[Fan Fiction] Notes and discussion for "A sword that wields itself"

[Bamax]

Hahaha! Now I wanna see Beryl play an immersive version of Portal 2 as chell.

Chell never said a word yet Glados and Wheately both grew to hate her... for no good reason either.

Beryl would talk back... either enough to make GLADOS say "Forget the test.. neurotoxin for you now!!!" Or Beryl and Glados would get in arguments so long that Emberwing has to interrupt Beryl's gameplay since the ship has already arrived at the docking port.

Dumb sidekick wheatley with Beryl would be much fun too.

[Krulle]

SpoilerShow

Chapter XXI: Feyfolk

Beryl was intrigued, “It must be filled with native flora? Of course, I’m interested, but was what does this have anything to do with our task here?”

This sentence as a whole may need some reworking. But the was/what definitely needs correction

Again, thank you for the entertaining read!
Enjoying this very much and am looking forwards where this will bring us.

[Bamax]

Get rid of the 'was' and you will be OK. Or have Beryl say instead:

Beryl was intrigued, “It must be filled with native flora? Of course, I’m interested, but what does this have anything to do with our task here?”

This was arguably the funniest chapter with humans and Loroi yet.

Since you can come up with European names so easily, and english is not your first language... and you are very punctual, I think I know what country you are from (living in Deutschland)?

Or is it far east (Russia)?

No American could come up with names like what sounds like a giant (7 foot tall) blond german woman's name unless they had done research or had a german background.

[Krulle]

Dottir.... is a typical scandinavian name (yes, this includes Iceland too - "-dottir" and "-son" and is still widespread in Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (although as "family" name mainly in Iceland), and simply means "daughter of". "Martinsdottir" therefore translates as "Daughter of Martin". "Martinson" as "Son of Martin".
And yes, Iceland kept the traditional naming, hence from the name you can immediately deduce the first (given) name of a parent. In Norway and Denmark they "fixed" the naming at a certain point.

From that I could not deduce that Cthulu would be German (or Germanic).
(S)He merely knows that "-dottir" is the family name ending of a female person from Iceland.

Also, I did not get the mental image of a tall blond person. And especially not German, as the person is even described as being Icelandic.

[Bamax]

Dottir.... is a typical scandinavian name (yes, this includes Iceland too - "-dottir" and "-son" and is still widespread in Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (although as "family" name mainly in Iceland), and simply means "daughter of". "Martinsdottir" therefore translates as "Daughter of Martin". "Martinson" as "Son of Martin".
And yes, Iceland kept the traditional naming, hence from the name you can immediately deduce the first (given) name of a parent. In Norway and Denmark they "fixed" the naming at a certain point.

From that I could not deduce that Cthulu would be German (or Germanic).
(S)He merely knows that "-dottir" is the family name ending of a female person from Iceland.

Also, I did not get the mental image of a tall blond person. And especially not German, as the person is even described as being Icelandic.

Well I am American... so I just assumed there were plenty german blondes too.

And again... don't be surprised if I forget certain nationality cues that indicate which European country it is.

American mainstream culture really has virtually nothing to say about European culture. So if you know much at all it's because of your relatives being European descendents. .. or taking deliberate interest. I arguably know more about Russian culture than German, although I do know Germans are known for punctuality and order... how else did they nearly conquer all of Europe twice?

Mine were not, so you will have to forgive my ignorance at times.

I assumed blonde when she mentioned she was scandinavian... since many are... although arguably more so in denmark.... since the vikings tended to mix up their gene pool a lot. I presume the danes were vikings who decided to stay put more, since lots of blondes indicates not much in the way of mixed heritage (blonds mating with blonds mostly).

[Cthulhu]

Interestingly, people gave Loroi to play all sorts of VR like the Ghost of Tsushima. Why not give them something like Half Life?

Well, you know, Alex or Black Mesa... Headcrabs, zombies, a lot of alien violence against humans and vice versa... and all this in the scenery of periodic horror and a permanent fubar that only gets WORSE...

Fireblade might even appreciate...

Half-Life is too old to run on 23rd century hardware, and HL3 is still not released yet.

Fireblade, with her berserk trait, will not be a good candidate for that. She will wreck everyone and everything. Literally. Both in the game and real-life.

SpoilerShow

Chapter XXI: Feyfolk

Beryl was intrigued, “It must be filled with native flora? Of course, I’m interested, but was what does this have anything to do with our task here?”

