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A line of action figures designed by horror master CliveBarker, released by McFarlane Toys in 2001. Despite being distributed by a toy line, these figures were most definitely ''NOT'' for children; they featured all of the NightmareFuel, BodyHorror, and BDSM themes Barker's other works are famous for. In particular, they emphasized what he described as "the use of flesh as canvas".
(So be warned before you click any links!)
The original six figures - [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1452 Agonistes]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1988 the Scythe-Meister]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1784 Lucidique]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2066 Talisac]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2114 Venal Anatomica]], and [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1840 Mongroid]] - were all imagined as characters in the same story, and each toy was sold with a chapter of the short novella that Barker wrote to explain how they were all connected. The tale begins with the [[{{Backstory}} backstory]] of Agonistes, "The Secret Face of Genesis", and goes on to tell about his two newest supplicants: an assassin named Zarles Krieger, and Lucidique, the daughter of Krieger's latest victim.
After the popularity of the first series, Barker and McFarlane released a second set of figures, titled [[{{Sequelitis}} Tortured Souls 2:]] [[StockSubtitle The Fallen]]. However, the new figures went for a much more raw, visceral look (less BDSM, more surgical mutilation), and weren't written with any kind of backstory.
The original novella has been transcribed [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1840 here]]. It's typo-heavy, but at least you don't have to buy all six action figures to read it.
(So be warned before you click any links!)
The original six figures - [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1452 Agonistes]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1988 the Scythe-Meister]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1784 Lucidique]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2066 Talisac]], [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=2114 Venal Anatomica]], and [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1840 Mongroid]] - were all imagined as characters in the same story, and each toy was sold with a chapter of the short novella that Barker wrote to explain how they were all connected. The tale begins with the [[{{Backstory}} backstory]] of Agonistes, "The Secret Face of Genesis", and goes on to tell about his two newest supplicants: an assassin named Zarles Krieger, and Lucidique, the daughter of Krieger's latest victim.
After the popularity of the first series, Barker and McFarlane released a second set of figures, titled [[{{Sequelitis}} Tortured Souls 2:]] [[StockSubtitle The Fallen]]. However, the new figures went for a much more raw, visceral look (less BDSM, more surgical mutilation), and weren't written with any kind of backstory.
The original novella has been transcribed [[http://spawn.com/toys/product.aspx?product=1840 here]]. It's typo-heavy, but at least you don't have to buy all six action figures to read it.
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* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Agonistes seems to follow this. He doesn't care ''why'' a supplicant comes to him, only that their prayers are genuine. Once he starts his work someone, he won't release them from the agonizing surgeries, no matter how desperately they beg, but he ''will'' sing lullabies and medicate them with a taste of his own flesh.
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* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Agonistes seems to follow this. He doesn't care ''why'' a supplicant comes to him, only that their prayers are genuine. Once he starts his work on someone, he won't release them from the agonizing surgeries, no matter how desperately they beg, but he ''will'' sing lullabies and medicate them with a taste of his own flesh.
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* CrapsackWorld
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* SonOfAWhore: Krieger remembers his mother prostituting herself to "the guards of the emperor's guards".
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* TimeAbyss: Agonistes is said to have been made by God on the seventh day of Creation; instead of resting, the story goes, God worked Himself into a frenzy and created monsters and demons. This would make Agonistes nearly as old as the world itself. Even if it's not true (no one knows for sure), he ''has'' been around for at least 2,500 years, which is still pretty ancient.
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* TheBible: Among Agonistes's past supplicants were Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot (who was also the only supplicant Agonistes ever stopped work on - he whined so much that [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Agonistes finally hanged him to shut him up]].)
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* TheBible: Among Agonistes's past supplicants were Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot (who was also the only supplicant Agonistes ever stopped work on - he whined so much that [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Agonistes finally hanged him to shut him up]].)
* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous Heroes]] Zarles Krieger and Lucidique, who are willing to commit a ''lot'' of murder to end the emperor's tyranny and avenge their loved ones, versus the vile, irreversibly corrupt Emperor Perfetto and the brutal, xenophobic Generals who replace him.
* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous Heroes]] Zarles Krieger and Lucidique, who are willing to commit a ''lot'' of murder to end the emperor's tyranny and avenge their loved ones, versus the vile, irreversibly corrupt Emperor Perfetto and the brutal, xenophobic Generals who replace him.
