come for the shitposts, stay for the meta

Out of Universe:

Dr. Carmilla is played by Maki Yamazaki. Maki Yamazaki is a Japanese-British artist, games developer, and a performer and musician. Maki’s bandcamp can be found here and her website can be found here

Maki Yamazaki, as she currently is, claims to be a clone of Dr. Carmilla, who has struck out on her own. 

Origins of Dr. Carmilla

But well— out of universe entirely, the history of the character is older than a lot of people might think! Maki created the character Dr. Carmilla in about 2009. The exact timeline is a bit difficult to put together, but the earliest mention I can find of Dr. Carmilla online is in this livejournal post by user Sebastienne. 

As mentioned in this post, we start with the group Lashings of Ginger Beer Time! This is, where I figure, a lot of early Dr. Carmilla took place. Sebastienne and Carmilla were both members of Lashings. (Frank Voss, who plays Ashes, also was! Ashes wears a Lashings pin on their hat in some photos!)

So… What was Lashings? That is another post entirely. But in short, it was a queer performance group, of which some of their songs were videoed and put on Youtube!

Here is, as is important, Maki/Doc C’s lasher card. 

Who is Maki Yamazaki?

Well, as I said, she is a Japanese-british artist. Though, more than me, I think Maki’s words on who she is will speak a lot louder than mine, (and be a LOT more relevant than anything I have to say) so linked are some interviews with Maki she’s done over the years!

Interview with Represent Me: This interview is from 2018! I was about to type “So it is relatively recent! Only two years!” but then I remembered 2020 was 6 years ago. Scary. 

This interview has a focus on Maki’s work with the games industry! She talks about her experiences with games development, living while disabled, inspiration, and storytelling. There is some reference to her past in music making, but overall it’s a focus on her work in game development!

Interview with Monika Kowalska, who runs a blog. Frankly, her own description will do it better justice than me:

“One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. No biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society. We are wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, and partners. I interviewed over 700 transgender women who radiate with wisdom, beauty, intelligence and love. The blog is about transgender women who proved to me that there is hope for me and it is better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you are not.”

(This blog continues to update frequently as well!)

This interview with Maki took place Wednesday, November 26, 2014, and has a focus on transfeminism, music, Dr Carmilla, and storytelling with a trans focus. Maki discusses her experiences with being trans, being an artist, and in general a lot of her creative history! 

This one is less an interview, and more an announcement for a 2 minute long interview with maki! This is from September 11th, 2014. It’s her own words as she talks and discusses being trans, being a musician, and transitioning. She also discusses disability, and her experiences with using a wheelchair. 

This final interview is probably the most DC&TM relevant one, one. It was with Steampunk-music.com on September 9th, 2012, and has a focus on Dr. Carmilla, as it was being written then. 

It opens with:

“Picture a bar on the ragged fringe of a post-apocalyptic desert. Its rowdy patrons converse in hushed tones about scarce riches and scarcer women. Whiskey and water slosh freely. In the air between its sagging board walls and above its found-object benches, music lingers, speaking of desperate hope and characters all too familiar in this hard-lived future. Welcome to Dr. Carmilla's world.”

So we can imagine what we are in for. This article is one of the best sources for actual information on The Loreli Cycle! 

This article goes into a lot of Maki’s inspirations musically, her choices on using a ukulele, as well as her experiences being diagnosed with Elhors-Danlos syndrome as well as going into her then-future projects.  

All of these interviews and videos together should give you all a good idea of who Maki is!

Pre-In Universe Notes

Before going into this, it's important to establish that not all Doc C lore is compatible with The Mechanisms lore as the bands diverged and changed.

The Mechanisms were, originally, Dr. Carmilla’s backing band in the joint band Dr. Carmilla & The Mechanisms.

This split into Dr. Carmilla, and The Mechanisms - two separate musical acts that diverged over time. 

