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PART TWO. SIBLINGS !!

the continuation of my exploration into the family life of Naut Gooischot. Part one regarding parents and parental figures can be found HERE. Since Naut has 12 siblings, and all of them helped to shape him into the man he eventually was to become, they do deserve to be more than a simple number in his bio; yet, I did not want to add all of these characters to the bio therefor I’m using this post to link into it later. Names in italic are twins or triplets. 

underneath the cut because of the length, really, I go into detail about the personality and story of 12 family members. This is damn near a novel reaching over 2000 words.

Aafke Gooischot ( sister ) 46 The second child born to Saar and Mathies, the kind of girl who held the sun in her smile; she takes after her mother in that way, bringing laughter wherever she goes. An excellent cook and fully prepared for motherhood by the time Naut was pressed. She had tried so hard to take control of the farm when her father became too weak to do so, yet her stepmother Bregje had found it best if she was shipped off to Middelburg; for perhaps in the city there would be someone foolish enough to try and make a proper wife out of her. 

Aafke married to quite the charming baker and had four children of her own, her husband taught her how to read at the age of 31 in the hopes that she could one day read bedtime stories to her children, rather than make them up or recite them from memory like she had always done. But it was too late for her to learn how to write, a lack of skill she only comes to regret once a year; when Christmas rolls around and she has to ask her husband to write her letter to Naut. Not that he ever answers, but she likes to think of the sentiment as a gift in itself, rather than something to which she expects a reply. 

Justen Gooischot ( brother ) 45 Where Naut was pressed into the navy, Justen found himself there out of his own free will. The type of man who carried violence in his chest with glee. Perhaps the two brothers are more alike than they’d ever like to admit, for they clashed often during their childhood. Justen was the wildfire who burned everything in his touch  /  wild and uncontainable. 

Like his older brother, Justen never married and rather enjoys the single life. He knows too many women now widowed because of their husbands dying at sea and he doesn’t want to leave a wife of his own like that, for he is very aware of his own mortality. From time to time the two will see one another on the shore; yet it never gets any deeper than idle chitchat. Too much history and too much blood drying between the two of them. 

Justen went off and made a name for himself in the navy, aggressive in many ways. A rather uncomfortable man to serve with, yet one who gets the job done nonetheless.  

Bastijn Gooischot ( brother ) 43 If his older brothers were alike in their taste for violence, Bastijn seemed to be made for softer weather and clearer skies; a dreamer and a lover of words. As a child, he would often cling to his sister’s skirts asking her to tell one more story ( always one more, until eventually, Aafke ran out of things to tell him. ) 

It came as no surprise to anyone within the family that Bastijn would grow up to be a writer. Not a famous one, mind you, but it earns him enough to live a rather comfortable life upon the shore. Often, his stories talk of loss and loneliness; always cured by the appearance of some holy being. While some members of the family think he’s talking about his mother  /  for even if he was little over a year old when she died, he surely must have felt the grief her death left the family in, some know for it not to be the case. 

Bastijn remains unmarried, instead, living together in a delightful house in Amsterdam with another male writer. He claims it is better for the inspiration, that two minds driven by poetry make better stories together; but some are hardly sure of those tales. 

Lotje Gooischot ( half-sister )  / Liesje Gooischot ( half-sister )  40 The oldest of the twins born to Kaatje and Mathies, Lotje found herself almost responsible for the well-being of her twin from a very young age; the two of them are identical and the poor health of Liesje made the oldest of the pair fiercely protective. There was a time during their childhood when Lotje was the voice of her sister, always speaking for the both of them while Liesje didn’t make a single sound.

When older, the two would remain together, connected ever since the womb of their mother. Born together  /  die together. They build an empire together as seamstresses, for if anything, their mother had trained them well in the art of it. No children were to come from either of them, no husband to change their names and sweep them away. To this day, Lotje sometimes still speaks for Liesje when she cannot find her voice. 

Ewoud Gooischot ( half-brother ) 38 With the failing health of their father, Ewoud was the one who got to run the farm. After all, he had inherited his mother cleverness and her eye for business. Numbers always seemed to sit well with him  /  connections in them quickly drawn and changed to better fit his needs.He is a loyal man, loyal to his wife and own children above anything else, for he takes after his father in the sense that he has 8 of his own. 

Underneath him and his wife the farm once again blooms. With the aggressive nature of a wolf, he has bought the land of other farmers they once used to call their neighbours, expanding their fields, making more money than his father had ever dared to dream. Thanks to his older brothers, Ewoud managed to secure himself a position within the VOC. He delivers supplies to them, and they, in turn, pay him better than any market run ever could. 

