I still am confused what Shura thought Aiolos was doing with an infant, or for that matter what that infant was
(If this was in Episode Zero I completely forgot)
Also what did he even do with Athena? I remember him patting her on the head but also you have that last card there?? 
Okay update: I checked the original scene in the anime (Sanctuary arc) and basically she crawled over to him after he tried to dice her and Aiolos. You see why I hate Saori?? You see? Literally she can be the dumbest baby in existence as the incarnation of the wisdom goddess.
Anyways, after she crawled over (making Aiolos panic because he had to leave her on the ground to fight Shura), Shura patted her face and then pretty much used her as a hostage, knowing Aiolos wouldn't attack him with the baby in the way (which also confuses me because wasn't Aiolos running away with a baby in tow and was assumed to be a traitor??).
Cutest little warcrimer, see?
And then he sliced Aiolos off a newly created cliff, contemplated killing the baby, and then decided against it (I don't know why, my Spanish is not working rn and it's the Spanish dub). 
Apparently I need to revisit Episode Zero.

Unrelated to the whole fiasco of a 10-year-old being sent after a 14-year-old, I'm ngl I kinda love the notion of everyone except Aiolos and Saga being absolutely illiterate (with the exception of Camus who taught himself how to read)
Kanon being illiterate is hilarious mostly because of the trident fiasco (he just guessed "sea dragon" he had no idea what the labels said)

-Galaxian-

Btw my current way of thinking about it is something along the lines of pretending Saga hit Shura with something like Genro Mao Ken (but less developed, because I like to think [well I don't like but it makes sense to me] that Genro Mao Ken was a work-in-progress on Saga's part and wasn't something all Popes had) and just really screwed him up mentally. Dude wasn't too sane to begin with (or the smartest) and then he went years just being slightly affected by a mental technique screwing with his brain and it made him worse.
I think the most solid part of my interpretation so far is that it twists the target's mind to be loyal to the Pope by bringing out extreme emotions/ideologies. So for instance, in canon it brought out all of Aiolia's repressed pain/anger towards the apparent betrayal of his brother and the isolation he experienced as a result of being the traitor's brother. I interpret it as him lashing out at anything to prevent himself from being hurt and to carry out the Pope's will (defaulting to his usual Gold Saint mindset). Maybe for Shura it was his very extreme interpretation of justice that warped into wow he did not think about what he was doing and then in the long-term made him focus on justifying his loyalty for the Pope (despite subconsciously knowing that the Pope did something bad and unjust that doesn't make sense to him) but also made him stuck in the past, reliving his loathing of one of his most respected figures betraying everything he taught to the younger Gold Saints rather than how much both halves of the situation (the change of the Pope, the absurd charges brought up against Aiolos, and ofc Aiolos not performing well at all in terms of combat because he didn't want to hurt Shura). 
I think for me it's a fun lil parallel between him and Aiolia even though mind control is a cheap trick to justify what are otherwise morally interesting actions...simply because even though they are morally interesting they do not make any sense whatsoever (to me at least). SoG tries to resolve his and Aiolia's relationship by Aiolia recognising that Shura was also acting by his duty as a Saint, but I tend to personally focus more on the fact that they were both children and implied to be really close to Aiolos, so it'd make sense to me if most of what Shura has done is partially his fault and partially the manipulation of Saga's evil side. I also don't think this would take away from his character since Genro Mao Ken wouldn't be the entire reason for what he decided to do, just another added factor to how aspects from his youth pertain still to the present (and therefore why such a big component in his battle against Shiryu 9 whole years later is still about what happened that day, because for him it's very important too). 
Comparatively, just look at Deathmask and Aphrodite. Deathmask is pretty obviously kinda not the brightest bulb in the closet. Ideologically he lives by something very simplistic and selfish--he lives for himself. His ideals really are that power equals justice, and the ends justify the means. It's the easy way out, he follows whomever gives him more benefit. Aphrodite, meanwhile, has a more personal loyalty to the Pope (Saga), but as a result is also obviously influenced by what the other wants him to believe, so ideologically also falls in a similar category. But Shura feels like he's close to Aiolos, unlike the others, and have beliefs that (while simplistic) are supposedly pretty solid as Saints go. He's proud of his loyalty to Athena, he believes in cutting down the unjust, and also he didn't kill a baby (10-year-old Deathmask would kick her down the cliff for the funsies). So why does he act the same way as them, if not worse?? I think mental deterioration would be a good answer.
At least rn it does. It is way too late lol.