In Universe: 

Our enigmatic Dr. Carmilla is, in universe, the creator of most of the characters we call The Mechanisms, who make up the core “crew” of The Aurora. But that is not where she begins, nor where she ends.

I think the best place to start would likely be her character bio:

Dr. Carmilla is a spacefaring intergalactic criminal much like the crew! She’s a bit of a pirate, more than a bit of a chaos-causer, and is far, far, far from human. She masquerades as a traveling musicians, and well,

has a bit of a vampiric tendency to herself.

(She also tends to leave clones of herself around that assume the name Maki Yamazaki.)

Pre-Mechanisms

Home Planet

As for where she starts, we start on a long-ago planet called Terra. 

Now, we don't know much about Terra. Not in its heyday, at least. But what we do know is that now?

Well, Now it's uninhabitable. Why? Well, hm.

Good question. Now you might be tempted to go “We know the Dr. Carmilla song After The Bomb exists! That must be what happened!” nope— Maki has said otherwise. After the Bomb is not about Terra. 

But well, we do have the description from carmilla.bandcamp.com

“Dr. Carmilla tells the twisted tales of a dystopian future following WWII having ended very differently.”

So, well, nuclear fallout is very quite possible? The after the bomb song isnt about Terra, but there very well could have been something else bomb-adjacent happening there as well. 

That combined with the @/mxmy comic about Zombie Stalin, well,

We can assume that, possibly, possibly, maybe whatever occurred with Terra, was Possibly Space WW2 Adjacent, to how Gunpowder Tim Vs The Moon Kaiser, is Space WW1! Or at least was. Once upon a time was. This is all Very Very Very old lore, and may likely have been changed/retconned/altered since, especially with the upcoming band Doctor Carmilla and The Void Quartet, and their album trilogy they are working on.

Similarly, from the TvTropes page, we have this:

So we do know that, at least, those two songs were about our doctor destroying her home planet. 

These songs were, though, non-recorded, and may have been retconned.

Similarly with Terra, I am going to pretty much rip off @lucky-sevens’ Carmilla post here, and state that we know Aurora was a moon of Terra, and we know that Carmilla likely destroyed one of Terra’s moons. Maki stated as much in discord, but the discord lore is nebulous, non-canon, vague lore.

I will link lucky-sevens’s aurora lore post here though, as it's very important!

Carmilla… probably maybe destroyed one of Terra’s moons. In this, she acquired/adopted/???a daughter, Aurora! A moon! Not yet a starship! A moon! Flesh! Flesh moon! 

Read Chitra’s aurora lore post I promise it makes sense. I super promise it makes sense.  

Loreli

Moving past Terra, we move into Loreli!

Loreli… Loreli. 

I am going to basically pull out a chunk from @lucky-sevens’ post here with permission.

Chitra made a lore post about the order of the carmilla songs here; this is very useful.

from chitras carmilla basics:

at some point (when she was younger than 30), carmilla became a vampire. this could have been, but is not explicitly, what her song alive, i cried, is about. she is one of only two vampires. the assumption…is that the other vampire was her lover, loreli. this is supported by maki saying ‘dead needs further clarification’ when asked whether loreli was alive or not, suggesting that she was undead.  however, there are other theories, the main one that i have seen being that the other vampire is rocket girl, the unnamed character carmilla is singing about in her song ‘rocket girl’, who we know has more lore about her that is currently unknown.  for simplicity, i’ll write the rest of this meta with the assumption loreli is the other vampire. after she was turned, or potentially before, her relationship with carmilla turned toxic and abusive, which a few of carmilla’s songs are about, most notably pin cushion. 

TDLR: Loreli was Carmilla’s partner on Terra. Carmilla was in a romantic relationship with her that went badly, as Loreli was abusive to Carmilla. 

For more Loreli, here is the only known depiction of Loreli I have managed to find. 

Now, we don't quite know what happened that made Carmilla leave Loreli, or strike out on her own, but we do know it was a long long time after Loreli that Carmilla chose to make The Mechanisms, her children, immortal.