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* BlackAndGreyMorality
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* BlackAndGreyMoralityTheBible: Among Agonistes's past supplicants were Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot (who was also the only supplicant Agonistes ever stopped work on - he whined so much that [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Agonistes finally hanged him to shut him up]].)
* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous Heroes]] Zarles Krieger and Lucidique, who are willing to commit a ''lot'' of murder to end the emperor's tyranny and avenge their loved ones, versus the vile, irreversibly corrupt Emperor Perfetto and the brutal, xenophobic Generals who replace him.
* BlackAndGreyMorality: [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous Heroes]] Zarles Krieger and Lucidique, who are willing to commit a ''lot'' of murder to end the emperor's tyranny and avenge their loved ones, versus the vile, irreversibly corrupt Emperor Perfetto and the brutal, xenophobic Generals who replace him.
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* GroinAttack: Lucidique takes pleasure in castrating Duraf Cascarellian before she kills him.
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* NakenOnArrival / FullFrontalAssault: Lucidique makes her first appearance when she charges out of the bath, naked, and threatens Krieger at knifepoint.
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* NakenOnArrival NakedOnArrival / FullFrontalAssault: Lucidique makes her first appearance when she charges out of the bath, naked, and threatens Krieger at knifepoint.
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* ActionGirl: Lucidique, especially after her transformation.
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* CirclingMonologue: Inverted - Lucidique, the closest thing the story has to a ''hero'', circles Krieger while she tries to convince him to join her cause. It probably helps that she's naked at the time.
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* NakenOnArrival / FullFrontalAssault: Lucidique makes her first appearance when she charges out of the bath, naked, and threatens Krieger at knifepoint.
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* {{Stripperiffic}}: Lucidique's post-transformation outfit. Although, since parts of her ''skin'' have also been stripped away, it's more frightening than sexy.
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* BodyHorror: What Agonistes does to his supplicants. Since the series was created by CliveBarker, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
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* BodyHorror: What Agonistes does to his supplicants.supplicants, and Dr. Talisac does to [[ProfessorGuineaPig himself]]. Since the series was created by CliveBarker, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
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* MisterSeahorse: Talisac, who installs a bio-engineered womb in his gut so he can be a TrulySingleParent. [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-egL-6sT42wU/TuHuDC5FXAI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/TvRWs9a_mpU/s1600/TALISAC+TORTURED+SOULS+12+inch+figure+Mcfarlane.jpg It's even more horrifying than it sounds]].
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* MisterSeahorse: Talisac, who installs a bio-engineered womb in his gut so he can be become a TrulySingleParent. [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-egL-6sT42wU/TuHuDC5FXAI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/TvRWs9a_mpU/s1600/TALISAC+TORTURED+SOULS+12+inch+figure+Mcfarlane.jpg It's even more horrifying than it sounds]].
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* BellyMouth: Mongroid has one, which sports MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily.
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* EyeScream: Lucidque ends up blinding Venal Anatomica with her scythe. Agonistes also appears to have nothing but scarred-over slits where his eyes should be.
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* InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: The toyline is trademarked as Clive Barker's Tortured Souls(TM).
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* MadScientist: Dr. Talisac.
* MisterSeahorse: Talisac, who installs a bio-engineered womb in his gut so he can be a TrulySingleParent. [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-egL-6sT42wU/TuHuDC5FXAI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/TvRWs9a_mpU/s1600/TALISAC+TORTURED+SOULS+12+inch+figure+Mcfarlane.jpg It's even more horrifying than it sounds]].
* MisterSeahorse: Talisac, who installs a bio-engineered womb in his gut so he can be a TrulySingleParent. [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-egL-6sT42wU/TuHuDC5FXAI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/TvRWs9a_mpU/s1600/TALISAC+TORTURED+SOULS+12+inch+figure+Mcfarlane.jpg It's even more horrifying than it sounds]].
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* SelfMadeOrphan: Mongroid - five minutes after he's born, no less! Since Talisac considered him a failure and planned to vivisect him (though Mongroid didn't know this), it's hard to feel bad about it.
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* SlasherSmile: Agonistes, the Scythe-Meister, and Venal Anatomica all sport one. To be fair, they're not really capable of making any other expression.
* TrulySingleParent: Dr. Talisac, who dreams that his offspring will be the Second Coming.
* UrbanFantasy
* TrulySingleParent: Dr. Talisac, who dreams that his offspring will be the Second Coming.
