AG does roller derby, it is her night. Brain Mike is either a third alter born out of survivor’s guilt or a hallucination from sleep deprivation – I believe some plural commenters have discussed how alters based off real people you knew work when he first started appearing but I don’t remember the specifics offhand.
We’ve seen amazi girl since the skip, sal talked to her about how she’s totally not jealous of Billie and Asher and how she thinks Billie’s going through a phase after roller derby
Of first off well done, talented 8-bit artists always impresses me. But in the future you haft to considerate doing a NSFW warning if you wish to bestow the sight with the smallest of lewd stuff. I don’t know if we remember to do that enough around here.
Not all auditory hallucinations are schizophrenia.
Pretty sure Amber’s undiagnosed deal has been established as dissociative identity disorder, among the commenters who have it. She can definitely have multiple things, but signs don’t particularly point to schizophrenia right now.
Possibly some sort of psychosis, not sure if she fits schizophrenia entirely (Trying to remember all the things involved with that but it’s been a few years) but she’s honestly been through enough trauma that I’d argue it could be a manifestation of PTSD.
But, the only person I know with DID also got a schizo-affective diagnosis, and I believe they might be comorbidities. And to be honest watching Amber go through this brings up bad memories. I watched a really close friend have a really bad time the months leading up to her diagnosis. I had to drive her to the hospital twice. Had to comfort her through hallucinations. Was a target of her paranoia more than once. I wish Willis could just say “Amber will get help with her mental issues by 2024” so I could just skip any strip I see with her in it, it just brings up that hopeless “I don’t know whats going on please be okay” panic.
PTSD can cause psychosis, though generally not in this particular way. I’m not really sure what’s causing her to *see* Mike as talking to him is an entirely normal DID thing but the visual part is not.
Madock345
Seeing him may be more for our benefit, as a visual effect to communicate what Amber is experiencing, have they had any interactions where it was clear that she was visually observing him and not just kind of, aware of his presence in that hallucination kind of way?
Thag Simmons
It took Amber a while to recognize that Ghost Mike wasn’t the real deal the first time he showed up
The usual progression of untreated PTSD is depression first, then psychosis, then schizoid behavior, but if DID comes first I got nothing because when I was looking this stuff up I had been dealing with PTSD untreated for about 25 years. They were just getting a handle on PTSD without dealing with what comes from untreated PTSD with combat vets, traumatized as teens were just coming over the horizon of the book.
Internet hugs. I have a completely different set of issues but seeing the degree to which she hates herself to self-destructive extents… occasionally hits a nerve, let’s say.
So far we’ve never seen Brain Mike without sleep deprivation, which makes it pretty ambiguous whether he’s a full-time resident or just an occasional guest.
Suzi
Hugs right back to you. I do wish a character would get more concerned. You figure out your friend is multiple and having visual or audible hallucinations…. I get its comic land and all, but most character in here go “Well that’s old Amber, having a mental breakdown like always” and not one of them is going “Uh, this is beyond not okay” – I guess I am wishing for some portrayal of the fear that’s more prevalent. Its terrifying to realize your friend is hallucinating. It’s hard to be the thing that tries to clarify what’s reality and what’s not. And i feel like every character has the same response of “meh, that’s fine.” And it just breaks me out of the world a little. Hopefully we are approaching the “oh wait this is bad and scary not some Amber quirk” that but idk. It hits too close to home sometimes.
My best guess is he is her self deprecation and survivor’s guilt manifested, but the visual and separation is new and might push this out of DID territory and into some sort of psychosis or schizo- disorder.
I guess the main problem is that Amber doesn’t really communivate with people so most of the cast don’t know how bad Amber is? The closest we’ve come to “oh god, my friend is really sick” is Ethan but I get the feeling their relationship broke down in the wake of Mike’s death? I can’t exactly blame him if that is the case though as it’s difficult being an anchor for someone when you’re depressed yourself…
thejeff
I think this is the first time she’s actually openly talked to Brain-Mike in front of anyone else and it looks like Sal’s pretty disturbed by it.
Only a few characters have figured out Amber is multiple. I don’t think anyone knows about the hallucinations.