Mechanisms Era:

Relationship with her children

Dr. Carmilla and her children.

Dr Carmilla, is, to put it in its simplest terms, Silly Campy Vampire Goth Mom. Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way a bit. She canonically hung out or at least has a crush on that one vampire troll from homestuck. She is a fun character, the silly goth vampire mom, Carmilla from the book Carmilla, but a space scientist, she is silly spooky a character concept of “Anastasia, the lost princess of Russia, except shes in space and fucking a starship” — Carmilla is first and foremost a fun character. 

Secondly, 

Carmilla was not inherently abusive to the mechanisms. This headcanon is not canon. This headcanon is the result of a lot of weird fandom nonsense that happened in 2020/2021.

do not make her racist/homophobic/transphobic/ableist. She is a disabled Japanese ace trans lesbian. I do not need to be any more clear on this topic.

Here is a post by maki on the topic, which I will let speak for itself:

[Image id: A screenshot of a tumblr post made by Maki that reads:

I generally don’t like like to weigh in on public discourse surrounding fanon as:

1) I am a firm believer in the beauty & creativity of fan works, as well as one’s own interpretation of art.

2) It is sadly all too easy for such online discussions to turn toxic, hurting people in the community.

However, I would like to note that as a survivor of trauma & abuse myself, seeing Dr. Carmilla painted as an abuser makes me very uncomfortable, whatever one’s own head-canon/interpretation might be.

end image id]

Moving Forward Past That

Silly Vampire Goth Mom.

Carmilla loved the mechanisms. The mechanisms themselves may seem to have a….somewhat it seems negative opinion of The Doctor. As seen in Homesick with:

[JONNY] (very, afraid) ALRIGHT ALRIGHT- Stop stop stop stop stop, whoa whoa whoa okay okay okay- I can’t take it anymore! Are you going to kill us or not? Cause I’m (stuttering)- It’s lovely when we’re playing songs, and it’s great. But we shot- well, one of us, shot you out of an airlock, and I wanna know. What are you going to do to us? Other than killing me? [DOC C] Now is not the time, Jonny, I’m feeling a bit tetchy. [JONNY] Watch it. You’re- you’re planning something. Something.  [DOC C] Medication time. [JONNY] Yes– (cutoff)

Now, this may seem, “Woah! Jonny is afraid of her!”

She’s their mom. They threw her her out an airlock. I want any of you to imagine what would happen if your mother was immortal, you were immortal, violence between you all was casual, and you threw your mom out an airlock.

As we know from Lashings, the mechanisms airlocking their mother was a very common occurrence. 

And as we know from gender rebels, killing the lead singer of the band is not a uniquely violent thing.

Carmilla killing them for them throwing her out the airlock likely does not hold any more narrative weight than say, Tim killing their lead singer (Jonny) in gender rebels so they could “sing their own songs” — its basically the same thing! Jonny likely killed all of them when he woke up after gender rebels and got away from Brian (who was babysitting his body) — Carmilla is not uniquely violent here if she does kill them all.

(Medicine Time, as in the transcript, is likely a lead up into the song Welcome to Medi. Co) — and importantly, part of a stage bit.)

But regardless, 

Why did Dr. Carmilla create the mechanisms?

She was likely lonely. She had been immortal a long long long long time. She wanted a companion in space. 

Let's start with Jonny as an example of her relationship with the mechanisms pre-mechanization. We know that Jonny did not die immediately when he left New Texas with carmilla

[Jonny D’Ville] “Well, that’s very kind of you Jack and I know that in your own heart you only ever did what was best for me but, you see, I don’t need a father anymore. Got a new friend, she’s a doctor. She gave me an interesting prescription - let’s see if I can remember. Oh yeah, half an ounce of lead to be injected directly into the brain. And it wasn’t a prescription for me.”

