(no subject)

[mind_your_elder]

*The Nexus is, among other things, an architectural cornucopia, a polyglot of materials and styles. It encompasses the pieces of worlds that have bled over or fallen wholly from their original plane, as well as all that has been built by residents and travelers. Towering skyscrapers abut crumbling slums, which stand poised between treetop houses and stone ziggurats. It is from among those last that a blue-feathered, bipedal bird walks, draped in comfortable-looking robes. It regards its surroundings curiously with bright, black eyes, its head turning quickly this way and that to take everything in. At length, having found a suitable place to speak, it raises a rich, cheerful voice in question.*

Greetings, sapients and near-sapients. Civilizations wax and wane, but I wish to ask each of you of your own: has your civilization been better served by times of prosperity and easy living, or near-famine and harsh conditions?