This sentence as a whole may need some reworking. But the was/what definitely needs correction

Again, thank you for the entertaining read!
Enjoying this very much and am looking forwards where this will bring us.

Yes, I'll rework that. This is what happens when you rush for a release, you overlook something. Bleh, this sentence sounds like it was put through the mixer and rearranged at random.

Get rid of the 'was' and you will be OK. Or have Beryl say instead:

Beryl was intrigued, “It must be filled with native flora? Of course, I’m interested, but what does this have anything to do with our task here?”

This was arguably the funniest chapter with humans and Loroi yet.

Since you can come up with European names so easily, and english is not your first language... and you are very punctual, I think I know what country you are from (living in Deutschland)?

Or is it far east (Russia)?

No American could come up with names like what sounds like a giant (7 foot tall) blond german woman's name unless they had done research or had a german background.

Yes, I live in Berlin, in the far eastern part of it

Dottir.... is a typical scandinavian name (yes, this includes Iceland too - "-dottir" and "-son" and is still widespread in Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (although as "family" name mainly in Iceland), and simply means "daughter of". "Martinsdottir" therefore translates as "Daughter of Martin". "Martinson" as "Son of Martin".
And yes, Iceland kept the traditional naming, hence from the name you can immediately deduce the first (given) name of a parent. In Norway and Denmark they "fixed" the naming at a certain point.

From that I could not deduce that Cthulu would be German (or Germanic).
(S)He merely knows that "-dottir" is the family name ending of a female person from Iceland.

Also, I did not get the mental image of a tall blond person. And especially not German, as the person is even described as being Icelandic.

She and her twin brother are indeed of Icelandic descent, good job noticing that. I'll add their entry to the character descriptions.
Usually, Icelanders add a patronym (father's name with -son or -dottir) to their name, while matronyms (mother's name), especially for boys, are still rare. But it's the future, so why not?

Well I am American... so I just assumed there were plenty german blondes too.

And again... don't be surprised if I forget certain nationality cues that indicate which European country it is.

American mainstream culture really has virtually nothing to say about European culture. So if you know much at all it's because of your relatives being European descendents. .. or taking deliberate interest. I arguably know more about Russian culture than German, although I do know Germans are known for punctuality and order... how else did they nearly conquer all of Europe twice?

Mine were not, so you will have to forgive my ignorance at times.

I assumed blonde when she mentioned she was scandinavian... since many are... although arguably more so in denmark.... since the vikings tended to mix up their gene pool a lot. I presume the danes were vikings who decided to stay put more, since lots of blondes indicates not much in the way of mixed heritage (blonds mating with blonds mostly).

Oh darn, and I even went through the trouble of adding an extra heap of diversity for my American readers, all for naught. I thought that it was en vogue over there?
No, jokes aside, since the Loroi put so much importance on names and their meanings, why not use various Human naming conventions to confuse them?

P.S. Germans are no longer overly punctual (sadly), that's a dying breed.

P.P.S. Also, why Russian culture? They are supposed to be your country's new and old arch-enemy.

[Krulle]

@bamax:
Well, I wouldn't know much of the population differences in the US.
But I agree, it's likely that the US-culture bleeds nowadays more into our culture than the other way around, with all the big movies being produced in the USoA.

So, let us see what Elvu's Daughter Gunndis will do next...


Edit: got ninja'ed, that happens if you don't press "submit" immediately...

yes, matronyms are seldom. Also for the social stigma they bring/brought, because it usually means, that the mother is without a husband, and the kid therefore born outside of a marriage. But more and more (current) women decide to change their "name" to the matronymial name. (Which Icelandic law explicitly allows nowadays.)
There are even cases, where the kid got grandfather's name, if the father was unknown (or the mother otherwise unwilling to divulgue the father's name).
But often, they took the name of a male (single) fishermen who did not return from a fishing tour (not unusual for islands in stormy regions).

But we're getting far off-topic here.

[Bamax]

Interestingly, people gave Loroi to play all sorts of VR like the Ghost of Tsushima. Why not give them something like Half Life?

Well, you know, Alex or Black Mesa... Headcrabs, zombies, a lot of alien violence against humans and vice versa... and all this in the scenery of periodic horror and a permanent fubar that only gets WORSE...

Fireblade might even appreciate...

