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I can't help but find it ironic when the video itself is about how humans shunt blame onto others to not have to face the responsibility their actions carry, and yet it also contains support for a farce that's all about shunting blame of the state of the world to the common folk rather than having those actually responsible own up to their actions.
I found your perspective worth looking at, it feels like a small candle in the darkness of spirituality. It always good to see another remind me that ignorance is an eternal theme of life and could always learn another aspect of life.
my thought towards wren is that my guilt towards the climate comes not from my own carbon emission amount. but instead from the guilt of not having started or taken part as of yet in a revolution motivated to dissolving and destroying the corporations that account for 90+ % of the world pollutant emissions, and taking the power from the governing bodies that allowed such misdeeds
My absolute favorite quote from the comics is when Dream is about to leave Hell with his newly recovered helmet, one of three tokens that contain his power. Lucifer changes his mind, showing Dream the billion lords of Hell standing between him and the gates, and asks; "What power have Dreams in Hell?" Without missing a step, he answers; "What power would Hell have if those here imprisoned, were not able to Dream...of Heaven?"
The Imaginary Axis episode goes deeper than that. Destructions statement "The endless are wave functions" has such weight to it, once you learn what a "wave function" is. It is some crazy quantum mechanical stuff.
@@marksalmoneussorcerersupreme A wave function is just a mathematical description of the state the quantum particle/wave is in... Im guessing/remembering its more like they're fundamental parts of the "code" of reality, like laws of physics, will have to watch again its been a long time
nvm I actually wanna watch the show, its been 4 years since I saw the vid so I forgot most and am ready to be surprised, yet I urge to know more thru RUclips, a curse
I enjoy how the Endless are a giant dysfunctional family, and behave as such: Father Time- stern workaholic, no time for his offspring Mother Night-flakey, and narcissistic Destiny- his father’s son, distant stoic, married to his job Death- compassionate older sister, tries hard to fill the nurturing role their mother abandoned Dream- his mother’s son, brooding, melodramatic, self absorbed, stuck in permanent “Goth” phase Destruction- lovable middle child “fail-son”, who leaves a secure executive position with the family firm to go “find himself” Desire- petty, vindictive, manipulative, sadistic sociopath Despair- terminally depressed, codependent, self-harming, masochist Delirium- the formerly sweet youngest sister, now deeply traumatized
Uh, I think Delirium being deeply traumatized sounds, *REALLY* wrong? I mean, I get her reaction, tantrum and hysteria. But to say traumatized, I believe it's more "lost" in her thoughts. Delirium rarely able to be in control of herself, to be stable and that. And whenever she do, it hurts.
@@rezafebriansyah8620 there was this crossover fanfic with TV Lucifer calling Dream over the phone because Delirium was causing drama in the pub. Luxifer: She's making a bloody mess over here!!! Can't you do something about this!!!??? Dream: I recall of a time she wanted to climb over me and ride piggyback. Luxifer: Yeah....... So? Dream: I let her. Luxifer: Oh (◎_◎;).
Gaiman’s version of Death is one of my favorite depictions of death in media. She’s actually kind of fun to watch/read about and is understanding when she takes people away, subverting what is usually thought of death.
Agree, I love her even more after Sound of Wings. And "Faces" when she came to Urania, the woman who became Ra's Polymorphs and offer an advice and help to die. She's such a beautifully written character that I just... well, ironically fell in love with her.
Yeah there was even a comic where they (Death) teach to viewer on how to use a condom so that they do not get a disease that will kill em if they do not know how to do it which is really beautiful to me. the creators did not have to do that but they did, it would not have been seen in the main stream media but they were able to do that. just for a moment.
@@rezafebriansyah8620 Oh yeah It was a while since I read it so thank you for the reminder. it just makes me so happy that more people are finding out about this comic and how wonderful it is despite the time that has passed since then.
In my dnd home brew, death is a character I worked on for a while. He is, essentially a depressed teenager. He’s just really really tired and hates his job more than anything. He used to travel the world trying to warn people of incoming death, but everywhere he goes things keel over and die. He’s now a recluse, who plays too many video games, gets far too little sleep and is just… a guy. He talks like a Twitter sh!tposter and he’s just… done. He’s done with everything, done with the world, done with divinity. He’s called the SelfTombed, and those who are touched by intense melancholy become his clerics and paladins. He has a partner who tries to get him to see the good in the world, but rarely succeeds. He doesn’t actually decide if anyone dies or when, but he feels like it’s his fault every time. He’s starving himself since he can only eat souls but doesn’t want to. He doesn’t even hate himself or the world anymore. Actually my prior statement of him hating his job is wrong. He doesn’t hate anything anymore. He just cries himself to sleep every night and he thinks everything is just not fair. He doesn’t want to try because he doesn’t want to fail, because he thinks he can only hurt people.
Fun fact, encephalitis lethargica, Or the sleeping sickness that kicks of the sandman series is based on the real world events with the illness first being reported in 1917. In universe the illness "ends" in 1989, the same year the first sandman issue came out.
Is that true though? I thought they were also created by humans... And doesn't Death come for everyone and everything? She even said that she will be the last thing in the universe and "pack it up" so to speak.
@@Pheonix1328 the thing is the endless are always gonna be there where mortals are not just humans. The mortals dont have to know of the endless's existence for them to be able to exist like what Gods do.
@@NeilsonBuntowa The Endless are endless..even without humans they would still exist, they are a concept, concepts cannot die, Even when Death claims every soul in the universe even her siblings, they would still exist just not in that universe, as long as anything exist they will also
I often see Death slightly misunderstood. People recognise her compassion, her gentle and comforting nature, her likeability. But they miss her liveliness, her goofiness, her general aura of life. She's not putting on a brave face, hiding pain behind a smile, she genuinely loves humans and her job. She's there for every soul, she gives them rest when the burden of life becomes too much and gives them a friendly face on the other side to ease the pain. Death of the Endless laughs often and smiles even more so, while she's often interpreted as someone who smiles often but laughs very rarely. For example, I can't picture Death from the show going on a 5-minute spiel extolling the virtues of Mary Poppins, saying Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and giggling like she's having the time of her life. Only to turn on a dime, yell at Dream and smack him on the head with a baguette.
While she can't choose her job, she refused to be defined by it. Change the things you can, accept the things you can't. I was miserable for a long time because I couldn't do that. Once you do, peace is yours.
Yeah, look into Death's "backstory", as it were. She wasn't always this way: she *chose* to become this way. Same with her thing for becoming mortal and dying one day every century. She specifically and deliberately does that so that she gets to see the mortal perspective, so that she's reminded of what it's like and understands what they'd want. Death is someone who strives to be good at their job.
This reminds me of the Idea of Evil from Beserk. While it is effectively the closest thing to God in that world, it only exists because people wanted something to blame for all the suffering in the world. It controls destiny and causality, but destiny only exists because people believe it does. Guts' ability to defy destiny in a way also makes sense, because his refusal to accept it is the same as not believing in destiny at all. Interestingly enough, when Zoroastrianism was first founded in the early Persian Empire, Anjra Manyu was basically the same thing. His name roughly translates to "evil concept," but can just as easily be translated to "idea of evil."
Just the quotes of “you don’t have to stay anywhere forever” and “Perhaps that’s the ultimate freedom eh dream lord, the freedom to leave” always echo around my head when I feel stuck in a bad situation, no feeling is permanent and we are only cemented in the roles we chose as far as we let it, such a fantastic series
Interestingly, Death appears to work slightly differently to the other Endless. She once stopped doing her job because she was hurt by how hated she was. When she did that, people stopped dying. It's interesting that she seems to be the only one who is absolutely essential to her role
@@akale2620 Considering she's a DC property, no. We don't get to see it in much detail, I believe the context is that it's a story she's telling to Dream but I do think it's a true story
You're referring to Winter's Tale. Death merely doing her job, but she was loathed and asked to leave. She abide and life suffers, till someone came beg for her return and she did. However, still she was hurt because they remain to hold contempt, thus she became cold and brittle. Until she reaps a child who asked her "How would you like it?" And thus, she began to ponder for answer until she decide to look for it by becoming alive for a day. Her cold-brittle demeanor, earned herself a spite. Thus, forever changing her perspective. There she learns what mortals needs the most, when they're at their ends. A warm hug, a kind hearted smile and gentle words of appreciation for living through. A friend and companion to make you feel welcomed and not alone...
