ok here we go. some backstory on carl (discussed with @unfavoredscn). when he was about 46, he met a fan of his -- a much younger fan who was in her late twenties -- a fiery italian named sofia. her beauty wasn’t lost on him, so he invited her out for drinks. one thing lead to another, they had a fling, and went their separate ways. about six months later, she finally managed to contact him about her pregnancy, and carl never denied the paternity.
to carl’s credit, he tried to make things work with sofia, but by the time leo was born (with carl then at age 47), they decided to go their separate ways again -- their priorities and wants in life were just too different. carl paid child support (even though they never actually settled any of it in court) and tried to see leo when he could, but leo was so young at the time, there’s no way he could remember it. and with carl getting all wrapped up in his artist life-style once more, and sofia moving back to her home state of new york, he didn’t actually get to see leo again until he was 16.
the only reason carl even got to finally see leo then was because of sofia’s passing. it was a devastating thing to hear as, even though they weren’t together, and carl had never been the type to want to settle down with anyone, he still loved her in his own way. but by then, things between carl and leo were too distant, and with carl being pulled into all kinds of different shows and galleries, he still didn’t have much time to spend with his son.
so, upon feeling horribly guilty about having missed out on so much of leo’s life, carl did the only other thing he could think of: buying leo’s love. leo seemed more than happy enough to take whatever money carl would give him, but it did nothing to mend their already strained relationship, and as luck would have it (or lack thereof) their relationship only continued to get more and more strained as the years went on. nevertheless, carl would continue to give leo money whenever he needed it, and would pretty much buy him whatever he wanted until the red ice addiction started later on in leo’s adulthood. that’s when carl started being stingy and tensions between them grew even more.
as if that wasn’t bad enough, a few years later, carl got into an accident one particularly bad night. the weather had been anything but optimal. it had been alright at first, and carl hadn’t intended to be out long, anyway, but mid-ride, the rain started pouring down hard, making it difficult for carl to see, much less anyone else.
carl went to go around a corner while on his motorcycle, only to hydroplane and lose control, while simultaneously being t-boned by an oncoming car. he woke up in the hospital as a paraplegic and shortly afterwards, he fell into a deep depression and became reclusive. he disappeared from the art scene for many years, getting deeply involved with alcohol and drug-use.
some time later, kamski gifted an android, rk200 prototype model to carl to help care for him. carl ended up naming him markus, and ended up growing very attached to him. it was markus who helped pull carl out of his depression and made him renew his motivation for life and painting. markus didn’t pity carl, markus didn’t treat carl any different, and markus was beacon of hope for carl. one thing lead to another, with carl both mentoring and fathering markus. however, with markus in the picture, it only proved to further drive a wedge between carl and leo.