Half-Life is too old to run on 23rd century hardware, and HL3 is still not released yet.

Fireblade, with her berserk trait, will not be a good candidate for that. She will wreck everyone and everything. Literally. Both in the game and real-life.

SpoilerShow

Chapter XXI: Feyfolk

Beryl was intrigued, “It must be filled with native flora? Of course, I’m interested, but was what does this have anything to do with our task here?”

This sentence as a whole may need some reworking. But the was/what definitely needs correction

Again, thank you for the entertaining read!
Enjoying this very much and am looking forwards where this will bring us.

Yes, I'll rework that. This is what happens when you rush for a release, you overlook something. Bleh, this sentence sounds like it was put through the mixer and rearranged at random.

Get rid of the 'was' and you will be OK. Or have Beryl say instead:

Beryl was intrigued, “It must be filled with native flora? Of course, I’m interested, but what does this have anything to do with our task here?”

This was arguably the funniest chapter with humans and Loroi yet.

Since you can come up with European names so easily, and english is not your first language... and you are very punctual, I think I know what country you are from (living in Deutschland)?

Or is it far east (Russia)?

No American could come up with names like what sounds like a giant (7 foot tall) blond german woman's name unless they had done research or had a german background.

Yes, I live in Berlin, in the far eastern part of it

Dottir.... is a typical scandinavian name (yes, this includes Iceland too - "-dottir" and "-son" and is still widespread in Norway, Denmark, and Iceland (although as "family" name mainly in Iceland), and simply means "daughter of". "Martinsdottir" therefore translates as "Daughter of Martin". "Martinson" as "Son of Martin".
And yes, Iceland kept the traditional naming, hence from the name you can immediately deduce the first (given) name of a parent. In Norway and Denmark they "fixed" the naming at a certain point.

From that I could not deduce that Cthulu would be German (or Germanic).
(S)He merely knows that "-dottir" is the family name ending of a female person from Iceland.

Also, I did not get the mental image of a tall blond person. And especially not German, as the person is even described as being Icelandic.

She and her twin brother are indeed of Icelandic descent, good job noticing that. I'll add their entry to the character descriptions.
Usually, Icelanders add a patronym (father's name with -son or -dottir) to their name, while matronyms (mother's name), especially for boys, are still rare. But it's the future, so why not?

Well I am American... so I just assumed there were plenty german blondes too.

And again... don't be surprised if I forget certain nationality cues that indicate which European country it is.

American mainstream culture really has virtually nothing to say about European culture. So if you know much at all it's because of your relatives being European descendents. .. or taking deliberate interest. I arguably know more about Russian culture than German, although I do know Germans are known for punctuality and order... how else did they nearly conquer all of Europe twice?

Mine were not, so you will have to forgive my ignorance at times.

I assumed blonde when she mentioned she was scandinavian... since many are... although arguably more so in denmark.... since the vikings tended to mix up their gene pool a lot. I presume the danes were vikings who decided to stay put more, since lots of blondes indicates not much in the way of mixed heritage (blonds mating with blonds mostly).

Oh darn, and I even went through the trouble of adding an extra heap of diversity for my American readers, all for naught. I thought that it was en vogue over there?
No, jokes aside, since the Loroi put so much importance on names and their meanings, why not use various Human naming conventions to confuse them?

P.S. Germans are no longer overly punctual (sadly), that's a dying breed.

P.P.S. Also, why Russian culture? They are supposed to be your country's new and old arch-enemy.

Hahaha.. well at least you seem still old-school german... you can take that as a complement.


As for Russia, I have always thought it best to understand anyone who has a beef with me or my country. For the better you know potential enemies, the better you know how to deal with them... peacefully ideally... or otherwise.

[Bamax]

And I guessed correctly!

No wonder your Loroi are so.. Loroi.

German culture is arguably more Loroi-like than American or British.


Since I read that German culture tends to prefer being frank. Whereas the Americans and even more so the British try to take a round about way of saying things.

1. American see's a person they not seen in a while who has become fat so they say "How have you been? What you been up to?"

2. Austrian, same scenario but grinning. "Been enjoying some schnitzel?"

3. German, "You've become fat."

[Cthulhu]

As for Russia, I have always thought it best to understand anyone who has a beef with me or my country. For the better you know potential enemies, the better you know how to deal with them... peacefully ideally... or otherwise.