@@akale2620 The Sandman has been a figure in folklore for years, he sprinkles sand in your eyes to make you sleep and have pleasant dreams. And the concepts of a physical avatar of death has been around for aeons, the earliest one I could name is Thanatos, the Greek deity, but I'm certain there were more before him. Neither Marvel nor DC comics created the concepts of 'Death' or 'The Sandman' but they both created their own versions of the characters. As for the Gaiman story, that is the DC comics story, Gaiman wrote those comics
I would assume that Death did not "walk away" the way Destruction did, but instead deliberately chose to withhold her concept from the world. It was an act of spite more than an act of freedom, if that makes sense.
You ever notice that while the Endless all have names that begin with the letter "D," Dream's the only one whose name doesn't have an "e" as the second letter. I found that interesting.
@@ericstahmer720 Yup. In portuguese death is sometimes called Desincarnation just to keep the initial D in all their names. I find it really intriguing
I remember reading the Sandman Overture for the first time having no prior knowledge to the franchise. It was one of the most unusual and distinctive pieces of literature I ever experienced. I have also gotten into manga and anime that are inspired by fairy tales and folklore. Inuyasha, The Ancient Magus's Bride, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, and The Witch and the Beast. Honestly, the way mangaka approach creating fantasy deserves its own video.
If you liked those, you should try Record of Ragnarok, it is an interesting take on gods and mankind, and you will be surprised by the appereance of some characters
I don't remember if it was Sandman itself but I vaguely remember a scene from some comic where Dream is with Constantine or some other magic user like him and they go to see Martian manhunter for something and Manhunter recognizes him, drops to his knees and starts praying to him because apparently the endless are like gods to the Martians.
It is from the Sandman, it was on the earlier issues where Dream searching for one of his 3 precious items, the Ruby necklace. The necklace was in the possession of Dr. Destiny which was defeated by the JLA, Dream with Constantine came to JLA HQ to ask around about it
I don’t think it’s all the endless, I think it was only dream, dream is the one that appears most to humans, he has many names and many forms to different cultures or species.
Dream specifically appeared to him as the Martian God of dreams. Like Morpheus to the Greeks. What made it so interesting is from Man hunters perspective Dream was a terrifying Martian God which means it is because of our species and culture as to why you and I (the readers) perceive him as a pale white goth boy. They explore it further later with the African Empress. Dream appears as an ebony god to her, a gorgeous statuesque black man because in her culture the ideal mate and God of Dreams is a strong male capable of protecting others.
Something I love about the Endless, something I try with my deities, is how they reflect their opposite. Destiny's book where the future is set, is only read by a blind man. He wanders his realm, an infinite maze that changes with your chosen path as you wander through it. Death is not just there when you die. She's the one who brought you to life. An experience she allows herself one day every 100 years Dream brings inspiration and hope, yes. But he also brings horror and fear as a lord of nightmares Desire and Despair are twins. Though desire loves torment while their sister likes to joke Destruction, having abandoned his duties, is now a wandering artist. He's dedicated the rest of his near infinite life to that what he is not Delirium was once, eons ago, known as delight The Endless are my favourite mythological beings and whenever I reread sandman, I get inspired to create
You know, the game of opposites and contrasts goes even deeper than that. People sometimes ask why the Endeless are those concepts and not others... and, let's face it, some of them can be seen as "negative" at first glance (like Destruction and Despair). The twist is in that each of them, each of those concepts, exists incarnated because they define their opposite and "creative" concept. Each one of the Endless is there to push a question uppon us, to provide the backdrop to our scene. -The existence of destruction allows for creation. Jus as an example: most of the elements in the universe are created in supernovas... the mothers of all destruction. -The existence of death defines life. Something that's immortal is not realy alive. -The idea of delirium, of chaos and the lack of logic, allows us to understand order, logic, patterns, etc. To "make sense". -The idea of desire moves us forward, but is also fuled by the sense of feeling "incomplete", of wanting; so knowing desire and contrasting it allows us to understand the "self". -The very concept of destiny has us looking for freedom and free will. It's the prisson that makes us want to search for an exit (of it the prisson is real in the first place). -Despair makes us undestand happiness; to give it sense. And just like Despair and Desire are twins, the two concepts can form a self-sustaining spiral to trap you if you aren't carefull. -And Dream... If we go a little bit further and don't just read "Dream" as what we see when asleep, but (as he himself would claim) the embodiment of what is not, of immagination, of what can't be or won't be (as is pointed out so beautifully by the library of never written books), Dream is actually the polar opposite of reality. Through the contrast with dream is it that what's real is defined. That's why he is so important, but also why he is so uptight with his duties. Gaiman trully did a work of beautiful poetry with the Sandman.
@@KaosNoKamisama There's one other thing you forgot that was in one of the supplementary stories: Despair (or more specifically, Despair's previous incarnation), is the one who gave humanity hope in the form of Superman by suggesting to Rao, the sun that Krypton orbits, to give life to a planet that has an unstable core and leaving one survivor who will mourn for the planet's destruction.
-One’s Destiny is not set in stone, and the struggle to change it is what helps create destinies in the first place. -Destruction allows for creation, only with the death of the old can the new be made from its ashes. -Death defines life, gives us drive and purpose. All things born will one day die. But Death doesn’t have to be something scary, it is simply just something that will happen, it is a cold embrace that allows one to finally feel at peace. -For every Dream, there are nightmares. For every wish for peace on earth, there are selfish, self centered dreams of avarice and debauchery. -Desires can do easily be twisted, becoming dark and immoral obsessions, and horrible addictions for pain and inflicting pain, for pleasure and forcing pleasure. -Only in the deepest depths of Despair can hope and miracles be achieved. For the only way forward when you’re at the bottom, is up. -Joys and Delights can so easily spiral out of control, soon delusions of grandeur and illusions of safety can cloud one’s view of the repercussions of rampant consumerism and greed, until it becomes nothing but pure Delirium.
I always thought of Dream’s opposite being reality. Seeing as he has rewritten the entirety of all creation at least twice, something which only the Presence (I assume) and Delirium (implied) is even aware of.
@@Miners666 Yeah Dream defines and forces one to face one's reality. All dreams are based on some kind of reality and something you don't want to face. Whether you are forced to face it, with a nightmare, or can just take a break from it like a dream... Both are important.
The art in this video is absolutely captivating. The story telling soothing. The discussion totally enriching. What a video! Bravo! Standing ovation to your craft, ideas and work!
I always thought the Endless were sort of what you got *before* gods - they're what you make gods *about*. Delight becoming Delirium is kinda upsetting though. Like, "isn't everything amazing?" went from being joyousness to insanity in human minds and she had to change with it.
That's because Delight was pure joy, but as time goes by, that very joy seemed like either madness or delusions, a fantasy we made in reality of our own perspective. Most of this are very self-destructive, but in certain case, like Norton, the guy whom dream inspire to become Emperor of America(?) Delirium said that his delusion of self-believe fantasy does not made him belongs to her. All because his self-believe made him sane despite being seen as lunatic or fool by others.
Obviously she's insane. Inside her mind is a constant loop of "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!" From the Lego movie would drive anyone sane mad and any madman into the throws of ecstacy.
@@ivanlugo8474 It would be from Makima's POV right after she was reincarnated back in Hell, where she was immediately under siege of Doubt Devil who proceeded to "torture" her with questions.
Often get the feeling that Tale Foundry videos drop with exactly the right topics that I need to hear about the most. Destruction's commentary that the Endless are patterns, wavefunctions, echoes of darkness, relates a lot to my own questions about conscious experience, logic, and mathematics. Thank you so much!
I love how many lines from Neil Gaimans' Lucifer get used in the show. It's truly a show based on characters, not any story. And so many amazing lines are added in for the big Gaiman fans
As someone who never read the comics I just hope they don't turn it into some kind of spin-off riddled fuckfest. Already the Constantine girl was one of the worst parts of the show. The fewer connection to random shitty other dc properties the better
I am currently running a D&D Campaign heavily inspired by The Sandman. Shortly after starting, I came across this video, in the midst of a sort of writer’s block. How very serendipitous. Thank you for reigniting my love for this story and what it has to say about our relationship with free will in a time where Niche’s words “God is dead.” have never rang so true.