* UrbanFantasy
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* BodyHorror: What Agonistes does to his supplicants. Since the series was created by CliveBarker, it shouldn't come as a surprise.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Agonistes only transforms people who come to him willingly, who want him to give them the strength and power to get revenge on their enemies. Once he agrees to help them, however, there's no going back: he ''will'' transform them, in an eight-day process of nightmarishly painful surgeries, and they'll be irreversibly turned into monstrous living weapons.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Agonistes only transforms people who come to him willingly, who want him to give them the strength and power to get take revenge on their enemies. Once he agrees to help them, however, there's no going back: he ''will'' transform them, in an eight-day process of nightmarishly painful surgeries, and they'll be irreversibly turned into monstrous living weapons.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Agonistes only transforms people who come to him willingly, who want him to give them strength and power to get revenge on their enemies. Once he agrees to help them however, there's no going back - he ''will'' transform them, in an eight-day process of nightmarishly painful surgeries, and they'll be irreversibly turned into monstrous living weapons.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Agonistes only transforms people who come to him willingly, who want him to give them the strength and power to get revenge on their enemies. Once he agrees to help them them, however, there's no going back - back: he ''will'' transform them, in an eight-day process of nightmarishly painful surgeries, and they'll be irreversibly turned into monstrous living weapons.
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* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Agonistes only transforms people who come to him willingly, who want him to give them strength and power to get revenge on their enemies. Once he agrees to help them however, there's no going back - he ''will'' transform them, in an eight-day process of nightmarishly painful surgeries, and they'll be irreversibly turned into monstrous living weapons.
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* FridgeLogic: After Krieger and Lucidique become lovers, they're often described as kissing - at one point, she explicitly kisses his lips. But, on the toy figure, you can see that Scythe-Meister's lips are peeled back from his mouth, held in place by straps and bolts, leaving his teeth bare. So, ''how'' does Lucidique kiss him?
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* FridgeLogic: After Krieger and Lucidique become lovers, they're often described as kissing - at one point, she explicitly kisses his lips. But, on the toy figure, you can see that Scythe-Meister's lips are peeled stretched back from his mouth, held in place by straps and bolts, leaving his teeth bare. So, ''how'' does Lucidique kiss him?
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* FridgeLogic: After Krieger and Lucidique become lovers, they're often described as kissing - at one point, she explicitly kisses his lips. But, on the toy figure, you can see that Scythe-Meister's lips are peeled back from his mouth, held in place by straps and bolts, leaving his teeth bare. So, ''how'' does Lucidique kiss him?
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* TheCaligula: Emperor Perfetto IX, who spends on decadent luxuries while his people starve, and has anyone who dares to criticize him assassinated. Most of his predecessors were like this, too.
* KingBobTheNth: Emperor Perfetto XI.
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* RavenHairIvorySkin: Lucidique. After her transformation, she becomes an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, with her haired turned into [[AlienHair Predator-esque]] [[DreadlockWarrior dreadlocks]].
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* RavenHairIvorySkin: Lucidique. After her transformation, she becomes an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, with her haired hair turned into [[AlienHair Predator-esque]] [[DreadlockWarrior dreadlocks]].dreadlocks]].
* RoyallyScrewedUp: The current emperor is just the latest in a long dynasty of cruel, corrupt rulers.
*SinisterScythe: Zarles Krieger's weapon of choice, especially after Agonistes turns him into [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Scythe-Meister]]. Lucidique starts using one too after her own transformation.
* RoyallyScrewedUp: The current emperor is just the latest in a long dynasty of cruel, corrupt rulers.
*SinisterScythe: Zarles Krieger's weapon of choice, especially after Agonistes turns him into [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Scythe-Meister]]. Lucidique starts using one too after her own transformation.
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* RavenHairIvorySkin: Lucidique. After her transformation, she becomes an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette, with her haired turned into [[AlienHair Predator-esque]] [[DreadlockWarrior dreadlocks]].
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* BlackAndGreyMorality
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Agonistes seems to follow this. He doesn't care ''why'' a supplicant comes to him, only that their prayers are genuine. Once he starts his work someone, he won't release them from the agonizing surgeries, no matter how desperately they beg, but he ''will'' sing lullabies and medicate them with a taste of his own flesh.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Agonistes seems to follow this. He doesn't care ''why'' a supplicant comes to him, only that their prayers are genuine. Once he starts his work someone, he won't release them from the agonizing surgeries, no matter how desperately they beg, but he ''will'' sing lullabies and medicate them with a taste of his own flesh.
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* HumanoidAbomination: Agonistes.
