Comments on the World by Dave
The Dave Cave
You need Java to see this applet.
Aftermath

Friends, colleagues, magic players, lend me your ears;
I come to bury the hatchet, not to raise it.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft forgotten in times of strife;
So let it be with me. The noble Brutus
hath told you I am disloyal.
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath I answer'd for it.
Here, in a forum inoffensive to Brutus --
For Brutus is an honourable man;
At all times supportive of our wills--
Come I to speak in a time of my own demise.
Brutus was once my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says I was disloyal;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
I hath brought several magic players back to play
Whose tournaments did at Brutus’s store did fill:
Did this in me seem disloyal?
When I began to hold tournaments, I offered to sell Brutus’s product:
Disloyalty should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says I was disloyal;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on receiving extra product
I gladly presented Brutus with it for free,
Which he did gladly accept: was this disloyalty?
Yet Brutus says I am disloyal;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
Brutus loved me once, not without cause:
For once I could afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month.
O appreciation! thou art fled to time’s fleeting breast,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart and my spirit remain aghast,
And I must pause till they return to sense.

First Citizen
Methinks there is much reason in his sayings.

Second Citizen
If thou consider rightly of the matter,
he has had great wrong.

Third Citizen
Has he, masters?
I fear his service was quickly forgotten.

Fourth Citizen
Mark'd ye his words? He offered the product for free;
Therefore 'tis certain he was not disloyal.

First Citizen
If it be found so, some will dear abide it.

Second Citizen
Poor soul! his eyes are red as fire with weeping.

Third Citizen
There's not a more misrepresented man in Tyler than this.

Fourth Citizen
Now mark him, he begins again to speak.

Aftermath
In yesterdays I offered to buy all my product from Brutus
stopped only by his lack of response; now that offer lies forgotten.
As was my unsolicited promise not to undersell Brutus!
O friends, if I seek to stir
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage,
I should do Brutus wrong, yet still I love him,
For as you all know, he is an honourable man:
I will not do him wrong; I rather choose
To wrong myself, to wrong the community and you,
Than I will wrong such an honourable man.
But wait! here's a small addendum for you to consider;
A precon I once bought from Brutus:
Bought along with three others, though I desired only the one--
Which, pardon me, I meant not to mention--
As Brutus would not sell me the one in fear
Of unbalancing his inventory,
For the one was far more popular than the three,
This, most unreasonable of requests, to buy three where
Only one was desired, I still fulfilled
In my despicable disloyalty.

Fourth Citizen
We'll listen on: speak, sir.

All
More, more! We will hear the rest!

Aftermath
Have patience, gentle friends, I must not continue;
It is not meet you know how I have loved you.
You are not wood, you are not stones, but men;
And, being men, hearing the service I provided you,
It will inflame you, it will make you mad:
'Tis good you know not that I had more
Private conversation with Brutus. O, what would come of it!

Fourth Citizen
Tell us more; we'll hear it, sir;
You shall tell us of these conversations.

Aftermath
Will you be patient? Will you stay awhile?
I have o'ershot myself to tell you of it:
I fear I wrong the honourable man
Whose daggers have stabb'd both myself and Madison; I do fear it.

Fourth Citizen
Brutus speaks of Madison as disingenuous: is he, then, an honourable man?

All
More! We would hear more!

Second Citizen
Perhaps you were loyal: I must know!

Aftermath
You will compel me, then, to continue?
Then consider the circumstances under which Brutus
Began to hold regular limited tournaments
Shall I unveil this harm? This forgotten fact?

Several Citizens
I recall that Brutus was not the first to hold regular limited tournaments.

Second Citizen
Indeed, Aftermath began weeks before – Brutus even announced it, as they were friends!

Third Citizen
Is it possible that Brutus allowed Aftermath to try it first, to take the risk of failure?

Fourth Citizen
Then started regular tournaments only after seeing success?

First Citizen
If so, this were a dire disloyalty

Second Citizen
Indeed, but not on the person which we were led to believe

Aftermath
I would not lead you to such a conclusion, my friends.