That's a good thing, albeit for the most part, Americans seem to have no idea about Russia, even the politicians. Especially the politicians.

And I guessed correctly!

No wonder your Loroi are so.. Loroi.

German culture is arguably more Loroi-like than American or British.


Since I read that German culture tends to prefer being frank. Whereas the Americans and even more so the British try to take a round about way of saying things.

So what would've you answered if I said that I was Russian instead? Admittedly, I also know Russian, so perhaps it influenced my writing as well, specifically the literature.

I think that the Loroi would rather resemble someone else from even farther eastwards, like the Japanese, for example. My knowledge of that culture was a bit rusty, but I updated it to a sufficient degree now.

Since I read that German culture tends to prefer being frank. Whereas the Americans and even more so the British try to take a round about way of saying things.

1. American see's a person they not seen in a while who has become fat so they say "How have you been? What you been up to?"

2. Austrian, same scenario but grinning. "Been enjoying some schnitzel?"

3. German, "You've become fat."

It's more of a generic Anglo-Saxon thing, you ask "how do you do?", but you don't really expect an answer, do you? It's of course different between friends, yet mere acquaintances use that as a greeting, not an actual question.
The difference in cultures might shift the "threshold" a little, I guess? Even here, that's nothing you would tell to people you barely know. Anyway, with the current pandemic where everyone lives like the pandas (sit around and eat all day), that would be a very insensitive question to ask, so I won't test it out.

[Tamri]

Half-Life is too old to run on 23rd century hardware, and HL3 is still not released yet.

Well, no one ruled out remakes and banal remasters. Black Mesa is a very good example, as for me, and Alyx clearly says that the studio, in principle, do not give a damn about the universe, and the experiment with VR turned out to be quite successful, as for me.

Why not, especially in our age of general good remasters of old gaming legends? (No, Warcraft, we're not talking about you, lie further)

Fireblade, with her berserk trait, will not be a good candidate for that. She will wreck everyone and everything. Literally. Both in the game and real-life.

I see the scene in FMP what Sagara go to arcade with Kaname...

[Bamax]

As for Russia, I have always thought it best to understand anyone who has a beef with me or my country. For the better you know potential enemies, the better you know how to deal with them... peacefully ideally... or otherwise.

That's a good thing, albeit for the most part, Americans seem to have no idea about Russia, even the politicians. Especially the politicians.

And I guessed correctly!

No wonder your Loroi are so.. Loroi.

German culture is arguably more Loroi-like than American or British.


Since I read that German culture tends to prefer being frank. Whereas the Americans and even more so the British try to take a round about way of saying things.

So what would've you answered if I said that I was Russian instead? Admittedly, I also know Russian, so perhaps it influenced my writing as well, specifically the literature.

I think that the Loroi would rather resemble someone else from even farther eastwards, like the Japanese, for example. My knowledge of that culture was a bit rusty, but I updated it to a sufficient degree now.

Since I read that German culture tends to prefer being frank. Whereas the Americans and even more so the British try to take a round about way of saying things.

1. American see's a person they not seen in a while who has become fat so they say "How have you been? What you been up to?"

2. Austrian, same scenario but grinning. "Been enjoying some schnitzel?"

3. German, "You've become fat."

It's more of a generic Anglo-Saxon thing, you ask "how do you do?", but you don't really expect an answer, do you? It's of course different between friends, yet mere acquaintances use that as a greeting, not an actual question.
The difference in cultures might shift the "threshold" a little, I guess? Even here, that's nothing you would tell to people you barely know. Anyway, with the current pandemic where everyone lives like the pandas (sit around and eat all day), that would be a very insensitive question to ask, so I won't test it out.

The American culture knows nothing about other countries period... except the bad news.

You should know that apart from bad news such as disasters/conflict/unrest, our media is wholly concerned with more banal things... like hollywood and local politics.

Russia's government knows this very well... at least their RT America broadcast show does... but I won't get into politics... but the show is like the Russian version of Fox news.... very political, very one sided, with multiple talking heads all nodding in agreement.


If you were Russian I would have no issue with it. I know one on another forum who is either infamous or famous (which depending on if you like his 'jokes') with his sarcasm.

It's a space based forum, so obviously politics flare at times, I stay out of it, and the mods cut it out. Interestingly another member who says he is an ex-usa marine jokes with the russian often.