Gonna drop off the face of the internet earth again now, bye-bye. Idk what this post partitioning is either, but enjoy~

-Galaxian- 

Fanart that still obliterates my soul on sight (jk I don't have a soul)
https://www.deviantart.com/mcashe/art/Athena-exclamation-Full-version-917523437
(Image doesn't work, linking it)
I do love how when it comes to some of my favorites I can remember every single piece of art I've ever seen of them. 

Anyways, a less angsty one:
[Edit: The link doesn't work and there are so many artworks on the single site I don't think I can find it, but it's by the very legendary Marco Albiero and a link to all their fanworks in general are here: https://www.pharaonwebsite.com/users/marco_albiero/fanarts/?page=1] [edit 2: it's on page 17]
I've always loved this one's style, but I've always found it funny because the Gold Saints are canonically around each other's height (excluding Dohko, who is 5' 7'' and is short compared to the rest of them, and Aldebaran, who is 6' 10'' and tall even compared to the rest of them), so I've always seen this as all of them being attached to him through silly string or something 
I think another part of this drawing in particular is how I always analyse the Gold Saints' smiles. I've always found it hilarious that Shura has the nicest smile imo. (Mu has the gentlest smile, Aldebaran has the best laughing face, Dohko has the best grin, and Milo has the best smug look, not necessarily in this art just in general) Like yeah ofc the 10-year-old assassin dude has the nicest smile, followed by Deathmask. (these people were not ok how many times do I have to say this. Shion needed to invest in therapy)


This one's a remake of the manga mac and cheese Gold Saints pic. I think.
I love it a lot. I'm so not used to Aphrodite with the face filter on though, dang xD.
(I bought some mac and cheese last week because I haven't eaten it in like,,, idk how long honestly it's probably been 11 years and I got thoroughly disappointed because it's uni food. Not that I expected otherwise but basically, I still haven't eaten mac and cheese since 11 years ago. Great.) 


LOOK AT THESE CUTIES! Cutie patooties fr. (they're all cringing at this instant)


Me and the boys at 3 A.M. looking for  b e a n s


Someone redrew 10 of the 12 Gold Saints having the high ground (from SoG) and I love them for it
I haven't seen this before (apparently this is from 2019)
Edit: Btw this is a variation of the Athena Exclamation/Saint's code of honour joke (SoG isn't technically canon but the Gold Saints no longer giving a heck about anything and ganging up on a god of mischief to troll him is hilarious and you can't really change that truth)

Three more group fanarts for this post (I really admire group fanarts)

[Edit: Image doesn't work, it's basically a cool action pose where Aiolos is closer to the front aiming his arrow and everyone else is trying to also look cool. I'm pretty sure this is also a redraw but I can't be confident.]
Link is here: https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.1240877069.6166/fposter,small,wall_texture,square_product,600x600.jpg



[The third image: https://www.pharaonwebsite.com/users/liruohai/fanarts/?page=2. The Gold Saints group shot.]