Leorale
Sal reacted with concern about AG jumping around on cars and being extremely risky with her life. Sal tried to dissuade Amber/AG herself, plus she pulled Danny up short to convince him that this was a dangerous problem for Amber, and that he should stop her.
Sal’s distrust of authority — including therapists — means that she won’t try to move Amber towards professional help, but barring that, she treats this as serious business and does as much as she can think to do.
I don’t think so. Multiplicity/DID =/= schizophrenia, and honestly some people get hallucinations when they’re severely sleep-deprived without it being a neurodivergent thing.
But, at the same time, who knows. I’m not sure if Amber’s ‘seeing’ Mike because she’s sleep-deprived or it’s a comic thing to help us as the audience.
Not likely. This is a pretty accurate representation of what it’s like talking to other alters you’re in communication with (DID system here). The talking can be done internally or externally, sometimes it’s a choice, sometimes it’s involuntary and you say it out loud without meaning to. The Mike “hallucination” might be something she’s seeing in the external world, or it could be a visual representation of seeing Mike in her head. We “see” each other in the inner world when we have extended conversations, rather than just hearing each other’s voices.
Also, important to emphasize, alters, and communication with alters, are not hallucinations. Most people have an inner voice that narrates their thoughts. Communication with alters is essentially this inner voice dissociated into multiple parts that each have their own priorities, mannerisms, and perspectives. This communication is not invasive or disordered (unless you’re dealing with a persecutor who is saying terrible things to you to try to shift your behavior). It’s the naturally occurring inner voice just organized in a different way.
American types can totally celebrate both, but it’s not Thanksgiving where I am (it’s in October) so it’s solely “George Jetson’s Parents Fuck Day” for me.
Yep. Honestly I think the talking to herself, while offputting for us to see from an outside perspective and worrisome because it’s Brain Mike, probably qualifies as less concerning than the fact that she refers to herself as The Monster. Like, HOLY FUCK, she needs that DID support group to tell them that the golden alter/bad alter dichotomy is a crock of shit and AG did a lot of questionable shit she tried to attribute to Amber and Amber is not her own supervillain. (That is, obviously, Blaine, who is fortunately dead.)
No more concerned than usual. Amber has a heap of psychological problems and trauma sure, but she seems to function everyday without becoming a threat to herself and others. Now if Amber starts passing out from sleep deprivation or forgetting/not sharing AG’s actions, or any of the other really troubling signs she’s shown before I would be really worried. But I think at this point we’ve seen enough of Amber at her worst. I don’t think anyone would enjoy her having a mental breakdown.
Some people find ignoring them to be the best thing. Some talk to them and make boundaries, kind of like dealing with a difficult roommate. (It’s probably not best to do this in front of a person you’ve stabbed, while talking about stabbing them again, but whatchagonnado.)
I really hope Amber doesn’t try to stab or assault Sal in anyway, especially as of now unprovoked. That would make her mental issues far more serious than has been depicted. “Amber doesn’t sleep for a day and hallucinates Mike to make sarcastic comments and fucked your mom jokes in her head” is far different from “Amber doesn’t sleep for a day and tries to stab Sal”
Odds are while your approach may be healthier, it doesn’t make for as good of a comic strip punchline, so I wouldn’t worry about the difference in approach too much. At least, not just from this strip alone.
If Amber has DID, then Mike isn’t a hallucination but an alter. Ignoring alters is like ignoring your own needs. You can squash and suppress them but eventually they’ll pop back out, much more toxic and out of control than before.
She’s definitely not faking it. We’ve literally seen her hallucination version of Mike. In addition we already know there is a break between Amber and Amazi-Girl in terms of communicating and memories.
That being said I don’t know enough about the brain to say what is going on with her.
174 thoughts on “The monster”
Ana Chronistic
So wait, did Mike displace Amazi-Girl?
Who hasn’t shown up since the time skip?
…is Mike secretly Amazi-Girl?
Ana Chronistic
alt-text: YOUR MOM could tag Mike again
Proxiehunter
Your mom could tag Mike for a nickle.
Perdellian
in SOVIET RUSSIA, that is
Doctor_Who
I think Amazi-Girlk’s still in the cockpit during roller derby.
brionl
Isn’t Amazi-Girl on the roller derby team?