Death of the Endless is what I consider one of the best depictions of death, along with The Brothers Death from scp foundation, death from supernatural and death from Discworld, and quite recently death from puss n boots the last wish.
It's been said in several different media that the Endless are not gods they are physical manifestations of concepts; gods are a separate category from the 7 Endless.
Sidenote: I've seen some parts of The Sandman comics and all I have to say is: Hooooo boy, Destruction as Olethros (Destruction in his prime) definitely does look like a space marine in his armor.
The Netflix show was pretty good. Trese also has mythological beings living in a modern world. As cliched as urban fantasy is it is interesting to see God's who are no longer worshipped live after being forgotten. I mean in a way they can't really retire.
Yeah, I liked the show too. The comics are still good, however there are certain depictions and aspects that did not age very well. Besides, I have heard people say that if the show was an exact retelling, they would have been bored. The changes made some people go ooh, that is interesting, I wonder what is next? I guess it is like a comparing apples to oranges kind of situation.
@@jacqueshardin4601 as far as I know they only changed a few characters and Neil said the fact they gave Lucifer a gender at all was a "gender swap." 😂
Ahhh.....The child of the 1980s, Then the "Rebellious Youth" of the 1990s that first picked up a Dark Horse comic With the title "The Sandman" THANKS YOU FOR THIS GIFT OF PUREST NOSTALGIA MY FRIEND! You have done the Dark Genius of Neil Gaiman, His characters, and the worlds they inhabit, a true honor. Mr. Gaiman, and his contemporaries (Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Piers Anthony, Just to Name a few) , have given us FANTASTICAL PEOPLE , PLACES,AND THINGS WITHIN AND BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS. I am pleased that The Lore behind one of Mr. Gaiman's most Iconic creations is being shown the love, and in such detail, from your very capable hands.
Sandman so masterfully combines all these very complicated questions and often heartbreaking stories with just the right amount of goofiness. When Dream holds the key to hell and a whole lot of deites make their bid to it, Dream hosts a dinner party. A straightforward dinner party. It's amazing, I love it so much.
I find the Endless to be a little more than gods-while they do have a connection to humanity-the more powerful of them-Destiny, Death, Dream-they do have stories attached to other beings as well. I say beings because even Father Time and Mother Nyx fall subject to them. Another thing to explore is their dichotomy. Even though their name says what they rule over, they also shepherd in the opposites as well, maybe even their name was different. Despair, before something nameless happened, was once Hope. Delirium-not even their parents know what caused her to change from Joy. Desire shepherds hate at times. Death, upon hearing someone ask if she knew what it felt like, takes one day off to experience life and her own death to help them come to terms with their own lives and then going beyond. She also shepherds the immortals by giving them Life and if they tire of it at all giving them death. What is Gaiman's thoughts on the Furies and Fates-why do they pay so close attention to The Endless-even if the death of Dream's son was asked of by Orpheus'head anyway?
I really like this depiction of deities, even just the idea that a lot of what we think they are is just people essentially projecting their problems onto them.
Neil Gaimon is probably my favorite author and sandman was definitely a big part of that and I’m so glad that one of my favorite RUclipsrs is doing a video on one of my favorite works of fiction
7:59 this also kind of reminds me a little of undertale. there are people that try to put the blame on Chara, but Chara outright states that it was your fault what happened did happen. "You want to go back to the world you destroyed. It was you who pushed everything to its edge. It was you who led the world to its destruction. But you cannot accept it."
I'm really excited that I just got The Sandman omnibus, it looks so pretty and I can't wait to read! Volume one is over 3kg of goodness! I had a few of the comics in the 90s but never all of them.
*Dr. Blake:* Did I… ever tell you I used to be a pastor? *Dr. Milton:* I think I read something along those lines going over your CV, back before we worked on [CLASSIFIED INITIATIVE EXPUNGED]. *Dr. Blake:* It's strange - I was really convinced it was what I was meant to do, to spread the Word of God - honestly, I wasn't too keen on the specific doctrine, but I did believe there was something truly transcendent out there, watching us. *Dr. Blake:* That changed when I joined the Foundation. It's funny, you know? Having actual proof that gods are real, that they're fallible, they have blind spots - that was what broke my faith. The more we study them, understand them… the less they seem like gods. We're able to point to them and say: "that's god, right there," and with SCP-6659 we can essentially annihilate them - or at least render them dormant. There's nothing wondrous about that, nothing transcendental. *Dr. Milton:* __ John, it was always like this. Even if you didn't know before, this is how it's been happening the whole time. We're starting to understand how these beings interact with us. If you're serious about studying theology, then this is what it actually is. *Dr. Blake:* I know that, I do. But still, shouldn't there be… more? I mean, look at what we saw today! We've got no idea what caused the reaction, it could be something else entirely! It could… *Dr. Milton:* __ What? *Dr. Blake:* __ Y'know what, it's fine - I'm just… tired. Stressed, like you said - I'd best be off. *Dr. Milton:* __ Don't take this the wrong way, but you might want to consider putting in a transfer. Or taking a sabbatical, maybe. *Dr. Blake:* No rest for the godless. Goodnight, Dr. Milton. Oh, and would you mind at all if I took a copy of today's transcript? *Dr. Milton:* __ Go right ahead. Have a good night, John. --ADDENDUM 6659/V: Ongoing Emergent Scenario, A/V Transcript Ø-E5/B-I, SCP-6659 article
YEEES Finally!! I adore The Sandman. It is one of my all tk.e favorite comics and i have the full collected run and I have been eagerly awaiting seeing it analyzed on the channel. Among an array of incredible works under his belt, I would argue Sandman is Gaiman's magnum opus, channeling every other strength we have seen him display in 75 issue epic that has only grown into its own universe under both his and other creators pens
Just beautiful 😍 I am still in bed in s cold rainy morning and I stumble on this. I am totally immersed in The Sandman. I once said to someone "I think humans create the gods!" Not the best thing to say to a Yoruba priestess, LOL! Thank you again for this one.
This makes me think of my favorite anime, Noragami. It’s about Japanese gods and how they still function in the modern day. And the main character, Yato, is a minor god who constantly struggles with finding people who will still believe in him. If you like that sort of concept, I highly recommend it.
I recommend the graphic novels to anyone moderately interested in the weird, dark and deep fantasy. The TV adaptation can't do it justice. The core books are found packaged as 10 larger volumes each with distinctive art style and topic. It also means you like some stories more compared to others but that's fair given Neil covers almost everything. Dream is a super-compelling protagonist, with near limitless power and constantly brooding he's his own worst enemy. So relatable I think.
"infinitely powerful" is relatable? Huh lol. I think the TV show is amazing. They did a great job transferring such a strange, disjointed and ethereal work to a new medium and the actors killed it. Obviously I've read the books a million times. Might be my favorite creative work I've ever read, (maybe douglas Adams, Alan moore or Kurt Vonnegut depending on my mood when you ask I guess.) Expecting any work to achieve such lofty expectations is just completely unfair especially such a weird work in its first season. Judge it on its own merit and it's a very solid work with a ton of potential. Obviously the books are "better" but they were always going to be especially first season. Though I found myself pleasantly surprised how the TV was able to expand on and explore ideas Neil could only flirt with in so few pages. Great stuff.
From my perspective, the Endless function sort of like parental figures/guardians. They exist to guide humanity through it's infancy and to carry the burden of it's responsibility. Everything early humanity had no way to handle: change, desire, destiny, death, etc. Would be managed by these eternal beings so humans wouldn't have to. When people moved on from the Endless it meant they were ready to figure out their own problems, decide their own way. This renders the once necessary Guardians useless and redundant like training wheels on a bike.
The way I've always understood The Endless was (with the utmost respect for your analysis) the universe reflecting on itself as gods are essentially the self reflection of ourselves. They existed before humanity, representing not only us, but all life and all things. It's very telling that they also have questions in regards to their existence and must find their own answers, growing and evolving with each new revelation.
The metaphor of the shepherd is inherently flawed, though. Sheep don't create their shepherd, and shepherds don't shepherd purely to take care of the sheep. Humans made themselves shepherds to take care of the sheep for the ultimate goal of enriching themselves. Actually, I think this would be a great twist in the world of The Sandman. What Dream and the other Endless don't know is that they were put in place as shepherds by unknown overseers who would seek to enrich themselves from the resulting control over the humans. The Endless would then seek to rebel, and effectively render themselves obsolete, to free humans from such a system of control. This is likely averse to Gaiman's thoughts on the matter, but it's fun to think about. A nice narrative web of conflict.