The ex-marine (if he really is and not a mere pretender) will joke about leaving the forum to shoot guns and eat chili... since the russian refers to America as Murrica.

And the ex-marine enjoys he banter. Sometimes the russian is funny, other times annoying.

But no matter what he is always intelligent... knowing a lot across several knowledge bases.

[Bamax]

@bamax:
Well, I wouldn't know much of the population differences in the US.
But I agree, it's likely that the US-culture bleeds nowadays more into our culture than the other way around, with all the big movies being produced in the USoA.

So, let us see what Elvu's Daughter Gunndis will do next...


Edit: got ninja'ed, that happens if you don't press "submit" immediately...

yes, matronyms are seldom. Also for the social stigma they bring/brought, because it usually means, that the mother is without a husband, and the kid therefore born outside of a marriage. But more and more (current) women decide to change their "name" to the matronymial name. (Which Icelandic law explicitly allows nowadays.)
There are even cases, where the kid got grandfather's name, if the father was unknown (or the mother otherwise unwilling to divulgue the father's name).
But often, they took the name of a male (single) fishermen who did not return from a fishing tour (not unusual for islands in stormy regions).

But we're getting far off-topic here.

I take it you are also across the pond eh?

America's population is very mixed, about as much as say.... Germany's... if not more so.


America is a melting pot of cultures... with the goal of assimilation into a law abiding citizen who is a productive member of the capitalist society that it is.


West coast: Whites, mexicans dominate, everything else is a minority.

East coast: I presume whites dominate here, with a mix of many minorities... this IS where it all began after all.

South coast: Whites and minorities


The other unique thing is the latino population is booming... even though their descendants have more or less become assimilated and many no longer speak spanish.

I would not be surprised at all if latinos overtook whites as the largest ethnic group one day.

[Krulle]

Yes, I am from Europe.
I presume America is much more mixed than continental Europe. Especially the countries which were not that big with colonies, and lost their colonies early.
France and England have larger different-ethnic minorities, otherwise it's all rather homogenous white.

(Not counting the 40% Russians in the Baltic states as different ethnics, they are rather similar in phenotype to the Estonians/Latvians/Lithuanians, despite culture and language being different.)


For years I saw black-coloured skins only in films.

[Snoofman]

The loroi need to tread carefully. Should the humans get wiser to the Loroi's hidden agenda, they may interpret it as an act of espionage. Espionage does not benefit progressive diplomacy.

[Cthulhu]

Why not, especially in our age of general good remasters of old gaming legends? (No, Warcraft, we're not talking about you, lie further)

But since we already have elves, why not?

The American culture knows nothing about other countries period... except the bad news.

You should know that apart from bad news such as disasters/conflict/unrest, our media is wholly concerned with more banal things... like hollywood and local politics.

Russia's government knows this very well... at least their RT America broadcast show does... but I won't get into politics... but the show is like the Russian version of Fox news.... very political, very one sided, with multiple talking heads all nodding in agreement.


If you were Russian I would have no issue with it. I know one on another forum who is either infamous or famous (which depending on if you like his 'jokes') with his sarcasm.

It's a space based forum, so obviously politics flare at times, I stay out of it, and the mods cut it out. Interestingly another member who says he is an ex-usa marine jokes with the russian often.

The ex-marine (if he really is and not a mere pretender) will joke about leaving the forum to shoot guns and eat chili... since the russian refers to America as Murrica.

And the ex-marine enjoys he banter. Sometimes the russian is funny, other times annoying.

But no matter what he is always intelligent... knowing a lot across several knowledge bases.

I was just a bit puzzled since you brought up Russians, I don't think that the Loroi remind me of them in particular? Well, perhaps the spirit of self-sacrifice?

Also, which forum?

The loroi need to tread carefully. Should the humans get wiser to the Loroi's hidden agenda, they may interpret it as an act of espionage. Espionage does not benefit progressive diplomacy.

Diplomacy is always intertwined with espionage, so it's nothing extraordinary. Anyone could guess that the Loroi had some ulterior motives when they asked to stay on board, and Tempo realized this. But Zarjow knew that as well, yet still allowed it, so the Humans would also have some hidden agenda of their own.
Well, since our protagonists arrived at Azimol, they'd need to get off soon, or it would be too suspicious indeed.

[Bamax]

Why not, especially in our age of general good remasters of old gaming legends? (No, Warcraft, we're not talking about you, lie further)

But since we already have elves, why not?

