The Wealthy Bridge (go go RNG) has recently started to install the apartment complex to get bedrooms and furniture to the majority of the dorfs, having done a 5x5 embark for the fun of it. Having restricted the pop cap to 60 and being in our 3rd year, we're not doing too badly at the moment.
Goblins have snatched four babies out of the hands of my woodcutter/fishermen and hunters arms. They can't get into the fort, as the entire citizenry is armed and there's 4 war dogs tethered at the gate, but they punch the baby in the fields, snatch it from mom, stuff it in a bag, and then proceed to run like little girls. I'm going to track those nasty little fegs down one of these days.
Our newly minted mason is currently producing absolute trash furniture when I'm trying to get a legendary dining room going. The other three just keep getting distracted so I promoted a fourth from the hauler's union. Due to this, I've built an atom smasher. This leads to the next conundrum.
During a massive dump fest I realized I left the atom smasher down, so I sent someone to yank the lever. Now, my atom smasher dumps from above... and managed to fling a few objects at one of my dorfs. He's currently lying there with a broken leg while the entire fort has ignored him for over a month moving items to the depot for trading or dumping stuff constantly walking right past him. This poor guy is in a world of hurt. My hospital doesn't have traction benches yet so that's probably the problem. I've just commissioned a few.
We've been ambushed twice and a massive run of coffins were finally built to contain our dead. I had more babies haunting my dorfs than I knew what to do with. Gods these guys are seriously happy tangling beards. Now I've had an overrun of coffins but that's probably for the best.
Barracks were setup with an archery range in there, and I'm still trying to get these buggers to use it more often. Apparently my militia captain has died, too, during one of the raids. I don't have much in terms of troops though. One full marksdwarf unit, another one with two dorfs to cycle trainees through for the main unit for loss replacement, and a half-hearted melee unit for the hammerer that never trains.
The mist generator/enforced bathing area is currently covered in goblin blood. I guess it's a good thing I got that installed.
Our outer walls are semi-complete. The fort has walled off an outdoor farming area containing nearly all the local growables, another area for our milking/shearing industry with sheep and alpacas, and a small area containing Cavies and Rabbits that hopefully will learn to breed like their name sakes and get my leather industry going. I've also recently gotten pigs and will eventually install an indoor farm for them. The Turkeys right now keep me well stocked in food, but not leather. Ducks and Peahens were recently added to the nestbox farm.
A new shaft was drilled outside the walls to find the first cavern and release spoors so I could eventually bring the grazers indoors if necessary. It's actually pretty close to the surface, but I didn't see anything down there to hunt/fear before I sealed the shaft with floors and a single up stairway.
Our industries are pretty strong. Clothing is being made as masterwork and a millstone for dyes has a shaft drilled from the surface from a windmill. Our bonecarver produces amazing crafting goods after creating an early artifact and has kept us afloat for wave after wave of merchants, recently being supplemented by worn clothing and trying to dump off a bunch of the prepared food that my cook makes. We have a bit of an imbalance there, with over 2500 prepared food options, and a mere 750 alcohol. My carpenter produces masterwork goods at whim though, so he's prepared a series of armor stands and weapon racks for my nobles just to 'bump' the rooms when they whine a bit. A new engraver has been commissioned to support the old one. We're still smoothing the new bedroom apartment complex so he should have time to skill a bit before the engraving starts.
There is no coke or ligamite on this embark. I chose a site with 3 biomes and none, anywhere. Plenty of iron and trees though. The magma sea is going to become important soon however. I wanted my industries in place before I open up the pop cap back to 200, and a good amount of armor/weapons available. I've asked the dwarven liason to bring back coke to me, and he brought *2*. Cheap feg. I'll up that priority next time we meet.
... and I'm rambling. The fort is mostly stable, as long as I can hold off the tantrum spirals from lost babies (I cut the baby pop down to 15:100 before I started and they're still partially rabbit breeding). I'm getting yearly ambushes from the goblins at ~2 units/wave. If I can get my leather industry up and some more dogs to breed to assign to the baby carrying outdoorsy types, that'll help tremendously, it's just taking forever.
Oh, and my dumb ass mayor demanded something and I didn't notice, so now the hammerer has to go beat someone.