Do you think before everything went to hell that the Auditores were a close knit family?
oh that's such an interesting question! i thought about it since you sent that ask, and i have to say, it's not an easy answer x) scroll aaaaall the way down for the tl;dr if you don't feel like reading, because i definitely wrote a lot :')
close-knit looks different for everybody, i think. and the family i was born in was Pure Shite⢠so i don't really have a nice reference for this x) but i don't care i'll answer this anyway hehe
starting with the siblings, i'd say they were indeed close. we don't see much before everything goes to hell, but we can already see that federico & ezio spend quite a big amount of time together, you can see it in their easy interactions, and the way they tease eo (like when federico says ezio's pretty face is his only asset). federico must have taught him all the basics of climbing and running across rooftops and seeing how complicated that is, it takes a while to master it so they definitely had to spend a lot of time practicing together x) especially if giovanni wanted ezio to begin his training as an assassin and made federico start with parkour stuff.
we unfortunately don't see claudia much before The Event (i won't even type it) but from what we gathered, she knows how to defend herself (she basically beat the sh*t out of one of her mates if i remember correctly), she was fierce and capable, and yet ezio still went to punch that duccio douchebag (aka ducciobag). ofc there's the obvious "big brother beating up anyone who hurts younger siblings" dynamic, but apart from that, i like to think it's part of how ezio used to show his support (acts of service using his fists fhdskjfhds).
i HC that every member of the family would be super protective towards petruccio, and have a soft spot for him. him being ill probably plays a big role in that, and him being the youngest of the family as well. he'd use his puppy eyes to get what he wants (feathers? yes! candies? ofc! random little items like the wooden doll leonardo liked so much? always!) and every member would be aware of him using it to his advantage but none of them would mind because at the end of the day, petruccio is a sweet kid with bright eyes and noone wants the light in his eyes to dim :) and also because they've all seen his bad days, and want to make life as comfortable as possible for him. they've all witnessed him being exhausted, him growing frustrated because he cant go out despite the spring having come early, bc he can't go explore firenze with ezio & federico due to his lack of energy. they've all heard the heavy silence in their home when petruccio's laughter doesn't resonate in the place, him being too exhausted to be his usual mischievous self. so ofc when he gets better days, ofc, they would indulge him, all the way.
maria had, to me, a complicated role bc she had to make sure the kids didn't notice something was odd abt giovanni's work, while probably getting worried every time he went away on a mission (not knowing whether he would come back alive). she was probably super soft with their kids, im sure she baked them the most amazing tuscan cakes, desserts & treats (since she used to have a bakery). plus, her keeping diaries probably was a great way for her to have tons of stories to tell the kids during long nights where they would wait for giovanni to come back home :) must have been so many precious memories created thanks to the time she would make to tell stories :(
but she wouldn't be *just* gentle, she's be sassy too, you can clearly see it in the way she interacts with ezio (about him finding other outlets, her knowing abt his fights and stuff) and i think she was a very no-nonsense kind of mother which makes all their interactions funnier and more genuine. ofc the kids would keep certain things secret, but maria's perceptiveness would make them all trust her much more with their issues/everyday questions and such.
giovanni probably struggled to be there much bc of his work in the order, he must have missed tons of important events and even more trivial everyday situations happening in the family and that probably broke his heart to see how fast their kids would grow without him being able to witness it. i feel like he'd bring souvenirs and random little items from his trips, because obviously he wouldn't be able to share his stories with the kids, wanting to shelter them from everything assassin-related, but he'd try to make it up to them by bringing little trinkets, treats/snacks from other towns, and stuff like that to share a bit of his own everyday life with his family.
oh my, this is getting way too long im sorry, you probably expected a waaaay shorter answer!
tl:dr : i'd say the auditore were probably a close-knit family in the way that *i* picture it. they'd all take care of eo in their own way, they'd also leave eo enough space to exist for themselves, they'd share jokes, tender moments, they'd bicker and argue, but in the end i feel like there's always been a lot of love in that family. it doesn't prevent one from making mistakes/assumptions abt the other members and everything, but in the end, they support each other and try their best to face things together.
not to mention the pride they have to carry the auditore name, but that's another story!
sorry anon you probably wanted something different T-T
im curious though, what's your point of view on the matter? i'd love to hear your opinions about this!