Decidedly Orthogonal
How is this not answered yet? Yes, Amazi-girl is on the team, with Sal.
ThunderNight
Amazi-Mike
Regalli
AG does roller derby, it is her night. Brain Mike is either a third alter born out of survivor’s guilt or a hallucination from sleep deprivation – I believe some plural commenters have discussed how alters based off real people you knew work when he first started appearing but I don’t remember the specifics offhand.
The Wellerman
Ah, I remember now!
Here’s the SAUCE, courtesy of our good friend Sam!
zee
We’ve seen amazi girl since the skip, sal talked to her about how she’s totally not jealous of Billie and Asher and how she thinks Billie’s going through a phase after roller derby
Suet
Shame this Amber-Mike interaction is not a seance…
Or at least the human version of a Hormone Monster
Clif
Hey, I just love the fact that we don’t even need to hear the other half of the conversation.
The Wellerman
Just in time!
I finished some Amber x Mike x Super Mario 64 fan art!
After breaking the SMB speedrun world record, Amber really experiences Neuron Activation in this one!!!
???
https://imgur.com/a/1wWVpWy
newlland(Henryvolt)
Of first off well done, talented 8-bit artists always impresses me. But in the future you haft to considerate doing a NSFW warning if you wish to bestow the sight with the smallest of lewd stuff. I don’t know if we remember to do that enough around here.
The Wellerman
Sorry I could have SWORN I clicked the “Mature” checkbox when I uploaded!
Gotta LOVE sleep-deprivation :/
newlland(Henryvolt)
Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t, or maybe I’m just not paying attention who knows I’m sleep deprived too.
The Wellerman
With my Dream Demon powers of pixel art, sleep-deprived viewers are sure to fail No Nut November!!!
…provided they haven’t ALREADY failed, that is!!!
???
*evil laughter commences*
Sunny
That is so wrong in all the right ways and I love it!
Sunny
Praise the gravatar roulette, for I am become blowjob-cat!
John Smith
So like, this is legit schizophrenia then?
Leorale
Not all auditory hallucinations are schizophrenia.
Pretty sure Amber’s undiagnosed deal has been established as dissociative identity disorder, among the commenters who have it. She can definitely have multiple things, but signs don’t particularly point to schizophrenia right now.
Seregiel
Also, sleep deprivation. Her fav thing when she wants voices to shut up
Needfuldoer
But that seems to be the thing that draws Brain!Mike out…
Ray Radlein
Extreme sleep deprivation can also cause hypnagogic auditory hallucination
Twitcher
It could be psychosis.
Opus the Poet
There are a lot of things that are technically psychosis, but are actually a different diagnosis.
Suzi
Possibly some sort of psychosis, not sure if she fits schizophrenia entirely (Trying to remember all the things involved with that but it’s been a few years) but she’s honestly been through enough trauma that I’d argue it could be a manifestation of PTSD.
But, the only person I know with DID also got a schizo-affective diagnosis, and I believe they might be comorbidities. And to be honest watching Amber go through this brings up bad memories. I watched a really close friend have a really bad time the months leading up to her diagnosis. I had to drive her to the hospital twice. Had to comfort her through hallucinations. Was a target of her paranoia more than once. I wish Willis could just say “Amber will get help with her mental issues by 2024” so I could just skip any strip I see with her in it, it just brings up that hopeless “I don’t know whats going on please be okay” panic.
not someone else
PTSD can cause psychosis, though generally not in this particular way. I’m not really sure what’s causing her to *see* Mike as talking to him is an entirely normal DID thing but the visual part is not.
Madock345
Seeing him may be more for our benefit, as a visual effect to communicate what Amber is experiencing, have they had any interactions where it was clear that she was visually observing him and not just kind of, aware of his presence in that hallucination kind of way?
Thag Simmons
It took Amber a while to recognize that Ghost Mike wasn’t the real deal the first time he showed up
Opus the Poet
The usual progression of untreated PTSD is depression first, then psychosis, then schizoid behavior, but if DID comes first I got nothing because when I was looking this stuff up I had been dealing with PTSD untreated for about 25 years. They were just getting a handle on PTSD without dealing with what comes from untreated PTSD with combat vets, traumatized as teens were just coming over the horizon of the book.