-Galaxian-

I think it's pretty easy for me to answer why I like the Gold Saints so much
For one, I mean, their designs are amazing. They fill a vibe that I haven't found in any other anime ever. They're the OG Gold Saints and always will be. I understand the Bronze Saints also have their appeal and how important they are for the story, but even visually the Gold Saints just feel so much cooler to me. (I have a severe bias for gold)
Speaking actually thematically I think it's because of how much you can imagine for them. Of course, Saint Seiya tends to be straightforward, and that's the aspect the Bronze Saints tend to embody. They fight for Athena, and they fight for justice, and they fight as brothers. The Silver Saints, being the stepping stone before the Bronze Saints fight the Gold Saints, are the misled villains. They're interesting too, but ngl they feel like a cult. 
But the arc in which most of the Gold Saints formally debut is the Sanctuary arc, where even though they're the villains for the most part (or simply the antagonists), they're the ones who've been involved in the actual background events leading up to the plot at that point. Yes, the Bronze Saints' backstories lead from the events of 13 years ago, but the Gold Saints themselves were there to experience those events. The civil war of Sanctuary involves many innocent victims in the present time, but the people who have been intrinsically embroiled within its grasp are the Gold Saints. Aries Mu lost his master and refused to return to Sanctuary for 13 years. Gemini Saga is the perpetrator behind it all and has been grappling with his sense of evil over his responsibility as the Pope and, perhaps, his intrinsic wish to be the Pope at all. Multiple Gold Saints know of the treason committed but either stand neutrally (Shaka, Camus) or even actively aid the Pope in the name of power/justice (Deathmask, Aphrodite, Shura), while still others are kept in the dark (Aldebaran, Aiolia, Milo). So maybe it was fated from the start that most of the Gold Saints would fall before the true Holy War began.
And then the Hades Arc's Sanctuary Chapter gives them 12 hours to add onto all of that and somehow resolve it. For the Bronze Saints, 12 hours means a limit on saving the goddess, to do the right thing. For the Gold Saints it is simply another reunion where some of them are on opposing sides and where some of their intentions are closed until the last moment. By the end of those 12 hours, they try to kill each other and they mourn, but also they forgive. And that culminates again in a short instant of reunion where they finally work together as a collective whole to destroy the largest remaining obstacle to the main characters saving their goddess.  
That's kinda why I've always disliked the Hades Sanctuary arc's ED being of the Bronze Saints. I get the OP because they're also moving towards war, and that part's not just the Gold Saints. But I would have hecking loved an ED dedicated only to the Gold Saints.
Btw, the above video hits really hard, because I've always felt like "Chikyuugi" having a tone so different from the other OPs is not only a reflection of the emotionality in this arc in particular (compared to the courageous, hot-blooded feeling in the others), but also because it's for the Gold Saints only. The song's lyrics are the words coming from the hearts of men who were supposed to simply be warriors but who could fulfill their true duties only during the timespan of 12 hours as a result of their internal strife.
In other words, this song gentler than tears and warmer than sadness reflects the resolution to all the tragedy they have witnessed, been victimized by, and contributed to these past 13 years. 

Anyways, apparently I have a predisposed weakness to this face.


Look familiar? Yeah. Uh...


Whoops.
I'm also noticing I have a very strong bias for the colour red lol, that explains some things. In addition to both of them possibly being Scorpio. The possibly part is Run, I think he's a Scorpio.

I think it'd be hilarious if I can have a romantic interest in anyone. If I can, I'd like to find a Scorpio please, I'd die of laughter.

-Galaxian-

I censored some discussion I had on Awakening's story but I did wanna voice some appreciation for more Saga and Aiolos content being shown

I stand by my thought that the two of them just struggle in different ways. Like yeah they excel for their age and are both Pope candidates for a reason, but I really like the idea of Saga being the one who can coolly assess a situation normally and come up with a good solution (but who cannot reconcile his true self), while Aiolos embodies the ideal Saint who shields his allies and friends (but who struggles when pitted against them in extreme situations because of his sense of justice). Unfortunately they really go in opposites in terms of flaws too, like how Saga's evil side manifests his willingness to sacrifice his subordinates for the sake of his 'justice', and how Aiolos' refusal to go all out against Shura at first very much cost him his life. Comparatively, if Aiolos had fought back harder against Shura or even killed him, then Aiolos would have lived and wouldn't have to take a risk of depending on a random tourist in the area to take Athena away. I think someone like Saga would have seen the greater overall good in ensuring his own survival in a similar situation, but Aiolos was probably thinking about a lot more than just that, still treating Shura as a child and as a comrade with a similar mission when at that moment, they were enemies and Shura was trying to kill him (even if we don't know how determined he actually was; it's portrayed differently in different adaptations). 
Btw I also think that Saga knew Aiolos better than Aiolos did Saga, so that's also why Saga didn't personally go after Aiolos after getting caught in the act of trying to kill an infant Athena. Outside of plot drama, it feels like he knew Aiolos would just get tripped up along the way of trying to get out of the Sanctuary, and his subordinates (Deathmask, Shura, Aphrodite) wouldn't be harmed in the process. Because it's Aiolos he's dealing with, after all. So he can just sit back without having to risk leaking his identity while passing through the Temples. The bastard.
Anyways, this is the part I'm stuck in, but I guess I wanted to mention still that even with his hugely just nature, Aiolos is still terrifying. I mean, he's trained as a child soldier too. I think I kinda froze when he talked about the bandits, pondering if he should just kill all of them. It sounded like something that another series would use as foreshadowing for an evil character, but clearly in SS's context it's just something a Saint might try to do to ensure peace, and Aiolos' (very quick) decision to not follow through with that line of thought instead indicates "benevolence." So when I talk about good and evil in SS, it's in a very different context from how I personally think about it usually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhYfEMpez6A
This was then recommended to me.
(I have not watched anything AgK! or Run related for more than...half a year)