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* HumanoidAbomination: Agonistes.Agonistes.
* IronicName: Emperor Perfetto (Italian for "perfect"), whose corrupt, murderous rule is running Primordium into the ground.
* PayEvilUntoEvil
* PyrrhicVictory: For Lucidique. By the end of the story, she's brought down the imperial dynasty and avenged her father, but the love of her life is dead, she's hated and feared by the people of Primordium, and the city she tried to save is still falling into ruin.
* WretchedHive: The city of Primordium.
* YouKilledMyFather: Played with. Lucidique holds no grudge against the assassin who murdered her father (she even falls in love with him), but she takes eager, bloody revenge on the man who ''hired'' the assassin.
* IronicName: Emperor Perfetto (Italian for "perfect"), whose corrupt, murderous rule is running Primordium into the ground.
* PayEvilUntoEvil
* PyrrhicVictory: For Lucidique. By the end of the story, she's brought down the imperial dynasty and avenged her father, but the love of her life is dead, she's hated and feared by the people of Primordium, and the city she tried to save is still falling into ruin.
* WretchedHive: The city of Primordium.
* YouKilledMyFather: Played with. Lucidique holds no grudge against the assassin who murdered her father (she even falls in love with him), but she takes eager, bloody revenge on the man who ''hired'' the assassin.
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!!''Tortured Souls'' contains examples of:
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!!''Tortured Souls'' contains examples of:of:
*BittersweetEnding: The Emperor, Cascarellian, and the three generals have all been punished for their crimes, but Krieger is dead, Lucidique has lost her humanity, and Primordium is still a pretty awful place.
*{{Expy}}: Dr. Talisac and Venal Anatomica share many similarities with {{Literature/Frankenstein}} and [[Main/FrankensteinsMonster his creation]].
*HumanoidAbomination: Agonistes.
*BittersweetEnding: The Emperor, Cascarellian, and the three generals have all been punished for their crimes, but Krieger is dead, Lucidique has lost her humanity, and Primordium is still a pretty awful place.
*{{Expy}}: Dr. Talisac and Venal Anatomica share many similarities with {{Literature/Frankenstein}} and [[Main/FrankensteinsMonster his creation]].
*HumanoidAbomination: Agonistes.
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-->-- '''Prayer of the Supplicant'''
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-->-- '''Prayer of the Supplicant'''Supplicant'''
----
!!''Tortured Souls'' contains examples of:
----
!!''Tortured Souls'' contains examples of:
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[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tortured_souls_8890.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Be glad we didn't link you straight to the figures themselves.]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Be glad we didn't link you straight to the figures themselves.]]
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Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.\\
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\\
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.\\ \\
\\
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.
\\
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->''O Agonistes, dark deliverer, make me in the image of my enemies' nightmares. Let my flesh be the stuff from which you carve their terrors; let my skull be a bell which sounds their death-knell. Give me a song to sing, which will be the song of their despair, and let them wake and find me singing it at the bottom of their beds.//
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.//
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.//
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.//
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.//
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.//
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.//
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->''O Agonistes, dark deliverer, make me in the image of my enemies' nightmares. Let my flesh be the stuff from which you carve their terrors; let my skull be a bell which sounds their death-knell. Give me a song to sing, which will be the song of their despair, and let them wake and find me singing it at the bottom of their beds.//
\\
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.//
\\
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.//
\\
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.//\\
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.
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->''"O Agonistes, dark deliverer, make me in the image of my enemies' nightmares. Let my flesh be the stuff from which you carve their terrors; let my skull be a bell which sounds their death-knell. Give me a song to sing, which will be the song of their despair, and let them wake and find me singing it at the bottom of their beds.
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.
The choice, Lord, is yours."''
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.
The choice, Lord, is yours."''
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Unmake me, unknit me, transform
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want
The choice, Lord, is yours.
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->''"O Agonistes, dark deliverer, make me in the image of my enemies' nightmares. Let my flesh be the stuff from which you carve their terrors; let my skull be a bell which sounds their death-knell. Give me a song to sing, which will be the song of their despair, and let them wake and find me singing it at the bottom of their beds.
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.
The choice, Lord, is yours."''
-->-- '''Prayer of the Supplicant'''
Unmake me, unknit me, transform me.
And if you cannot do that for me, Agonistes, then let me be excrement; let me be nothing; less than nothing.
For I want to be the terror of my enemies, or I want oblivion.
The choice, Lord, is yours."''
-->-- '''Prayer of the Supplicant'''