What's your favorite? Mine's the ones that involves Death into it, like "Sounds of her Wing" and "Dream Country: Façade (Urania Blackwell, Elemental Girl, suicide thing)"
The irony of destruction being that he changed, which essentially is destroying your past self, to become something new and leave destruction up to humanity and so fulfilling his role
I already live guilt free of "carbon output" because I am not a mega corporation outputting more emissions in one day than all the cars and people on earth do in a year.
Death takes any form for each person....for me i love to have her have kind eyes and a warm glow to her like the sun, and a form like a mother and with a pretty ethereal voice like someone you knew and love years ago!
The Endless are a family of some of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, who are godlike but not exactly gods themselves because they are not created by mortal belief.
I always assumed Gaiman took his inspiration from Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. Or they both took a similar interpretation of constructs of collective thought/belief.
I assumed the Endless were Tulpa, like the Primals of FF14, but unintentionally given form and consciousness by the collective human conscious to embody aspects of humanity like Death in the castlevania series but the defining difference being once the endless were created they were discovered and worshipped by humans who weren't aware of the Endless's origin and thus the humans deified the Endless. So these tupla "the Endless" exist in a sort of cleaned up bootstrap paradox of meaning. Known to exist because they exist because they are known to exist because they exist, in an loop of meaning without beginning or end.
The Endless are more than gods. They’re the full embodiment of their namesakes. Whereas most deities exist because they are invented by the collective consciousness of people, the Endless’ existence is simply a reflection of consciousness existing.
1:45 - "considering all the reasons PEOPLE create deities." i love that line, because people create dieties, not the other way around. we create gods to explain the unexplainable. and millenias ago almost every aspect of life and death was unexplainable. dieties only exist in the mind of their folowers and when the last christain, muslim, jewish worshipper dies. so does their religion and god. goes to the same place your conscious goes. oblivion. nothing.
Well... he used to be, now though. Currently running a bar on LA for personal amusement. Although in Sandman final arc, he retires from the bar, closing it.
The truth is we are the endless and the endless are us they exist because we know they exist deep in our hearts and Minds .We can dream We have desires , we can be delusional, we can be destructive , we can be in despair , we have a destiny and we die .
Not to nitpick, but Destruction had already abdicated his position before Dream was captured. The way you described it, it sounds like he did it afterwards.
- I still don't get why none of them helped Dream. Death and him seemed close, and even though Destruction had gave up his job he's still out there and strong enough to have saved Dream. It just never seemed like it was satisfactorily explained why each of them did nothing, unless some comic had them explain it concisely and I missed it.
Gaiman has a quote somewhere explaining that as they're immortal and not a superhero team rushing to save each other they could just wait. Beyond that though, thing about Dream is he's exceptionally proud, if they don't come help he might be mad at them for a while. But if any came and helped (interfered) without him asking them too, he would NEVER forgive them and they all know that.
Hot take: gaiman is a human and this entire universe didn't poof fully formed into his mind that early on. Instead he did some research on the sleeping disease. Knew death would be a character and formulated a cool story. It was a success so he was able to properly flesh out his universe and this was a bit of a plothole he painted over with "Dream was too prideful" even though many times he's not too prideful to mope like a child or seek assistance. Death could have wiped them out but dream was also so arrogant he never in his wildest "dreams" conceived a human could capture him? What if he summoned death and the captured her? Desire? Delirium? Despair? Destiny himself? What ever would happen to such a universe would be his fault.
Another great question is, these guys dreamed of immortality and collected bizarre magicks and artifacts and nearly captured death. Dream knows all dreams, plans are dreams. How was he caught unaware in the first place?
They are above gods, the endless are the personification of what gods and mortals ARE. Every god has a destiny, every god dies. That means that they answer to Destiny and Death, at least two of the Endless. So while ALL the Endless might not be the rivals of gods, they are still placed above gods because even gods are subject to what the Endless represent.
Between this video and the DC animated series about death. I ordered the entirety of Morpheus and the anniversary book about death. I may also pick up Lucifer at some point soon.
A textbook can attempt to educate people about the features of psyche and the makeup of thought forms and the way we share them and build what we collectively participate and contribute to as culture. But in less confusing and far more beautiful ways, authors like Niel Gaiman have illustrated the foundations of thoughts and emotions in a way that a professor cannot. Dreams can be understood in this artistic way far easier, and we have perhaps lost the more esoteric or creative way of teaching people as philosophy became more about thought and less about feeling, more about the working mechanics of our souls and less about the heartfelt connection that we all have but are losing touch with.
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I can't help but find it ironic when the video itself is about how humans shunt blame onto others to not have to face the responsibility their actions carry, and yet it also contains support for a farce that's all about shunting blame of the state of the world to the common folk rather than having those actually responsible own up to their actions.
I love the video, love the topic, love you! Keep making videos and i will keep coming back :)
I found your perspective worth looking at, it feels like a small candle in the darkness of spirituality.
It always good to see another remind me that ignorance is an eternal theme of life and could always learn another aspect of life.
my thought towards wren is that my guilt towards the climate comes not from my own carbon emission amount. but instead from the guilt of not having started or taken part as of yet in a revolution motivated to dissolving and destroying the corporations that account for 90+ % of the world pollutant emissions, and taking the power from the governing bodies that allowed such misdeeds
Man I really missed the days of paying off my sins to the church! Glad there's a new modern equivalent
My absolute favorite quote from the comics is when Dream is about to leave Hell with his newly recovered helmet, one of three tokens that contain his power. Lucifer changes his mind, showing Dream the billion lords of Hell standing between him and the gates, and asks; "What power have Dreams in Hell?" Without missing a step, he answers; "What power would Hell have if those here imprisoned, were not able to Dream...of Heaven?"
Hence why I hope Hazbin Hotel will be a success.
@@jacqueshardin4601 Same, but the studio will need to clear it's issues first.
Yes
Calling back to the duel, of course ;)
@@rezafebriansyah8620 Which issues are they facing?
I love how Gaimon’s gods are functions of culture, while the Endless are functions of consciousness
The Imaginary Axis episode goes deeper than that. Destructions statement "The endless are wave functions" has such weight to it, once you learn what a "wave function" is. It is some crazy quantum mechanical stuff.
THISSSSS. It took me months to realize that.
@@marksalmoneussorcerersupreme A wave function is just a mathematical description of the state the quantum particle/wave is in... Im guessing/remembering its more like they're fundamental parts of the "code" of reality, like laws of physics, will have to watch again its been a long time
nvm I actually wanna watch the show, its been 4 years since I saw the vid so I forgot most and am ready to be surprised, yet I urge to know more thru RUclips, a curse
@@stefansauvageonwhat-a-twis1369 a mathematical description of a state is just what dream in the end is shown to be - a point of view
Perhaps
I enjoy how the Endless are a giant dysfunctional family, and behave as such:
Father Time- stern workaholic, no time for his offspring
Mother Night-flakey, and narcissistic
Destiny- his father’s son, distant stoic, married to his job
Death- compassionate older sister, tries hard to fill the nurturing role their mother abandoned
Dream- his mother’s son, brooding, melodramatic, self absorbed, stuck in permanent “Goth” phase
Destruction- lovable middle child “fail-son”, who leaves a secure executive position with the family firm to go “find himself”
Desire- petty, vindictive, manipulative, sadistic sociopath
Despair- terminally depressed, codependent, self-harming, masochist
Delirium- the formerly sweet youngest sister, now deeply traumatized
Uh, I think Delirium being deeply traumatized sounds, *REALLY* wrong?
I mean, I get her reaction, tantrum and hysteria. But to say traumatized, I believe it's more "lost" in her thoughts.
Delirium rarely able to be in control of herself, to be stable and that. And whenever she do, it hurts.
@@rezafebriansyah8620 there was this crossover fanfic with TV Lucifer calling Dream over the phone because Delirium was causing drama in the pub.
Luxifer: She's making a bloody mess over here!!! Can't you do something about this!!!???
Dream: I recall of a time she wanted to climb over me and ride piggyback.