Several Citizens
You must speak on!

Aftermath
If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
You all do know this burden: I remember
The first time ever I put it on;
'Twas on a wintery afternoon, in his store,
That day I invited many of you to regionals:
The creation of Team Zero
For at that time Brutus encouraged us to gather:
To learn, to compete, and perhaps to win:
But shortly thereafter lamented its success;
For he felt that there were too many tournaments,
Mark how he continued to support publicly,
While between us two he blamed the tournaments
For so many players quitting despite the joy it brought them
For publicly, I was Brutus’s angel while privately
I received the blame that only life changes could cause.
Judge, O you gods, how dearly I still loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all;
For it was this stab, that would kill me
Ingratitude, more strong than traitors' arms,
Quite vanquish'd me: slew my spirit and caused me to stop playing;
And, so, his bitterness grew and in his pride,
Brutus believed his prophecy that I would tire of the work
Of running Team Zero would cause me to quit,
While due mainly to his deception, I fell.
O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!
Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,
Whilst bloody mendacity flourish'd over us.
O, now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel
The dint of pity: these are gracious drops.
Kind souls, what, weep you when you but behold
My work and sacrifice dismantled? Look you here,
Here am I, most despised by Brutus.

First Citizen
O piteous spectacle!

Second Citizen
O sad loss!

Third Citizen
O woeful day!

Fourth Citizen
O truth, revealed!

First Citizen
O most mournful sight!

Second Citizen
We will be revenged.

All
Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay!
Let not the truth be concealed!

Aftermath
Stay, countrymen.

First Citizen
Peace there! Hear what he would say.

Second Citizen
We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll believe.

Aftermath
Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up
To such a sudden flood of mutiny.
He that has done these deeds is honourable:
What private griefs he still has, alas, I know not,
Still I submit to you: he is generous and honourable,
And will, no doubt, with reasons answer you.
I come not, friends, to steal away your hearts:
I am no orator, as Brutus is;
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man,
That loves my friends; and that they know full well
That I continue to love him and seek not his destruction:
For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth,
Action, nor utterance, nor the power of speech,
To stir men's blood: I only speak right on;
I tell you that which you yourselves do know;
I show you my wounds, only because they still bleed,
And bid them speak for me: but were I Brutus,
And Brutus me, there were an Aftermath
Would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue
In every wound of mine that should move
The stones of us to rise and mutiny.

All
We'll mutiny.

First Citizen
We'll leave the house of Brutus.

Third Citizen
Away, then! come, seek thee a better place to play.

Aftermath
Yet hear me, countrymen; yet hear me speak.

All
Peace, ho! Hear him. Most wounded Aftermath!

Aftermath
Why, friends, you go to do you know not what:
Does Brutus not still deserve your loves?
Alas, you remember not: I must tell you then:
You have forgot the request I made of you.

All
Most true. The request, remind us of the request!

Aftermath
Here is the request, and spoken genuinely and without deceit.
To every Magic player I ask,
That the fair gifts given by Brutus be not forgotten.

Second Citizen
Thy wounds are deep! We'll revenge them.

Third Citizen
O forgotten captain!

Aftermath
Hear me with patience.

All
Peace, ho!

Aftermath
Brutus has supplied to you a place to play!
He grants prize support to some who buy little
He continues to let us play despite his grievances
He supplies a forum, a message board and announcements
You should not forget these gifts
Because of one wounded player, one fallen captain.

First Citizen
Never, never. Come, away, away!
We'll burn his body in the holy place,
And with the brands fire the traitor’s house.
Take up the body.

Second Citizen
No, he is correct

Third Citizen
Let us continue to play in peace,
Appreciating Brutus’s gifts to us,
Yet remaining aware of the truth.

Fourth Citizen
Continue O Ground Zero, and with fond tournaments.

Aftermath
Blood that has seen air may scab
Wounds that have seen light may heal
Let no greater harm come from their exposure
May what’s best for Magic be done.

My sincerest apologies to Mr. Shakespeare and Marc Antony