Okay.

-Galaxian-

There's no way I'm gonna end a post spree on one of my favorite characters being able cook a...a meat? Anyways, I haven't been able to find an English translation for "Chikyuugi" that matches the original Chinese one I saw (which I very much memorised), so I'll go ahead and do the uh, the dishonours.

"Chikyuugi (The Terrestrial Globe)" by Yumi Matsuzawa

Original version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr-arGycW7g
Full version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l9tvDMYKjI
2020 version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fGW8mD4-ic

比泪水还温柔的歌
A song more gentle than tears
像悲伤一样的温暖
is warm like sorrow

虽然明白 世界并不是那样简单的转动
Even if I understand the world does not rotate as easily as I thought
仍想静静地净化黑暗 试着继续走下去
I still wish to quietly purify the darkness and try to keep walking down this path

就算再缓慢也要接近
No matter how slowly we must still approach
梦的碎片和最喜欢的人
the fragments of our dreams and the people we hold dear
在脑海中描画出爱的形状
Outlining the shape of love in our minds,
一直不停地寻找着
Continue searching on without an end

与其诉说放弃的理由
Compared to explaining all the reasons why we could give up,
不如细数能办到的事情
Why not instead detail all the things we can do?
有过太多挫折
After too many setbacks to count, 
甚至几乎想要回头
To the point where we even thought of turning back,
但即使如此 也早已决定
Even so, even so, it has already been decided

为了你 或许没有什么事不能去做
If it is for you, then perhaps there is nothing that I cannot do
但即使如此 也渴望碰触
But even so, I still wish to touch
那像悲伤一样的温暖
that sorrow-like warmth
就算再缓慢也要接近
No matter how slowly we must still approach
梦的碎片和最喜欢的人
the fragments of our dreams and the people we hold dear
在脑海中描画出爱的形状
Outlining the shape of love in our minds,
一直不停地寻找着
Continue searching on without an end

咕噜咕噜转动的地球仪
Guruguru [note: onomatopoeia in both Chinese and Japanese] the globe churns
咕噜咕噜转动的时间
Guruguru time turns
在世界的尽头 爱着你
Loving at the end of the earth,
在快乐的地方 做着梦
And slumbering at the happiest place, I dream...

就算再缓慢也要接近
No matter how slowly we must still approach
梦的碎片和最喜欢的人
the fragments of our dreams and the people we hold dear
在脑海中描画出爱的形状
Outlining the shape of love in our minds,
不停不停地寻找着
Continue searching and searching without an end

啦啦啦…………
Lalala...
比泪水还温柔的歌 像悲伤一样的温暖
The song more gentle than tears is warm like sorrow

Short version--

A song more gentle than tears
is warm like sorrow

Even if I understand the world does not rotate as easily as I thought,
I still wish to quietly purify the darkness and try to keep walking down this path

No matter how slowly we must still approach
the fragments of our dreams and the people we hold dear
Outlining the shape of love in our minds,
Continue searching on without an end
If it is for you, then perhaps there is nothing that I cannot do
But even so, I still wish to touch
that sorrow-like warmth

Guruguru [note: onomatopoeia in both Chinese and Japanese] the globe churns
Guruguru time turns
Loving at the end of the earth,
And slumbering at the happiest place, I dream...