Regalli
Internet hugs. I have a completely different set of issues but seeing the degree to which she hates herself to self-destructive extents… occasionally hits a nerve, let’s say.
So far we’ve never seen Brain Mike without sleep deprivation, which makes it pretty ambiguous whether he’s a full-time resident or just an occasional guest.
Suzi
Hugs right back to you. I do wish a character would get more concerned. You figure out your friend is multiple and having visual or audible hallucinations…. I get its comic land and all, but most character in here go “Well that’s old Amber, having a mental breakdown like always” and not one of them is going “Uh, this is beyond not okay” – I guess I am wishing for some portrayal of the fear that’s more prevalent. Its terrifying to realize your friend is hallucinating. It’s hard to be the thing that tries to clarify what’s reality and what’s not. And i feel like every character has the same response of “meh, that’s fine.” And it just breaks me out of the world a little. Hopefully we are approaching the “oh wait this is bad and scary not some Amber quirk” that but idk. It hits too close to home sometimes.
My best guess is he is her self deprecation and survivor’s guilt manifested, but the visual and separation is new and might push this out of DID territory and into some sort of psychosis or schizo- disorder.
Psi Baka Onna
I guess the main problem is that Amber doesn’t really communivate with people so most of the cast don’t know how bad Amber is? The closest we’ve come to “oh god, my friend is really sick” is Ethan but I get the feeling their relationship broke down in the wake of Mike’s death? I can’t exactly blame him if that is the case though as it’s difficult being an anchor for someone when you’re depressed yourself…
thejeff
I think this is the first time she’s actually openly talked to Brain-Mike in front of anyone else and it looks like Sal’s pretty disturbed by it.
Only a few characters have figured out Amber is multiple. I don’t think anyone knows about the hallucinations.
Leorale
Sal reacted with concern about AG jumping around on cars and being extremely risky with her life. Sal tried to dissuade Amber/AG herself, plus she pulled Danny up short to convince him that this was a dangerous problem for Amber, and that he should stop her.
Sal’s distrust of authority — including therapists — means that she won’t try to move Amber towards professional help, but barring that, she treats this as serious business and does as much as she can think to do.
Amós Batista
I guess not, because schizophrenia also brings negative symtoms, like aphatia and asociality. Amber still have some social tract.
:0
…Amber kinda *is* the most apathic and asocial character of the whole cast, though.
Keulen
I’m not sure what Amber interacting with this version of Mike in her head is, but she definitely needs some therapy because this can’t be healthy.
Doki
I don’t think so. Multiplicity/DID =/= schizophrenia, and honestly some people get hallucinations when they’re severely sleep-deprived without it being a neurodivergent thing.
But, at the same time, who knows. I’m not sure if Amber’s ‘seeing’ Mike because she’s sleep-deprived or it’s a comic thing to help us as the audience.
Spencer
Ghost Mike is definitely caused by sleep deprivation and there’s a possible implication of Amber deliberately doing so to bring him out again.
But, yeah, it’s pretty blurry how he actually works given that he needs to appear in a way that’s interesting and concise in a visual medium.
Kella
Not likely. This is a pretty accurate representation of what it’s like talking to other alters you’re in communication with (DID system here). The talking can be done internally or externally, sometimes it’s a choice, sometimes it’s involuntary and you say it out loud without meaning to. The Mike “hallucination” might be something she’s seeing in the external world, or it could be a visual representation of seeing Mike in her head. We “see” each other in the inner world when we have extended conversations, rather than just hearing each other’s voices.
Also, important to emphasize, alters, and communication with alters, are not hallucinations. Most people have an inner voice that narrates their thoughts. Communication with alters is essentially this inner voice dissociated into multiple parts that each have their own priorities, mannerisms, and perspectives. This communication is not invasive or disordered (unless you’re dealing with a persecutor who is saying terrible things to you to try to shift your behavior). It’s the naturally occurring inner voice just organized in a different way.
BBCC
Happy Thanksgiving to all you American type Pokemon who celebrate and happy “George Jetson’s Parents Fuck Day” to the rest of us.