Luxifer: Yeah....... So?
Dream: I let her.
Luxifer: Oh (◎_◎;).
@@corryjamieson3909 Title and site to find it?
@@TheSchultinator If memory serves correctly, Ao3?
@Reza Febriansyah Delirium being traumatised is actually canon though. She used to be Delight, but then something horrible happened.
Gaiman’s version of Death is one of my favorite depictions of death in media. She’s actually kind of fun to watch/read about and is understanding when she takes people away, subverting what is usually thought of death.
Agree, I love her even more after Sound of Wings. And "Faces" when she came to Urania, the woman who became Ra's Polymorphs and offer an advice and help to die. She's such a beautifully written character that I just... well, ironically fell in love with her.
Yeah there was even a comic where they (Death) teach to viewer on how to use a condom so that they do not get a disease that will kill em if they do not know how to do it which is really beautiful to me. the creators did not have to do that but they did, it would not have been seen in the main stream media but they were able to do that. just for a moment.
@@owlcyclops7163 That was Death trying to give warning about AIDS and other sex related disease if not drugs.
@@rezafebriansyah8620 Oh yeah It was a while since I read it so thank you for the reminder. it just makes me so happy that more people are finding out about this comic and how wonderful it is despite the time that has passed since then.
In my dnd home brew, death is a character I worked on for a while. He is, essentially a depressed teenager. He’s just really really tired and hates his job more than anything. He used to travel the world trying to warn people of incoming death, but everywhere he goes things keel over and die. He’s now a recluse, who plays too many video games, gets far too little sleep and is just… a guy. He talks like a Twitter sh!tposter and he’s just… done. He’s done with everything, done with the world, done with divinity. He’s called the SelfTombed, and those who are touched by intense melancholy become his clerics and paladins. He has a partner who tries to get him to see the good in the world, but rarely succeeds. He doesn’t actually decide if anyone dies or when, but he feels like it’s his fault every time. He’s starving himself since he can only eat souls but doesn’t want to. He doesn’t even hate himself or the world anymore. Actually my prior statement of him hating his job is wrong. He doesn’t hate anything anymore. He just cries himself to sleep every night and he thinks everything is just not fair. He doesn’t want to try because he doesn’t want to fail, because he thinks he can only hurt people.
Fun fact, encephalitis lethargica, Or the sleeping sickness that kicks of the sandman series is based on the real world events with the illness first being reported in 1917. In universe the illness "ends" in 1989, the same year the first sandman issue came out.
"We are not gods. Gods fade away like the humans that conceived them. We are eternal, we are everlasting, we are...Endless"
Is that true though? I thought they were also created by humans... And doesn't Death come for everyone and everything? She even said that she will be the last thing in the universe and "pack it up" so to speak.
@@Pheonix1328 in a sense the Endless is not endless at all. like humans they have their begin and end. until ofcourse the cycle begins again.
@@Pheonix1328 the thing is the endless are always gonna be there where mortals are not just humans. The mortals dont have to know of the endless's existence for them to be able to exist like what Gods do.
@@NeilsonBuntowa The Endless are endless..even without humans they would still exist, they are a concept, concepts cannot die, Even when Death claims every soul in the universe even her siblings, they would still exist just not in that universe, as long as anything exist they will also
@@Pheonix1328not just human but all being
I often see Death slightly misunderstood. People recognise her compassion, her gentle and comforting nature, her likeability. But they miss her liveliness, her goofiness, her general aura of life. She's not putting on a brave face, hiding pain behind a smile, she genuinely loves humans and her job. She's there for every soul, she gives them rest when the burden of life becomes too much and gives them a friendly face on the other side to ease the pain. Death of the Endless laughs often and smiles even more so, while she's often interpreted as someone who smiles often but laughs very rarely.
For example, I can't picture Death from the show going on a 5-minute spiel extolling the virtues of Mary Poppins, saying Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and giggling like she's having the time of her life. Only to turn on a dime, yell at Dream and smack him on the head with a baguette.
While she can't choose her job, she refused to be defined by it. Change the things you can, accept the things you can't. I was miserable for a long time because I couldn't do that. Once you do, peace is yours.
@@bignasty4874 well said
@@bignasty4874that's honestly beautiful
Yeah, look into Death's "backstory", as it were. She wasn't always this way: she *chose* to become this way. Same with her thing for becoming mortal and dying one day every century. She specifically and deliberately does that so that she gets to see the mortal perspective, so that she's reminded of what it's like and understands what they'd want. Death is someone who strives to be good at their job.
@@Duiker36 damm
This reminds me of the Idea of Evil from Beserk. While it is effectively the closest thing to God in that world, it only exists because people wanted something to blame for all the suffering in the world. It controls destiny and causality, but destiny only exists because people believe it does. Guts' ability to defy destiny in a way also makes sense, because his refusal to accept it is the same as not believing in destiny at all. Interestingly enough, when Zoroastrianism was first founded in the early Persian Empire, Anjra Manyu was basically the same thing. His name roughly translates to "evil concept," but can just as easily be translated to "idea of evil."
i thought the chapter with the idea of evil was not canon 😩
@@chukwumaanthony324 Yes, but the concept still weaves perfectly into the theme of this video.
Just the quotes of “you don’t have to stay anywhere forever” and “Perhaps that’s the ultimate freedom eh dream lord, the freedom to leave” always echo around my head when I feel stuck in a bad situation, no feeling is permanent and we are only cemented in the roles we chose as far as we let it, such a fantastic series
Yes, we have the keys to our own freedom, even in a literal prison.
Interestingly, Death appears to work slightly differently to the other Endless. She once stopped doing her job because she was hurt by how hated she was. When she did that, people stopped dying.
It's interesting that she seems to be the only one who is absolutely essential to her role
@@akale2620 Considering she's a DC property, no.
We don't get to see it in much detail, I believe the context is that it's a story she's telling to Dream but I do think it's a true story
You're referring to Winter's Tale.
Death merely doing her job, but she was loathed and asked to leave. She abide and life suffers, till someone came beg for her return and she did. However, still she was hurt because they remain to hold contempt, thus she became cold and brittle.
Until she reaps a child who asked her "How would you like it?" And thus, she began to ponder for answer until she decide to look for it by becoming alive for a day.
Her cold-brittle demeanor, earned herself a spite. Thus, forever changing her perspective.
There she learns what mortals needs the most, when they're at their ends. A warm hug, a kind hearted smile and gentle words of appreciation for living through. A friend and companion to make you feel welcomed and not alone...
@@akale2620 The Sandman has been a figure in folklore for years, he sprinkles sand in your eyes to make you sleep and have pleasant dreams.
And the concepts of a physical avatar of death has been around for aeons, the earliest one I could name is Thanatos, the Greek deity, but I'm certain there were more before him.
Neither Marvel nor DC comics created the concepts of 'Death' or 'The Sandman' but they both created their own versions of the characters.
As for the Gaiman story, that is the DC comics story, Gaiman wrote those comics
I would assume that Death did not "walk away" the way Destruction did, but instead deliberately chose to withhold her concept from the world. It was an act of spite more than an act of freedom, if that makes sense.
@@Duiker36you mean people can't speak of death?
You ever notice that while the Endless all have names that begin with the letter "D," Dream's the only one whose name doesn't have an "e" as the second letter. I found that interesting.
Why would that be interesting? Melodic in it'd alliteration sure but hardly interesting to me.
@@bleachedout805 I find alliteration interesting
IIRC most translations of Sandman into different languages try to keep the alliteration in the names of the Endless.
Yep, I noticed too. His is the only name that begins ‘dr’ rather than ‘de’. Definitely the odd one out.
@@ericstahmer720 Yup. In portuguese death is sometimes called Desincarnation just to keep the initial D in all their names. I find it really intriguing
I love Gaiman’s Sandman, how existentially fantastical yet human it is.
I remember reading the Sandman Overture for the first time having no prior knowledge to the franchise. It was one of the most unusual and distinctive pieces of literature I ever experienced.
I have also gotten into manga and anime that are inspired by fairy tales and folklore. Inuyasha, The Ancient Magus's Bride, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, and The Witch and the Beast. Honestly, the way mangaka approach creating fantasy deserves its own video.
