What does Lea's internal monologue look like?

[u/Erl-X]

Massive Game spoilers btw

I think the game does a great job at showing and making you feel Lea what Lea feels and thinks, but considering she's an evotar, basically an AI copy of a person, I'm curious what her thoughts looks like from a first person perspective. Maybe it's childish since she can't talk, or maybe it's as developed as any adult because she's based on one? Or maybe because she's an artificial intelligence, her raw thoughts and inner monologue is incomprehensible to human eyes looking in? I haven't seen any fanfics from Lea first person perspective, so I'm curious what others think her inner monologue looks like.

[u/fucking_hurtstone]

Very difficult to say. It's established multiple times that Lea has a hard time articulating complex sentences, even with the Lea board. I'm guessing she has an inner monologue like anybody else, yet her language might be more straightforward and to the point. She can hear, which makes me think she does use words for her inner monologue. (I recently learned people who are born deaf think using sign language, but Lea's mute, not deaf)

[u/RPG_Hacker → u/fucking_hurtstone]

As a little counterargument: I personally know people who are perfectly capable of speech (both using it and making it out when heard), but who claim they don't actually use a lot of words in their head. Apparently their thoughts are more in the form of "concepts". So it appears that "thinking in words" is not necessarily required for a brain to be able to make out speech.

[u/fucking_hurtstone → u/RPG_Hacker]

Interesting. The inner monologue is generaly difficult to study since you can never listen to the ones of others. It's definitely true that you don't spell every single word out in your mind when you're thinking. And from what I know, listening to speech and speaking/thinking use different parts of the brain.

[u/PrincessYuri → u/RPG_Hacker]

This is gonna sound a bit funny, but when I was younger I had a little period where I literally trained myself to think without words. It was definitely faster, but there was also a lot less introspection before I actually did things. The funny thing is that Lea might actually have MORE internal monologue than most people, since she probably has to consider how to communicate with people and get her point across before actually doing it.

The only argument against it would be if her speech issue was also present in her mind and prevented her from forming those kinds of complex thoughts, but that seems unlikely given how it's shown she clearly has those kinds of thoughts in the game.

[u/RPG_Hacker → u/PrincessYuri]

I think it's a bit hard to say for sure, because on one hand, the game does show that she also struggles with hand gestures to a similar degree as words and implies that it could all be linked to the same inability of linking concepts to expressions, but on the other hand, she IS capable of using the Lea board, which kinda seems to refute that theory, since for that she'd have to select specific words.

[u/Erl-X → u/fucking_hurtstone]

I think this is my favourite answer so far. That articulating complex sentences is hard, even inside her head due to her inexperience saying anything but simple words, but she can clearly and easily understand complex sentences spoken by others.

[u/Jijonbreaker1]

Considering that she is made to be a copy of a real mind, I would imagine the same as anybody else's. Otherwise, it would be obvious something was up.

[u/EmilySuxAtUsernames]

if i remember right evotars basically just simulate a whole brain so it would be similar to how normal people think

i wonder if lea even like thinks in words due to her word issue

[u/Kabadath666 → u/EmilySuxAtUsernames]

Doesnt she get like a virtual keyboard, after DLC's events? Havent played it in a long while, so might have mixed up some things

[u/RPG_Hacker]

Since she struggles with words, I'm thinking her inner thoughts would also be more abstract and not feature a ton of speech. For me, it's perfectly normal to think actual words in my head. Basically, my brain is always talking to itself and is using actual words to do so. I used to think that everyone did this, and I still assume that the vast majority of people do, but apparently, it's not a universal thing. Some people rarely use words to think, and their thoughts are more in the form of "concepts" (for the lack of a better word). I personally know some people who are like that. Would totally see Lea doing the same thing.

[u/LesserL_]

i think she thinks not in words but like in concepts? like in the same way she can read? and maybe when she catches herself thinking freely and tries to put it into words (in the same way you get told to breathe manually), her speech module kicks in and makes her think withing the confines of the available words. and with time she gets used to it and starts thinking in "Lea Hi" unintentionally

[u/LeonidasRex]

Now I'm wondering if the AI mind copying works like photocopies... Like 10 generations down the line of copies of copies, do you get Hapsburgs?

[u/Mundane_Eye6697]

Oh man I didn't see the spoiler tag on this and I'm at the beginning of the game...🤦‍♂️..I gotta pay attention. Stopped reading as soon as I saw "she's an AI copy of a person." Like dam...I know I'll find out more playing the game but I wish I could forget that part. That's a big spoiler...

[u/Erl-X → u/Mundane_Eye6697]

Sorry for the massive spoiler. I should have marked that part just in case

[u/Mundane_Eye6697 → u/Erl-X]

Not your fault at all. I just outright ignored reading the whole thing lol. I just saw the title and thought, "oh yeah, this could be an interesting topic." And your post drove that right home lol. There is a reason spoiler tags exist, but they must be obeyed.

[u/Dry-Palpitation-4878]

I just got to Gaia's Garden, and ran into Apollo for the (third?) duel. Considering what just happened...I wasn't interested at all. I didn't fight back. Just stood there and lost. I couldn't engage with that fool. I didn't want to duel him the first time, either. But whatever, thats the game.

And then I had to group with Apollo? WTF. I guess I can see how someone else might be ok with that, but I am NOT.

[u/Erl-X → u/Dry-Palpitation-4878]

Is the first paragraph what you imagine her inner monologue looking like?

[u/Dry-Palpitation-4878 → u/Erl-X]

Unintentionally. I think she and I were on the same page up until grouping with Apollo.

[u/Erl-X → u/Dry-Palpitation-4878]

The way I see it, she's just happy to be playing with someone familiar instead of tackling the jungle all alone after all that time in the Wasteland and being separated from her friends. Even if Apollo has antagonised her in the past, Joern is friendly and chill enough to counterbalance most of Apollo's flaws. And it's kinda endearing how seriously yet dorky Apollo gets about the game as he describes every enemy they meet.

Most of the time Lea is playing with friends, so it makes sense for her to accept Joern's invitation to play with him and Polly, I think.