The family story of everyone in my fortress who dares having children or a spouse, I swear. To this day, most married dwarfs became widows shortly after marrying. Families with more than 2 kids usually have one dead, kidnapped, or both. Several orphans are running around. One 13-year-old immigrant with a single mother only seemed to have survived childhood just so she could defend the fortress against goblins with a cheap crossbow while learning to shoot game... and lose the use of her right foot in the process; because of the way crutches work, or rather don't, she's as of today a permanent resident of the hospital. EDIT: great, her mom found an ambush. Or rather, the ambush found her. Now she is a cripple AND an orphan.
The first berserker a year or two ago was a girl, Olon Degeles, who had lost her father to tragedy. Before she touched anyone in the food stockpile, my veteran (himself called the "Tragedy of Urges" and having lost one hand the the use of the other) kicked her brains in. Ironically, he's part of the most successful family: both him and his son were the first migrants (and therefore the kid was motherless, which is arguably dramatic in itself) he's been the militia commander during the very long time his right hand had been torn off, and his very son became mayor at the age of 12 and is duke today at age 20. Back to Olon, she died, leaving behind a widowed mother, a kidnapped brother, and another brother who is very unhappy and was enrolled as soon as he turned adult for the simple reason he'd punched a troglodyte in the guts as a baby. I still don't know what caused the girl in particular to lose it without a preemptive warning or a tantrum, nor why what's left of her family hasn't gone postal either.
Understandably, I'm now trying to keep alive as many kids as possible, even though they are virtually useless.
A swordsdwarf was recently punished for not filling a mandate she had absolutely no control over. Right before that, her husband, a recruit, had been killed in duty (I was not aware until he died that guy from the sacrificial meatshield squad was married...). Tragic, isn't it? Well, before the end of her sentence,
she gives birth to a boy. She keeps him while she is still chained and ends her prison time, ecstatic. She has fought a couple times while holding him due to my regrettable negligence, but fortunately, the baby only suffered a minor wound that won't affect him
(if he dies of infection or something, however, I will go berserk). The baby boy has very good physical stats, but honestly, today, I feel very uneasy giving him the title of "Future Soldier" and enrolling him within 12 years...
Side note: before the huge streak of familial drama started, I had started a huge statue of Zuglar the Oar of Yearlings... god of oceans, lakes, rivers, coasts, and... children. I yet have to finish it. I'm not sure what I have done to receive his curse. Maybe I shouldn't have expressed my pleasure there were ghostly children drifting around the building, and that, having drowned, they were not going to be accidentally put to rest.
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Topic: Most Heart Warming or Heart Wrenching Dwarf Fortress Moments~ (Read 22005 times)