If you liked those, you should try Record of Ragnarok, it is an interesting take on gods and mankind, and you will be surprised by the appereance of some characters
@@GD-qj2cc I'm sad they have made another season for it yet
@@caseyp3447 True, but at least it's not as bad as the first season , and manga is still great
May I recommend Princess Mononoke if you haven't watch it already
@@MmMm-yd4rn Already seen it, but I appreciate the thought.
I don't remember if it was Sandman itself but I vaguely remember a scene from some comic where Dream is with Constantine or some other magic user like him and they go to see Martian manhunter for something and Manhunter recognizes him, drops to his knees and starts praying to him because apparently the endless are like gods to the Martians.
It is from the Sandman, it was on the earlier issues where Dream searching for one of his 3 precious items, the Ruby necklace. The necklace was in the possession of Dr. Destiny which was defeated by the JLA, Dream with Constantine came to JLA HQ to ask around about it
I don’t think it’s all the endless, I think it was only dream, dream is the one that appears most to humans, he has many names and many forms to different cultures or species.
Dream specifically appeared to him as the Martian God of dreams. Like Morpheus to the Greeks. What made it so interesting is from Man hunters perspective Dream was a terrifying Martian God which means it is because of our species and culture as to why you and I (the readers) perceive him as a pale white goth boy.
They explore it further later with the African Empress. Dream appears as an ebony god to her, a gorgeous statuesque black man because in her culture the ideal mate and God of Dreams is a strong male capable of protecting others.
It wasn't a magic user or Constantine who led Dream to J'onn Jones. It was Scott Free, the adopted son of Darkseid. Master escape artist.
Something I love about the Endless, something I try with my deities, is how they reflect their opposite.
Destiny's book where the future is set, is only read by a blind man. He wanders his realm, an infinite maze that changes with your chosen path as you wander through it.
Death is not just there when you die. She's the one who brought you to life. An experience she allows herself one day every 100 years
Dream brings inspiration and hope, yes. But he also brings horror and fear as a lord of nightmares
Desire and Despair are twins. Though desire loves torment while their sister likes to joke
Destruction, having abandoned his duties, is now a wandering artist. He's dedicated the rest of his near infinite life to that what he is not
Delirium was once, eons ago, known as delight
The Endless are my favourite mythological beings and whenever I reread sandman, I get inspired to create
You know, the game of opposites and contrasts goes even deeper than that. People sometimes ask why the Endeless are those concepts and not others... and, let's face it, some of them can be seen as "negative" at first glance (like Destruction and Despair). The twist is in that each of them, each of those concepts, exists incarnated because they define their opposite and "creative" concept. Each one of the Endless is there to push a question uppon us, to provide the backdrop to our scene.
-The existence of destruction allows for creation. Jus as an example: most of the elements in the universe are created in supernovas... the mothers of all destruction.
-The existence of death defines life. Something that's immortal is not realy alive.
-The idea of delirium, of chaos and the lack of logic, allows us to understand order, logic, patterns, etc. To "make sense".
-The idea of desire moves us forward, but is also fuled by the sense of feeling "incomplete", of wanting; so knowing desire and contrasting it allows us to understand the "self".
-The very concept of destiny has us looking for freedom and free will. It's the prisson that makes us want to search for an exit (of it the prisson is real in the first place).
-Despair makes us undestand happiness; to give it sense. And just like Despair and Desire are twins, the two concepts can form a self-sustaining spiral to trap you if you aren't carefull.
-And Dream... If we go a little bit further and don't just read "Dream" as what we see when asleep, but (as he himself would claim) the embodiment of what is not, of immagination, of what can't be or won't be (as is pointed out so beautifully by the library of never written books), Dream is actually the polar opposite of reality. Through the contrast with dream is it that what's real is defined. That's why he is so important, but also why he is so uptight with his duties.
Gaiman trully did a work of beautiful poetry with the Sandman.
@@KaosNoKamisama There's one other thing you forgot that was in one of the supplementary stories: Despair (or more specifically, Despair's previous incarnation), is the one who gave humanity hope in the form of Superman by suggesting to Rao, the sun that Krypton orbits, to give life to a planet that has an unstable core and leaving one survivor who will mourn for the planet's destruction.
-One’s Destiny is not set in stone, and the struggle to change it is what helps create destinies in the first place.
-Destruction allows for creation, only with the death of the old can the new be made from its ashes.
-Death defines life, gives us drive and purpose. All things born will one day die. But Death doesn’t have to be something scary, it is simply just something that will happen, it is a cold embrace that allows one to finally feel at peace.
-For every Dream, there are nightmares. For every wish for peace on earth, there are selfish, self centered dreams of avarice and debauchery.
-Desires can do easily be twisted, becoming dark and immoral obsessions, and horrible addictions for pain and inflicting pain, for pleasure and forcing pleasure.
-Only in the deepest depths of Despair can hope and miracles be achieved. For the only way forward when you’re at the bottom, is up.
-Joys and Delights can so easily spiral out of control, soon delusions of grandeur and illusions of safety can cloud one’s view of the repercussions of rampant consumerism and greed, until it becomes nothing but pure Delirium.
I always thought of Dream’s opposite being reality. Seeing as he has rewritten the entirety of all creation at least twice, something which only the Presence (I assume) and Delirium (implied) is even aware of.
@@Miners666 Yeah Dream defines and forces one to face one's reality. All dreams are based on some kind of reality and something you don't want to face. Whether you are forced to face it, with a nightmare, or can just take a break from it like a dream... Both are important.
The art in this video is absolutely captivating. The story telling soothing. The discussion totally enriching. What a video! Bravo! Standing ovation to your craft, ideas and work!
I always thought the Endless were sort of what you got *before* gods - they're what you make gods *about*.
Delight becoming Delirium is kinda upsetting though. Like, "isn't everything amazing?" went from being joyousness to insanity in human minds and she had to change with it.
That's because Delight was pure joy, but as time goes by, that very joy seemed like either madness or delusions, a fantasy we made in reality of our own perspective. Most of this are very self-destructive, but in certain case, like Norton, the guy whom dream inspire to become Emperor of America(?)
Delirium said that his delusion of self-believe fantasy does not made him belongs to her. All because his self-believe made him sane despite being seen as lunatic or fool by others.
@@rezafebriansyah8620 'His madness keeps him sane'
I know that dream stated that all gods are born from the dreaming and when they die they will return to the dreaming
Obviously she's insane. Inside her mind is a constant loop of "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!" From the Lego movie would drive anyone sane mad and any madman into the throws of ecstacy.
I would love to see a Chainsaw Man story written by Neil Gaiman that explores the nature of fear and the existence of the Devils that represent them.
Maaaaan now thats something an AI shoud do... Someday
@@ivanlugo8474 It would be from Makima's POV right after she was reincarnated back in Hell, where she was immediately under siege of Doubt Devil who proceeded to "torture" her with questions.
Best idea I've ever ever heard!!!!
I'm so excited to hear you talk about my favorite comic book series.
Often get the feeling that Tale Foundry videos drop with exactly the right topics that I need to hear about the most. Destruction's commentary that the Endless are patterns, wavefunctions, echoes of darkness, relates a lot to my own questions about conscious experience, logic, and mathematics. Thank you so much!
Endless as Greek Gods
Night - Nyx
Dream - Morpheus
Death - Thanatos
I love how many lines from Neil Gaimans' Lucifer get used in the show. It's truly a show based on characters, not any story. And so many amazing lines are added in for the big Gaiman fans
As someone who never read the comics I just hope they don't turn it into some kind of spin-off riddled fuckfest. Already the Constantine girl was one of the worst parts of the show. The fewer connection to random shitty other dc properties the better
It was almost 20 years ago when I found the Book of Dreams in the Mormon Church in Mongolia. A chance encounter that shaped my thinking for decades.
I am currently running a D&D Campaign heavily inspired by The Sandman. Shortly after starting, I came across this video, in the midst of a sort of writer’s block. How very serendipitous. Thank you for reigniting my love for this story and what it has to say about our relationship with free will in a time where Niche’s words “God is dead.” have never rang so true.
Death of the Endless is what I consider one of the best depictions of death, along with The Brothers Death from scp foundation, death from supernatural and death from Discworld, and quite recently death from puss n boots the last wish.
Discworld Death My Beloved ❤
That transition into the sponsor was honestly pitch perfect, easily the best I’ve ever seen, on any platform.
Genius, really.
