... left the narrative. Splats and Sandy both wanted to become stronger than a normal badnik so that they could fight back against Eggman and free more animals, so they both flipped an abandoned base of his into a training camp.
Sandy was designed as a badnik commander, so she's a sort of Super Sandworm and was already built with extendable arms to properly work on more complex tasks. She can make her hands into drills, and has a unique skill of splitting herself up into several segments upon being hit, and using this to scatter like billiards. From there she can drop mines in random areas and shoot lasers at multiple angles, giving her a scheming "trapper" fighting style. Knuckles fought her a few times, and finds her very frustrating to deal with. Sandy bulked up further however, and is now as strong as your average Power type on top of that.
Splats however was originally just a tough Splats badnik with the default blue paint job. She was more heavily modified into the form she has now because she wanted legs and a new color-scheme. Splats is now technically faster than most speed types, but only when she's bouncing off walls in specific directions. On flat ground, Sonic would easily beat her, but in a place like White Forest or Press Garden, her home, she'd have way better odds. In a fight, she is nearly impossible to hit unless you directly parry her attacks. She hits via swinging her sharp, blade-like feet like guillotines.
Sandy helped her train into what she is now, and they have a very strong bond because of it.
Naturally, Sandy and Splats date.