The American culture knows nothing about other countries period... except the bad news.

You should know that apart from bad news such as disasters/conflict/unrest, our media is wholly concerned with more banal things... like hollywood and local politics.

Russia's government knows this very well... at least their RT America broadcast show does... but I won't get into politics... but the show is like the Russian version of Fox news.... very political, very one sided, with multiple talking heads all nodding in agreement.


If you were Russian I would have no issue with it. I know one on another forum who is either infamous or famous (which depending on if you like his 'jokes') with his sarcasm.

It's a space based forum, so obviously politics flare at times, I stay out of it, and the mods cut it out. Interestingly another member who says he is an ex-usa marine jokes with the russian often.

The ex-marine (if he really is and not a mere pretender) will joke about leaving the forum to shoot guns and eat chili... since the russian refers to America as Murrica.

And the ex-marine enjoys he banter. Sometimes the russian is funny, other times annoying.

But no matter what he is always intelligent... knowing a lot across several knowledge bases.

I was just a bit puzzled since you brought up Russians, I don't think that the Loroi remind me of them in particular? Well, perhaps the spirit of self-sacrifice?

Also, which forum?

The loroi need to tread carefully. Should the humans get wiser to the Loroi's hidden agenda, they may interpret it as an act of espionage. Espionage does not benefit progressive diplomacy.

Diplomacy is always intertwined with espionage, so it's nothing extraordinary. Anyone could guess that the Loroi had some ulterior motives when they asked to stay on board, and Tempo realized this. But Zarjow knew that as well, yet still allowed it, so the Humans would also have some hidden agenda of their own.
Well, since our protagonists arrived at Azimol, they'd need to get off soon, or it would be too suspicious indeed.

I do not think the Loroi resemble Russians. I was trying to guess your culture/nation given what I could grasp of what you knew.

The only Russian I know basically knows a an awful lot about space travel and mathematics, so even though you are a writer, I just as well assumed you could have been that.

But your punctuality was the only ID that made me link you to Germany.

As for the forum... it's kerbal space forums.

[Tamri]

As a person who has lived all his life in the post-Soviet space, I can responsibly declare that Loroi are just as similar to Russians as they are to Germans or Americans. Well, in spirit, of course.

Frankly speaking, for reasons that are obscure for a person who has carefully read the Insider, a considerable part of the Russian-speaking fandom of the Outsider considers Umiak rather than Loroi to be close in spirit to the Russians...

And no, i don't mind, how it works...

[Cthulhu]

I do not think the Loroi resemble Russians. I was trying to guess your culture/nation given what I could grasp of what you knew.

The only Russian I know basically knows a an awful lot about space travel and mathematics, so even though you are a writer, I just as well assumed you could have been that.

But your punctuality was the only ID that made me link you to Germany.

So it's the punctuality that gave it away? I'm flattered . Honestly, the old German values of discipline, order and punctuality are no longer common. (The new government is the exact opposite of being orderly or disciplined.) My family still upholds those traditions, though.

As a person who has lived all his life in the post-Soviet space, I can responsibly declare that Loroi are just as similar to Russians as they are to Germans or Americans. Well, in spirit, of course.

Frankly speaking, for reasons that are obscure for a person who has carefully read the Insider, a considerable part of the Russian-speaking fandom of the Outsider considers Umiak rather than Loroi to be close in spirit to the Russians...

And no, i don't mind, how it works...

Maybe they are biased because the author is American? The bad guys are usually Russians

[Tamri]

Nope, the fact is that the words "collectivist" and "socialist", which Jim uses to describe the Umiak society, in the countries of the former Soviet Union are closely associated with communism, and the further from the collapse of the Union, the less with the real state construction, and more - with the ideal to which (in words) he strove.

What... let's say, Umiak somewhat idealizes in the eyes of Russian-speaking readers who have not read еhe Insider at all, or have not read it carefully.

Personally, I had the idea to imagine what the plot would look like if the Umiak were really not aggressive swarm expansionist xenophobes, but real socialist/communists who clashed with Loroi on the basis of the feeling of hatred for Liron and their legacy mentioned by Jim in Insider.

In this case, the plot would definitely be much more complicated, because for Humanity there would be no "right" side in this case...

...but the original tie of the plot would not have happened then, and people would have to be brought into the conflict in some other way...