The story behind why Lucifer looks like David Bowie is straight GOLD.
It's been said in several different media that the Endless are not gods they are physical manifestations of concepts; gods are a separate category from the 7 Endless.
Sidenote: I've seen some parts of The Sandman comics and all I have to say is:
Hooooo boy, Destruction as Olethros (Destruction in his prime) definitely does look like a space marine in his armor.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for the support!
I've always loved The Sandman, especially Death. She's probably the most relatable one from a human perspective.
The Netflix show was pretty good. Trese also has mythological beings living in a modern world. As cliched as urban fantasy is it is interesting to see God's who are no longer worshipped live after being forgotten. I mean in a way they can't really retire.
Yeah, I liked the show too. The comics are still good, however there are certain depictions and aspects that did not age very well. Besides, I have heard people say that if the show was an exact retelling, they would have been bored. The changes made some people go ooh, that is interesting, I wonder what is next? I guess it is like a comparing apples to oranges kind of situation.
@@jacqueshardin4601 as far as I know they only changed a few characters and Neil said the fact they gave Lucifer a gender at all was a "gender swap." 😂
this channel is so criminaly underrated... thank you uncle tale for making my job 10 times easier to do xD
"It's not my responsibility. And it's not my fault." What a truly freeing statement. I absolutely adore the part of Destruction in "The Sandman."
Death of the Endless is one of my favorite characters. Such a comforting character to me.
I'm obsessed with the use of the show designs in the book plot!!!!
Ahhh.....The child of the 1980s, Then the "Rebellious Youth" of the 1990s that first picked up a Dark Horse comic
With the title "The Sandman"
THANKS YOU FOR THIS GIFT OF PUREST NOSTALGIA MY FRIEND! You have done the
Dark Genius of Neil Gaiman,
His characters, and the worlds they inhabit, a true honor.
Mr. Gaiman, and his contemporaries
(Douglas Adams,
Terry Pratchett,
Piers Anthony, Just to Name a few) , have given us FANTASTICAL PEOPLE , PLACES,AND THINGS WITHIN AND BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS. I am pleased that
The Lore behind one of
Mr. Gaiman's most Iconic creations is being shown the love, and in such detail, from your very capable hands.
Your perspectives are so interesting, I'll always listen to what you have to say even about topics I have no interest in.
Sandman so masterfully combines all these very complicated questions and often heartbreaking stories with just the right amount of goofiness. When Dream holds the key to hell and a whole lot of deites make their bid to it, Dream hosts a dinner party. A straightforward dinner party. It's amazing, I love it so much.
I find the Endless to be a little more than gods-while they do have a connection to humanity-the more powerful of them-Destiny, Death, Dream-they do have stories attached to other beings as well. I say beings because even Father Time and Mother Nyx fall subject to them. Another thing to explore is their dichotomy. Even though their name says what they rule over, they also shepherd in the opposites as well, maybe even their name was different. Despair, before something nameless happened, was once Hope. Delirium-not even their parents know what caused her to change from Joy. Desire shepherds hate at times. Death, upon hearing someone ask if she knew what it felt like, takes one day off to experience life and her own death to help them come to terms with their own lives and then going beyond. She also shepherds the immortals by giving them Life and if they tire of it at all giving them death. What is Gaiman's thoughts on the Furies and Fates-why do they pay so close attention to The Endless-even if the death of Dream's son was asked of by Orpheus'head anyway?
I really like this depiction of deities, even just the idea that a lot of what we think they are is just people essentially projecting their problems onto them.
This video Just Made My Day!😊
I've been waiting Forever for a video on this one of Neil Gaiman's works!
Its my number1 favorite comic series, including the Lucifer spinoff, and all the connections to Hellblazer.
Thank you, Robot, for making this video 😁
Neil Gaimon is probably my favorite author and sandman was definitely a big part of that and I’m so glad that one of my favorite RUclipsrs is doing a video on one of my favorite works of fiction
7:59 this also kind of reminds me a little of undertale. there are people that try to put the blame on Chara, but Chara outright states that it was your fault what happened did happen.
"You want to go back to the world you destroyed. It was you who pushed everything to its edge. It was you who led the world to its destruction. But you cannot accept it."
You could also see the Endless as Archons. In that light, Sandman is The Invisibles told from the Archons side
I'm really excited that I just got The Sandman omnibus, it looks so pretty and I can't wait to read! Volume one is over 3kg of goodness!
I had a few of the comics in the 90s but never all of them.
*Dr. Blake:* Did I… ever tell you I used to be a pastor?
*Dr. Milton:* I think I read something along those lines going over your CV, back before we worked on [CLASSIFIED INITIATIVE EXPUNGED].
*Dr. Blake:* It's strange - I was really convinced it was what I was meant to do, to spread the Word of God - honestly, I wasn't too keen on the specific doctrine, but I did believe there was something truly transcendent out there, watching us.
*Dr. Blake:* That changed when I joined the Foundation. It's funny, you know? Having actual proof that gods are real, that they're fallible, they have blind spots - that was what broke my faith. The more we study them, understand them… the less they seem like gods. We're able to point to them and say: "that's god, right there," and with SCP-6659 we can essentially annihilate them - or at least render them dormant. There's nothing wondrous about that, nothing transcendental.
*Dr. Milton:* __ John, it was always like this. Even if you didn't know before, this is how it's been happening the whole time. We're starting to understand how these beings interact with us. If you're serious about studying theology, then this is what it actually is.
*Dr. Blake:* I know that, I do. But still, shouldn't there be… more? I mean, look at what we saw today! We've got no idea what caused the reaction, it could be something else entirely! It could…
*Dr. Milton:* __ What?
*Dr. Blake:* __ Y'know what, it's fine - I'm just… tired. Stressed, like you said - I'd best be off.
*Dr. Milton:* __ Don't take this the wrong way, but you might want to consider putting in a transfer. Or taking a sabbatical, maybe.
*Dr. Blake:* No rest for the godless. Goodnight, Dr. Milton. Oh, and would you mind at all if I took a copy of today's transcript?
*Dr. Milton:* __ Go right ahead. Have a good night, John.
--ADDENDUM 6659/V: Ongoing Emergent Scenario,
A/V Transcript Ø-E5/B-I,
SCP-6659 article
Fav comics growing up
It seems you've used the source material rather than what we got in the show, you deserve props for that
I think my favorite thing about Neil Gaiman
Is that the material feels like it starts feeling nihilistic but ends optimistically
This is the first channel I was ever unsubscribed from :/ so glad I rediscovered it after RUclips dropped it. This video was wonderful
They are not 'gods', they are functions of the universe. They are manifestation of concepts. They exist because life exists.
Yeah. Dream will stop existing when every sentient being dies. Same thing for the other Endless.
YEEES Finally!! I adore The Sandman. It is one of my all tk.e favorite comics and i have the full collected run and I have been eagerly awaiting seeing it analyzed on the channel. Among an array of incredible works under his belt, I would argue Sandman is Gaiman's magnum opus, channeling every other strength we have seen him display in 75 issue epic that has only grown into its own universe under both his and other creators pens
Just beautiful 😍 I am still in bed in s cold rainy morning and I stumble on this. I am totally immersed in The Sandman. I once said to someone "I think humans create the gods!" Not the best thing to say to a Yoruba priestess, LOL! Thank you again for this one.
man this was so interesting kinda like a small crash course on Philosophy
Love you Tale Foundry ❤
This makes me think of my favorite anime, Noragami. It’s about Japanese gods and how they still function in the modern day. And the main character, Yato, is a minor god who constantly struggles with finding people who will still believe in him. If you like that sort of concept, I highly recommend it.
Omg I'm so glad you talking about Neil Gaimans Sandman 😭💞
I recommend the graphic novels to anyone moderately interested in the weird, dark and deep fantasy. The TV adaptation can't do it justice. The core books are found packaged as 10 larger volumes each with distinctive art style and topic. It also means you like some stories more compared to others but that's fair given Neil covers almost everything.
Dream is a super-compelling protagonist, with near limitless power and constantly brooding he's his own worst enemy. So relatable I think.
"infinitely powerful" is relatable? Huh lol.
I think the TV show is amazing. They did a great job transferring such a strange, disjointed and ethereal work to a new medium and the actors killed it.