I need to draw Changgong and Xu Fu both looking at Bartholomew with distaste in their eyes
Okay. Remindme! 70 years

-Galaxian-

Canon: Athena's Exclamation is banned because it's cowardly to gang up on one person with 3 people
Me: So the limit is two

I really do wonder on why it continues to be banned. SS's powerscaling makes it impossible for me to tell if the Big Bang force equivalence thing applies every time or if it depends on which 3 Gold Saints are actually working together to constitute the technique
For instance I guess Mu+Milo+Aiolia would equal Saga+Shura+Camus so the average output is Big Bang level? All that happened was the Virgo Temple being destroyed though, so from what I can tell it'd probably be scaled down xD all tell and no show no I don't wanna sabotage Sanctuary nooo

-Galaxian-

Just remembered it's Shion's birthday.

It. All. Makes sense now.

Happy birthday my guy, I was gonna say "may you be able to do all the trolling you like" but ngl I kinda wanna getchu
Ash is an Aries what

-Galaxian-

Kanon: So that stupid mermaid brought you here?
Also Kanon: (*outlines exactly what the Bronze Saints need to do to save Athena*)

Like ik he's not actually a real Marina but the dude made himself an exposition device :skullface: he could've just said the Bronze Saints needed to defeat the Marinas and I think that would have at least wasted the Bronze Saints' time by a bit

-Galaxian-

What did Netflix do to Aiolos' helmet

Please no amount of head coverage was going to save him from Shura's choppity chopping, now he just looks worse than before. At least let him go out cool
(It's not that bad it's just hard to make the all-round helmets cool imo. xD)


I'm ngl Milo looks Bronze Saint age. He's so cute (I am severely biased)
He looks 16 xD but then again Lizard Misty in canon is 16...
Every time I think of Misty I think of how most of the Saints probably have angsty backstories behind them. For instance, maybe Misty's aversion to pain comes from his training being really hecking bad, making it so that when he finally became a Saint he became obsessed with not feeling anything like that again and keeping his body unscarred
It probably isn't actually true but it just makes it funny since he then gets defeated by Seiya in a fashion equivalent to "Depressed? Just don't be sad, loser"


:0 (image quality is bad on its own and posting it on a forum makes it weird. Image tag: the Gold Saints go :0) [why does this remind me of the Sims, is it the posturing xD]


I was like "Wow Shura looking more traditionally handsome for once" and then I realised. That's Saga.
Whoops.
Turns out he's the guy with the porcupine hair. Very Shura-esque.
Love how intense Milo is for no reason (the 8th Temple Saint being at the front along with Camus while the actual Big Bad is just kinda scowling at the corner is really funny to me)

-Galaxian-

Accidentally exceeded the length of the 64 KB post size limit.
Whoops.

Anyways, I was just going on on how I think Netflix's Milo looks small and cute.
Also how even if Mu might be OOC in the Poseidon arc when Aiolia wants to run off and help Seiya and co. (I can't really tell, tbh I feel like he and Aiolia have some kind of inherent rivalry going on between them...in general Mu, Milo, and Aiolia all feel like they can't get along in various ways and lowkey it's really funny), I think Milo's response showcases his more mature side. Well, kind of. It's more complicated.
(The complication: I think his maturity is slightly related to grief from his friend's/friends' death but not entirely so, and that's why his maturity goes right out the window when they come back as traitors. Basically he got reverse character development. And then got it again in SoG. Dude is doing fine idk what you mean)

Anyway.

This will never stop being funny. 
And yeah this is a band consisting of Sorrento, Pandora, Milo, Orphee (I think...ngl he looks slightly like Camus lol), and Sasha(?) it's so funny because everyone else canonically plays an instrument and ofc Athena would be singing, but then you have Milo there just jamming along.
(I do think Milo would play an instrument and be in a band but his all-red attire gets me every single time. Dude is out for blood from the eyes)

-Galaxian-

Dude has a microphone for no reason

I still think Hades Sanctuary arc's Shaka pulling out his beads from his hand counts as censored body horror 
I mean you can see his fingers moving from the motion of the beads moving I just (*shudders*)

-Galaxian-

Also realising that even now I still think of the Gold Saints' names in Chinese, it's just my fingers auto-translate to English as I type.
Thanks, very cool.

-Galaxian-