From One Eyed Jacks

They likely traveled together a while, before well, Jonny died. 

How did Jonny die? Unknown,

As stated, I am going to share bits and pieces of the Forbidden Maki Lore Document. Chitra has previously shared little bits in his Dr. Carmilla Basics post. 

this screenshot is non canon, is demi-canon, and is prone to reconning and change. it was said 6 years ago informally. i am using it here to emphasize tone. 

But well— this bit from the Maki lore document. I think really emphasizes the important bits here— with regards to how Carmilla thought about Jonny, his mechanization, and how mechanization effected him

She loved him. 

He had a good heart. but it was broken before carmilla tinkered with him.

She thought he’d be a good companion. 

and well

yknow.

In any case— Carmilla made her children immortal because she loved them, because she thought they would make good companions. Shown more in the below screenshot:

again, this screenshot is non canon, and is prone to reconning and change. it was said 6 years ago informally. I am using it here to emphasize the dynamic between Carmilla and her children.  

This is also a very extremely relevant point — mechanism corrupts, immortality corrupts

And her kids keep terrorizing the galaxy, so…. well, like, she isn't making more. She wanted friends. Companions that wouldn't die on her. 

I oftentimes see people saying Carmilla didn't ask them if they wanted to become immortal. She did ask them. They were dying though. They didn't exactly have long to think on it. 

She thought they would be good companions through the stars. They were good kids. Good potentially infinite friends.

Then they went and terrorized the galaxy and went “hey vampire mom, look!” as Carmilla watched from behind them.

Anyway —

Mechanization. 

What order were her kids mechanized?

Jonny - From a planet called new Texas

Nastya - From Cyberia, where Carmilla was likely there to recover Aurora, her stolen child who had been turned into a moonship Ivy - Bibliotheca Magna. She was possibly brought to Carmilla by Jonny after he rescued her from a fire Ashes - Malone, twin suns. Lucky sevens. etc. [Scuzz] - Unknown. Ninja. Toy Soldier - Picked up in The Cole Dominion by the mechanisms, See Lashings Brian - See this post

This is when Carmilla left. 

After Carmilla left, she left materials in her laboratory that then allowed the Mechanisms themselves to mechanize one Gunpowder Tim. 

Carmilla possibly never canonically met Marius and Raphaella.

During her time with the mechanisms, we know a few things. She was involved in the war within The Cole Dominion (see her song Eleven where she and TS interact with Rose Reds) - and she was airlocked a lot of times, before each show, so it seems. 

But overall, Carmilla spent a long, long, long time flying, exploring, and making music with her children. She loved them, made them immortal to be her companions, even if they involved themselves with things they ought not to have.

So why then, did our Doctor leave The Starship Aurora?

That, I think, is best summed up by in and out of character reasons.

In character, we have this Carmilla website page

“They were created by Dr Carmilla. If there was any reason, she is the only person who understands it. Carmilla took the person each Mechanism once was and replaced the broken parts of their body with something flawless, mechanical and dead. Jonny’s metal heart pumps blood where his old one once broke, although it can feel no emotion; Ivy’s positronic brain can recall every fact, but feel none of them.

For a while the Mechanisms flew with Carmilla through this broken universe aboard the vessel Aurora. And then Carmilla left. Possibly she had secret things she needed to do. Possibly she regretted the companions she had made and cast them aside. Possibly the Mechanisms turned on their creator and flung her into the depths of space. Regardless, the Mechanisms sail between worlds alone now.

And frequently they manage to involve themselves in places and times they ought not to.”

Dr. Carmilla may have left for a lot of reasons, though Maki has stated it wasn’t a single final airlocking.

We don't know exactly why she left. There likely wasn't only one reason she left. There never is, when leaving family.

All we know is that she did, in the end, decide to leave on her own.