Roosje Gooischot ( step-sister ) 35 Roosje doesn’t know that the men she has called father her entire life isn’t technically hers, Mathies never had the heart to tell her this and did not love her less for the lack of his own blood in her veins. As a child she was awfully loud, always singing or shouting and it seemed that she could not simply talk in a normal volume; perhaps it had something to do with her fear of not being heard above the sound of seven older siblings. 

Later, this voice of hers would prove to be quite useful; for she was a leader at heart. She was never married, nor did she ever get any children of her own, but she found herself in a strange companionship with the local priest. A man of good faith who allowed her to live in his home, when he got sick she swiftly took over sermons and services. By the time of his death, it was actually her who lead the community visiting the church on Sunday. 

The story goes, that many men tried to banish her from her church, but that the women praying for the return of their husbands kicked more men out of the door to keep her there than they allowed to go through to pray.  

Louwrens Gooischot ( half-brother )  33 The oldest of non-identical triplets, for a moment it seemed as if Louwrens would not grow old. For the boy suffered from a weak health as a child to the great distress of his mother and older siblings. Yet, Louwrens grew up to be quite the handsome man indeed. With plenty of women waiting for him to ask for their hands in marriage, yet Louwrens was rather content remaining on the farm on which he was born. 

He helps Ewoud whenever he can, doing most of the hard work while his older brother focuses on the numbers and the connections within the business world. Perhaps, he simply was never interested in relationships and romance, to begin with, and perhaps, he was simply far happier on his own with his family than any relationship could ever make him. 

Lindert Gooischot ( half-brother ) 33 As the middle child of the triplets, Lindert was rather town in his childhood. On one hand, he felt insanely responsible for his younger sister, and the two siblings that would follow her; but on the other, he was also coddled by his older siblings most of the time. From a young age on Lindert exhibited all the signs of a clever brain and a mouth which seemed to be twice as such. 

It was always obvious that he would go and leave the rest of them behind, moving to Leiden at the age of 19 to become a teacher. Even with the disadvantages of his place in society he somehow got to rise through the ranks, securing himself a rather well off career as a professor at one of the most prestigious universities the country has to offer. 

Lineke Gooischot ( half-sister ) 33 Lineke was the cause of many headaches for her father, mother and older siblings alike; she could be found climbing trees than anything else. She was, perhaps, the wildest of all the Gooischot children, giving the older boys a run for their money when it came to wrestling and other typical boy games. 

Neighbourhood kids were scared of her, even older boys quickly turned around the corner when she accompanied her father into town for she wore her thirst for blood like a weapon, teeth always bare whenever she smiled and strength displayed whenever she helped him lift bags of grain. Instead of focussing on marrying like so many girls her age seemed to do, Lineke threw herself into the possibility of a career, finding herself onboard of a ship all too soon. Hair cut short, breasts pressed flat against her chest with bandages, and the Gooischot family name helping her when it came to securing a job upon a merchant vessel ( for the two brothers in the navy were nothing short of renowned for their strength and naval skill, so the same must be true for this sibling as well )  

She eventually became captain of a ship running underneath the command of the VOC in the disguise she had to build for herself. Perhaps, Lineke is the best-kept secret of the family. 

Sieb Gooischot ( half-brother )  28 A clever little man with a mouth as quick as a whip; Sieb was always the one able to talk himself out of any situation, even as a child he was able to wiggle himself out of chores with carefully selected arguments. It surprised no one in the family that he became a politician, or at least, is trying to. It was either that or a common thug. 

Leading a small party of revolutionaries in the lower parts of the Netherlands he can often be found talking about independence for the provinces, feeding into the ever growing hate directed towards the prince of Orange. Most of his siblings are ashamed of him, not that he cares; with his wife and his two children following him from town to town he is the happiest that he has ever been.

Carlijne Gooischot ( half-sister ) 22 The last of the Gooischot siblings, and the only one born to Bregje. There has always been a strange form of separation in regards to her and her older siblings, for they did not like her mother very much, and it was obvious that Carlijne was the apple of her mothers’ eye, making the rest suffer under her leadership while Carlijne grew up in comfort. 

Her mother prepared her for marriage for as long as she could possibly remember, grooming her, teaching her how to be a proper wife to a good officer either from the navy or the VOC. It mattered little to Bregje, and since it has been what she has been told all of her life; neither does it matter a lot to Carlijne. However, it is the life she too wants for herself. She doesn’t harbour grander dreams  /  no desire to see the world or do anything else than to raise her own children in peace. And that is also absolutely fine. 

Tagging the biggest ( and only ? ) Naut fan on this side of the RPC  !!!  �� @oceanfoamed