One Robotnik, Hold the Disease
Aug. 13th, 2022 07:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
acetiff12One thing about Maria that is widely accepted by fans is her having an incurable disease called N.I.D.S.
Despite its popularity, it's a concept I like to ignore.
From the start, it was easy to ignore because I spent a long time unaware it was even a thing. I was first introduced to Maria when watching Sonic X. Then I enjoyed her presence in the Shadow the Hedgehog videogame. It wasn't until I looked into the Sonic fandom that I found out about the fictional disease that heavily resembled AIDS. It was mentioned in a lot of fanfiction and fan comics I read that had Maria in it. Actually, not just fanworks; it was also in regular discussions that happened to include her as well. (And still is today.)
I went along with it at first because everyone else seemed to accept it as fact, even though I'd never seen or heard about it on screen. Then I found out how the disease was mentioned in the Archie comics and the Japanese version of a game manual—Sonic Adventure 2, I think. Later I realized I didn't have to treat it as canon if I didn't want to.
I get why other fans would, though. It adds more angst to her already tragic story, it offers a big detail about her as a character since there's not much else to her, and it adds motivation for the creation of Shadow and the Ark.
But I was happy with her before, so acknowledging the illness felt entirely optional. Plus, I guess I like things simple in this case. Her death created enough angst for me, her sweet nature is the major character attribute I'm satisfied with, and I can see Shadow and the Ark still being created thanks to Gerald Robotnik's desire to help mankind. As a result, I tend to ignore N.I.D.S. whenever I discuss or make fanworks with my favorite Sonic character. Finding other posts that do the same is rare, but I always treasure them when I do.
Despite its popularity, it's a concept I like to ignore.
From the start, it was easy to ignore because I spent a long time unaware it was even a thing. I was first introduced to Maria when watching Sonic X. Then I enjoyed her presence in the Shadow the Hedgehog videogame. It wasn't until I looked into the Sonic fandom that I found out about the fictional disease that heavily resembled AIDS. It was mentioned in a lot of fanfiction and fan comics I read that had Maria in it. Actually, not just fanworks; it was also in regular discussions that happened to include her as well. (And still is today.)
I went along with it at first because everyone else seemed to accept it as fact, even though I'd never seen or heard about it on screen. Then I found out how the disease was mentioned in the Archie comics and the Japanese version of a game manual—Sonic Adventure 2, I think. Later I realized I didn't have to treat it as canon if I didn't want to.
I get why other fans would, though. It adds more angst to her already tragic story, it offers a big detail about her as a character since there's not much else to her, and it adds motivation for the creation of Shadow and the Ark.
But I was happy with her before, so acknowledging the illness felt entirely optional. Plus, I guess I like things simple in this case. Her death created enough angst for me, her sweet nature is the major character attribute I'm satisfied with, and I can see Shadow and the Ark still being created thanks to Gerald Robotnik's desire to help mankind. As a result, I tend to ignore N.I.D.S. whenever I discuss or make fanworks with my favorite Sonic character. Finding other posts that do the same is rare, but I always treasure them when I do.