I can see no reason for Sal to be concerned here at all.
The Wellerman
How now, why couldn’t we celebrate both?!?!
I know what I’m gonna do — shove myself with tryptophan-enriched dinosaur meat and watch the Jetsons Movie!!!!
Thag Simmons
because Thanksgiving is in october
obviously
BBCC
American types can totally celebrate both, but it’s not Thanksgiving where I am (it’s in October) so it’s solely “George Jetson’s Parents Fuck Day” for me.
Regalli
Yep. Honestly I think the talking to herself, while offputting for us to see from an outside perspective and worrisome because it’s Brain Mike, probably qualifies as less concerning than the fact that she refers to herself as The Monster. Like, HOLY FUCK, she needs that DID support group to tell them that the golden alter/bad alter dichotomy is a crock of shit and AG did a lot of questionable shit she tried to attribute to Amber and Amber is not her own supervillain. (That is, obviously, Blaine, who is fortunately dead.)
The Wellerman
Wait, did you mean to put this comment elsewhere?
The Wellerman
*reads BBCC’s post*
?
Sleep deprivation is one helluva a drug…
HeatherJean
Is Blaine really dead? Maybe he’s in Witness Protection. With Mike.
Sirksome
No more concerned than usual. Amber has a heap of psychological problems and trauma sure, but she seems to function everyday without becoming a threat to herself and others. Now if Amber starts passing out from sleep deprivation or forgetting/not sharing AG’s actions, or any of the other really troubling signs she’s shown before I would be really worried. But I think at this point we’ve seen enough of Amber at her worst. I don’t think anyone would enjoy her having a mental breakdown.
John Smith
Personally, I celebrate Pumpkin Pie day.
Needfuldoer
George Jetson was born a month earlier in Canada.
Keulen
American is a Pokemon type now? When did that happen? What special attacks to we get for that?
BBCC
The electoral college. I’m so sorry.
newlland(Henryvolt)
You know for second there I thought Amber was still talking to Sal in that last panel.
Sirksome
IMaybe it’s not backsliding but all new and different psychosis isn’t better.
Thag Simmons
All new and all different psychoses are generally worse than just backsliding into old ones
Stephen Bierce
*plays Counting Crows’ remake of “The Ghost In You” on the hacked Muzak*
Kyrik Michalowski
Sal, be very careful around her. Not saying she would stab you again but you never know.
Also, I try to ignore my hallucination and not talk to him. Is Amber’s approach better than mine?
Leorale
Whatever works is the best approach.
Some people find ignoring them to be the best thing. Some talk to them and make boundaries, kind of like dealing with a difficult roommate. (It’s probably not best to do this in front of a person you’ve stabbed, while talking about stabbing them again, but whatchagonnado.)
Sirksome
I really hope Amber doesn’t try to stab or assault Sal in anyway, especially as of now unprovoked. That would make her mental issues far more serious than has been depicted. “Amber doesn’t sleep for a day and hallucinates Mike to make sarcastic comments and fucked your mom jokes in her head” is far different from “Amber doesn’t sleep for a day and tries to stab Sal”
Leorale
Super duper unlikely that she’ll stab Sal again. It’s just, this entire little self-conversation might not be so reassuring to Sal.
Kaiyalai
Odds are while your approach may be healthier, it doesn’t make for as good of a comic strip punchline, so I wouldn’t worry about the difference in approach too much. At least, not just from this strip alone.
Kella
If Amber has DID, then Mike isn’t a hallucination but an alter. Ignoring alters is like ignoring your own needs. You can squash and suppress them but eventually they’ll pop back out, much more toxic and out of control than before.
Jamie
So… over-under on Danny messing this conversation up without actually being there?
Clif
Oh. About 50:50.
C.T. Phipps
I think Amber is faking this since DID doesn’t result in people talking to one another. You’re one than the other. At least as I understand it.
Kyrik Michalowski
She’s definitely not faking it. We’ve literally seen her hallucination version of Mike. In addition we already know there is a break between Amber and Amazi-Girl in terms of communicating and memories.
That being said I don’t know enough about the brain to say what is going on with her.