#im sorry this isn't very informative (but i needed to put that al capone & frankie yale ref. sorry)

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

do you think that Clemente had somehow helped in making Falcone the way he is — or just make him want to be a don

yes yes yes yes i think he did at some point

«had somehow helped in making Falcone the way he is» <- i think Carlo was always Machiavellian and a hypocrite, but Alberto's cruelty and greed may have actually made him a bit worse (haha bad influence) + you see, i think Carlo is very plastic and Alberto is rough, ready to headfirst into a wall

«or just make him want to be a don» <- it's hard for me to say whether Carlo really wanted to become a don by looking at Clemente. bc i think Carlo himself has a mature idea of ruling (not just in terms of “i want power and money” but in many ways “i can do better than Moretti”) It's also impossible to say when they first met - before Clemente became a don or after (in my hcs they first met in 1929, with Clemente heading his own crime family and Carlo becoming Moretti's capo, but lately i've been thinking about changing that) anyway, i think seeing a young, active (and rather violent?), ambitious don among the old school was important for Carlo. And they don't have such a big age difference — only 7 years. this is probably why it was much easier for Carlo to associate himself with Clemente and see him as a role model (in terms of money and power). from what i understand, Clemente emphasized Sicilian roots and collaboration with Italians, just like the old school. but i still think he stood out from Moretti and Vinci (in Carlo's eyes - for the better??). Carlo certainly admired him more than he didn't (to me)

^ some old sketch w them lmao

periodically i think about how Clemente during the Vinci-Moretti war was neutrally watching it all from the shadows, waiting for the outcome. ofc, the most profitable thing for him would have been the destruction of one of the families — there would be less competition (although he did take over some of both families's territory after the war), but i think he was happy to see Carlo as the new don? Carlo's not much better than Alberto. in my eyes Clemente would more readily give Carlo, as a new don, a warm welcome than Vinci would (Vinci knows & disapproves Carlo more?)

and that scene from the dlc. their greeting seems like common courtesy, but i want to believe that they had a warm relationship with each other. although i think they were both holding a gun mentally, ready to become each other's enemies. maybe there was less of that in the past?

and Alberto and Carlo remind me of this:

«However, Al's true mentor - and immediate superior in Fox's absence - was Frankie Yale. The age difference between him and Ale was only six years.

<…> Frankie then took orders for murders, his fee was up to ten thousand dollars, but it was impossible to prove. A year later, another fight led him to prison for a year. In 1916 he was charged with robbery and theft, but again could not prove anything.

Frankie Yale was very different from John Torrio. Instead of strict business suits, he wore bright jackets, expensive jewelry and felt fedora hats. Al liked that style. Frankie didn't try to settle things with peace, because it was much quicker to settle things with a fist or a gun. He was capable of good deeds, such as helping fellow Italians by giving the poorest food, coal, or money. Once he made restitution to a restaurant owner who had been robbed; when a fishmonger lost his cart, he gave him $200 and advised him, “Buy yourself a horse, you're old to walk.” But in anger, he was terrible: once he beated up his younger brother Angelo, who angered him something that he went to the hospital. And when two extortionists picked on a checkroom attendant from the restaurant next door, Frankie beat them to a pulp.»

ps. random but it's still hard for me to figure out if Carlo had a negative attitude towards Clemente starting to fuck over potential soldiers for money by making them pay to enter the family