Out of character, well, 

Some quotes from those interviews sum it up pretty well:

At first, it started out as Dr. Carmilla & The Mechanisms, but life circumstances took me away from the rest of the band, and I decided to go solo. It was probably the best decision I ever made as it coincided with setting up my own studio and focusing on making recordings in a very complimentary manner. (X)

Maki, at the time of leaving DC&TM was having a lot of health issues, that combined with the lack of accessibility in the music scene,

Unfortunately a lot of venues don't have full wheelchair access, especially not to the stage, and this is a real problem, from my experience. I really love playing gigs, but venues need more disability awareness! (X)

Ended with her career in music taking a bit of a pause:

As I slid painfully into adulthood, I became much more focussed on making music and comics. However, I have a chronic illness, and as my health got worse it became harder to do either. Eventually I got sick of the music industry crushing my soul at every possible turn and decided to change my career path altogether. (X)

A lot happened that ended up with Doctor Carmilla taking a long hiatus. You can read more of Maki’s words on the subject here. But of course — that wasn't forever, as….. well! She’s got a band again!

Common Misconceptions

To end this section, I will list out a few misconceptions:

Carmilla bioprogrammed the mechanisms as evidenced by the fact Jonny say not sexually assaulting people is the only limit the doctor gave him!

No. She didn't. She did not bioprogram them. Maki said as much!

(Again, from the demi-canon lore document, not necessarily canon, but well uh, this is pretty straightforward)

Well then what is Brian’s switch?

Brian’s switch is Brian’s switch, which is not bioprogramming.

Hmmm. well, I think Carmilla was abusive

Ok. Then so is Jonny for killing the crew recreationally as “First Mate”. What are we doing. 

Carmilla is a complex character. She’s had a rough past, with few functional relationships. She and The Mechanisms can have a painful and complex relationship without her having abused them. 

It is important to know that Carmilla did, genuinely, love them and view them as her children, and not solely as test subjects.

But. As stated. Carmilla is, as stated, not abusive to her children. 

It is not fair to Maki to have her character be slated in as “the abuser” because she had to step away from creating music with the band she started.

Besides,

Carmilla is a lot more fun as a character if you look at her from the lens of Another Member Of The Wacky Space Pirate Crew and not as Evil Mother We Must Banish To Obscurity. Which is more fun? Jonny trying to hide the fact he murdered a dozen people because his mom will be like JONNY. STOP KILLING PEOPLE. JONNY. SON WHY. ILL GET THE ACID FILLED SPRITZER IF YOU KEEP THIS UP. DID YOU AT LEAST SAVE THE BLOOD FOR ME. or whatever….. or Carmilla being a secret evil mastermind behind everything? 

One is a lot more canon than the other. 

Wait, I thought that Carmilla was dead!

Nope! Carmilla is in fact, right as rain, and has been alive for, probably, 50,000 years by how long its been since Terra was last inhabited. I don’t foresee her dying anytime soon! Carmilla just left Aurora and her other children to see brighter stars. She cannot physically die. She’s on her own ship called The Silvana now!

Huh, didn’t the mechanisms just airlock her and she was gone?

Nope! Carmilla left of her own free will. See “Why did Carmilla leave” section above! In reality, the mechanisms airlocked Carmilla regularly, recreationally if we will. It was a recursive show bit to say that they airlocked her, and that they thought she was dead/were surprised to see her back so soon. 

They airlocked her many a time!

Post-Mechanisms

So now we get into the “present day” of Dr. Carmilla media!

These days, The Doctor haunts the stars with her new backing band, Dr. Carmilla & The Void Quartet, and is based in Silvana Laboratories, which, if you read those interviews earlier, is a fun name for her home studio!

It also, in lore, is the name of Carmilla’s ship! The Silvana! Which is… likely more than a little bit eldritch, given the fact we’re working with the Void here. 

(and we all know the Void does sing)

See some tweets they made here, in our archive as well as some Dr Carmilla tweets.

You can catch current updates in Maki’s discord server, Maki’s patreon, and on her blog! (@/mxmy)