Obviously I've read the books a million times. Might be my favorite creative work I've ever read, (maybe douglas Adams, Alan moore or Kurt Vonnegut depending on my mood when you ask I guess.)
Expecting any work to achieve such lofty expectations is just completely unfair especially such a weird work in its first season.
Judge it on its own merit and it's a very solid work with a ton of potential. Obviously the books are "better" but they were always going to be especially first season. Though I found myself pleasantly surprised how the TV was able to expand on and explore ideas Neil could only flirt with in so few pages.
Great stuff.
From my perspective, the Endless function sort of like parental figures/guardians. They exist to guide humanity through it's infancy and to carry the burden of it's responsibility.
Everything early humanity had no way to handle: change, desire, destiny, death, etc. Would be managed by these eternal beings so humans wouldn't have to.
When people moved on from the Endless it meant they were ready to figure out their own problems, decide their own way.
This renders the once necessary Guardians useless and redundant like training wheels on a bike.
The way I've always understood The Endless was (with the utmost respect for your analysis) the universe reflecting on itself as gods are essentially the self reflection of ourselves. They existed before humanity, representing not only us, but all life and all things. It's very telling that they also have questions in regards to their existence and must find their own answers, growing and evolving with each new revelation.
I really love the animation of this episode.
Destrucion is probably one of the most underrated and interesting characters of this story
The metaphor of the shepherd is inherently flawed, though. Sheep don't create their shepherd, and shepherds don't shepherd purely to take care of the sheep. Humans made themselves shepherds to take care of the sheep for the ultimate goal of enriching themselves.
Actually, I think this would be a great twist in the world of The Sandman. What Dream and the other Endless don't know is that they were put in place as shepherds by unknown overseers who would seek to enrich themselves from the resulting control over the humans. The Endless would then seek to rebel, and effectively render themselves obsolete, to free humans from such a system of control.
This is likely averse to Gaiman's thoughts on the matter, but it's fun to think about. A nice narrative web of conflict.
I REALLY need to just read all of Sandman at some point, I've done bits and pieces over the years but I wanna get it all
What's your favorite?
Mine's the ones that involves Death into it, like "Sounds of her Wing" and "Dream Country: Façade (Urania Blackwell, Elemental Girl, suicide thing)"
Dat excellent voice acting! 🖤
This channel brings me so many stories to love.
Sheep never stop growing wool, if a shepherd leaves a flock the sheep will die of heat exhaustion.
The long and short answer is no. As Destruction explained. They are Ideas
The irony of destruction being that he changed, which essentially is destroying your past self, to become something new and leave destruction up to humanity and so fulfilling his role
Yet another epic tale foundry W
I already live guilt free of "carbon output" because I am not a mega corporation outputting more emissions in one day than all the cars and people on earth do in a year.
Death takes any form for each person....for me i love to have her have kind eyes and a warm glow to her like the sun, and a form like a mother and with a pretty ethereal voice like someone you knew and love years ago!
“Don’t be part of the problem…be the whole problem.” I’m gonna leave my car on tonight…pushing for that new Ice Age…
The Endless are a family of some of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe, who are godlike but not exactly gods themselves because they are not created by mortal belief.
Heres a comment before I watched the video: I AM SO HYPED YOU FINALLY COVERED MY FAVOURITE BOOK SERIES EVER AHHH!
PS- the endless are not deities, they are beyond that.
I always assumed Gaiman took his inspiration from Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. Or they both took a similar interpretation of constructs of collective thought/belief.
Wren: a company that helps you deal with the passive guilt that you are mediocre, and choose not to do something meaningful.
I assumed the Endless were Tulpa, like the Primals of FF14, but unintentionally given form and consciousness by the collective human conscious to embody aspects of humanity like Death in the castlevania series but the defining difference being once the endless were created they were discovered and worshipped by humans who weren't aware of the Endless's origin and thus the humans deified the Endless. So these tupla "the Endless" exist in a sort of cleaned up bootstrap paradox of meaning. Known to exist because they exist because they are known to exist because they exist, in an loop of meaning without beginning or end.
The Endless are more than gods. They’re the full embodiment of their namesakes. Whereas most deities exist because they are invented by the collective consciousness of people, the Endless’ existence is simply a reflection of consciousness existing.
1:45 - "considering all the reasons PEOPLE create deities." i love that line, because people create dieties, not the other way around. we create gods to explain the unexplainable. and millenias ago almost every aspect of life and death was unexplainable. dieties only exist in the mind of their folowers and when the last christain, muslim, jewish worshipper dies. so does their religion and god. goes to the same place your conscious goes. oblivion. nothing.
Lucifer doesn’t seem like a “Fallen Angel” as more a “Embodiment of Hatred, Torture”
Well... he used to be, now though. Currently running a bar on LA for personal amusement. Although in Sandman final arc, he retires from the bar, closing it.
The truth is we are the endless and the endless are us they exist because we know they exist deep in our hearts and Minds .We can dream We have desires , we can be delusional, we can be destructive , we can be in despair , we have a destiny and we die .
The ad for the weather deity service during the video was hyper-meta.
Not to nitpick, but Destruction had already abdicated his position before Dream was captured. The way you described it, it sounds like he did it afterwards.
Omg the taleoid Corinthian is so cute!!
- I still don't get why none of them helped Dream. Death and him seemed close, and even though Destruction had gave up his job he's still out there and strong enough to have saved Dream. It just never seemed like it was satisfactorily explained why each of them did nothing, unless some comic had them explain it concisely and I missed it.
The others couldn’t intervene with Destiny’s plan. They couldn’t save Dream even if they wanted
Gaiman has a quote somewhere explaining that as they're immortal and not a superhero team rushing to save each other they could just wait. Beyond that though, thing about Dream is he's exceptionally proud, if they don't come help he might be mad at them for a while. But if any came and helped (interfered) without him asking them too, he would NEVER forgive them and they all know that.
@@Lutherstrode17492 There is no Destiny's plan and Destiny doesn't intervene in anything.
Hot take: gaiman is a human and this entire universe didn't poof fully formed into his mind that early on.
Instead he did some research on the sleeping disease. Knew death would be a character and formulated a cool story.
It was a success so he was able to properly flesh out his universe and this was a bit of a plothole he painted over with "Dream was too prideful" even though many times he's not too prideful to mope like a child or seek assistance.
Death could have wiped them out but dream was also so arrogant he never in his wildest "dreams" conceived a human could capture him? What if he summoned death and the captured her? Desire? Delirium? Despair? Destiny himself?
What ever would happen to such a universe would be his fault.
Another great question is, these guys dreamed of immortality and collected bizarre magicks and artifacts and nearly captured death.
Dream knows all dreams, plans are dreams. How was he caught unaware in the first place?
this is 1 of my favorite comic series
This video should really get way more views
They are above gods, the endless are the personification of what gods and mortals ARE. Every god has a destiny, every god dies. That means that they answer to Destiny and Death, at least two of the Endless. So while ALL the Endless might not be the rivals of gods, they are still placed above gods because even gods are subject to what the Endless represent.
Rereading the whole saga at the moment. 😀
I definitely am one, H.P Lovecraft had a point with our appearance
Also, Lucifer is kinda chill ngl
Still, he has trouble to say that he's in service to Heaven.
@@rezafebriansyah8620 Well, his whole point is kinda being in service to non-heaven
I find it fascinating that mankind always seeks to worship something, even create things purely so we can worship them.
Did no one notice Kars in the intro? I liked how you referenced him.
human belief is so powerful these entities could really be amongst us and we wouldn’t even know
Between this video and the DC animated series about death. I ordered the entirety of Morpheus and the anniversary book about death. I may also pick up Lucifer at some point soon.
Best ad in video ever
A textbook can attempt to educate people about the features of psyche and the makeup of thought forms and the way we share them and build what we collectively participate and contribute to as culture. But in less confusing and far more beautiful ways, authors like Niel Gaiman have illustrated the foundations of thoughts and emotions in a way that a professor cannot. Dreams can be understood in this artistic way far easier, and we have perhaps lost the more esoteric or creative way of teaching people as philosophy became more about thought and less about feeling, more about the working mechanics of our souls and less about the heartfelt connection that we all have but are losing touch with.
quick question what is delirium. are they madness or confusion. i have not read the book and would like some clarification.
Of I remember correctly she used to believe delight but something changed and she became delirium.