Xion (Kingdom Hearts)

Xion is a supporting character in the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
==Canon background==
Xion was introduced to the series in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009). She is shown to be a close friend of Roxas and Axel, but her existence is forgotten at the end of the game. She is revealed to be a duplicate of Sora, whose identity was created by Sora's memories of Kairi specifically, causing her to have the same face as Kairi and Naminé.
She reappears in Kingdom Hearts III (2019), and is reunited with Roxas and Axel (as Lea).
==Reception and popularity==
Xion was initially treated with hostility by the fanbase, because prior to 358/2 Days, it had been assumed that Roxas and Axel were each other's only best friends during Roxas's time in Organization XIII. She was decried both as a Mary Sue retcon and as an attempt to kill Akuroku. Comparisons were drawn between Xion, who strongly resembles Kairi with black hair, and fan-made Keyblade-wielding original characters "lazily" designed by recoloring official art of an existing canon character.
As fandom began to reject Sue-bashing and open hatred towards female characters, Xion started to gain more of a positive fandom.
Xion was voted "Best New Character" in the 2009 Nintendo Power Awards."Readers' Choice". Nintendo Power. Future US (252): 66–67. March 2010. Some fans declared the year 2014 as the Year of Xion, due to Xion being No. XIV in Organization XIII, and promoted appreciation for the character. According to a 2017 Famitsu Weekly feature covering Kingdom Hearts' fifteenth anniversary, Xion ranked second in a popularity poll of ten female characters, with 182 votes.Cecily. KINGDOM HEARTS 15th Anniversary Feature in Famitsu published to KH Insider on 5 April 2017. (Accessed September 2020.)
==Fanon and tropes==
It was popular fanon that Roxas possessed two Keyblades at the end of Days and the beginning of II due to inheriting Xion's Keyblade upon her death.
Due to her tragic end in Days and the decade-long wait for her reintroduction in KHIII, fix-its rescuing Xion from non-existence have been popular. 
In mundane AUs, Xion is sometimes depicted as one of Kairi's relatives. Alternatively, as a "Sorta", she may be depicted as Sora's relative.
Since she started her existence as a blank Replica intended to copy Sora, and then gained an identity as "herself" over time, Xion is popularly interpreted as a trans girl, or at the very least someone whose narrative is strongly reminiscent of a trans character's.Jackson Ingram at Gameskinny.com: "Op-ed: Xion's story in Kingdom Hearts is a transgender narrative"
*Trans Xion tag on AO3
*Tumblr tags trans xion and xion is trans
===Shipping===
In a sample of 173 Kingdom Hearts fics that used the pairing filter on FanFiction.Net between 13 October 2013 and 4 August 2017, Xion was listed as paired most often with Roxas (53%), followed by Riku (18%), Vanitas (11%), Naminé (7%), and Axel (5%); she was also listed with Sora (3%), Larxene (2%), Ventus (1%), Saïx (1%), and Kairi (1%).https://phantomstatistician.tumblr.com/post/163797781206/fandom-kingdom-hearts-character-xion-sample In an updated sample of 212 fics published to the site between 13 October 2013 and 7 July 2020, the distribution had only changed to an insignificant degree.https://phantomstatistician.tumblr.com/post/622998237693001728/fandom-kingdom-hearts-character-xion-sample
====Notable ships====
*Axel & Roxas & Xion (Clock Tower Trio, Sea Salt Trio)
*Kairi & Naminé & Xion
*Roxas/Xion (RokuShi)
*Riku x Xion (RikuShi)
*Naminé/Xion (NamiShi)
*Riku Replica x Xion
*Vanitas x Xion (VaniShi)
==Fan works==
===Meta===
===Fan fiction===
*Why the Sun Sets Red
===Fan art===
*https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/76083049
===Cosplay===
===Animation===
=== Zines ===
* Memoría (2019)
==External links==
===Fan communities and archives===
*FanFiction.Net (FFN): Kingdom Hearts stories and crossovers featuring Xion
*DeviantArt (DA):
*Tumblr: Year of Xion (2014)
*Archive of Our Own (AO3): Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
*Pixiv: Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
===Resources===
*KH Wiki
*Wikipedia
==References==
Category:Kingdom Hearts Characters