The Last Remnant
| Video game fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Last Remnant |
| Abbreviation(s) | TLR |
| Developer(s) | Square-Enix |
| Release date | 2008 |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Last Remnant is a standalone video game developed by Square-Enix for the Xbox 360 and the PC. It follows the adventures of Rush Sykes, a young man with mysterious powers, as he tries to rescue his kidnapped younger sister. In the process, he meets and gains the assistance of David Nassau, the ambitious young marquis of the city-state of Athlum. The entire Sykes family becomes caught up in a conflict that will change their world.
Characters
- Rush Sykes, the player character, part of a long tradition of video game protagonists who have mysterious powers that they do not understand. Rush is friendly, easygoing, and clueless about formal protocol.
- Irina Sykes, Rush's younger sister, who is kidnapped due to her mysterious powers. Irina is smart and stubborn, and joins the fighting party once she has been rescued.
- David Nassau, marquis of Athlum, a young man who is trying to live up to his father's legacy and free his city from the control of a neighboring state. David is polite and formal, but aggressive, and admired by his people.
- Marina and John Sykes, Rush and Irina's parents, who are both scientists studying the major technology of their world. They are absentee parents much of the time, but they are both alive and their relationship to their children is loving, which is rare in video games.
- Torgal, Emma Honeywell, Blocter, and Pagus, the Four Generals of Athlum. They are David's advisors and surrogate family, and among them they represent all of the sentient species shown in the game.
Pairings
The canon has very little explicit romance: there is John and Marina Sykes' marriage, and some side quests involve minor characters who are romantically involved, but none of the major characters' relationships are explicitly marked as romantic. The subtext for David/Rush is extremely obvious, to the point that some fans will argue for it being canon; many scenes focus on their developing understanding of each other, and they touch far more often than is common for the genre. David/Rush is the most popular pairing in the fandom, though other slash pairings occur as well. There are also some femslash pairings, including Emma/Marina and Emmy/Irina. Het fans may ship David/Irina.
There is also a segment of the fandom that writes xenokink fic, usually featuring the mitra (human) and sovani (tall, long-lived, four-armed cat people) characters. A few NPCs in the game refer to the existence of xeno relationships or to their own attraction to members of other species. Popular xeno pairings include David/Torgal and Rush/Caedmon.