Mowen

Mowen is the slash ship between Max Owen and Sean Moore from the Magical Boy fandom.

Canon
Max first met Sean while he and Jen were at the mall to update his wardrobe. The two accidentally bumped into each other and Sean snapped at him to watch where he was going before stomping off. When Jen asked if he was okay, Max excitedly reacted to Sean calling him "dude" and looking like he wanted to fight. Jen informed him of who Sean was and that she heard he was bad news, advising Max to be more careful.

The next day, Max and Jen returned to blow off some steam at the arcade. One of Devoid's bug underlings showed up and started taunting Max, angering him into chasing after it into the mall plaza. After catching the bug, he spotted Sean leaving the newly-opened Kawaii Cloud store and having a keychain smacked out of his hand by another group of teenagers. Sean began to retaliate when security showed up and insisted they stop fighting, prompting them to flee as the bug monster bit Max's hand and escaped.

Jen found Max watching the scene from behind a trash can and the two began to leave, when Max spotted the same teenagers ganging up on Sean in a nearby alley, as well as the escaped bug monster consuming his negative aura. Max angrily rushed in and dropkicked the group's leader for giving the bug more tainted aura to consume, just in time for it to become visible to the others. The teens ran off again and Sean picked himself off the ground, insisting that he had the situation under control as Max proceeded to hit the bug with his backpack and proclaim that he didn't step in for Sean's sake. Max's amulet activated and transformed him into his Descendant of Aurora outfit. Sean shifted into fanboy-mode and excitedly inspected the outfit, asking Max a series of rapid-fire questions about if it was real magic and exclaiming about how cute and silky it was.

Max quickly defeated the bug and sealed the crack in Devoid's seal, transforming back into his regular outfit. Sean immediately returned to gushing about his powers, exclaiming that he was a real magical girl like his favorite character, "Sunshine Girl," which Max angrily refuted by declaring that he was a magical boy.

Sean joined Max and Jen at lunch the next day, continuing to ask Max about his powers and the monsters he was fighting, which Max quickly dismissed by informing him that he didn't want anything to do with it, much to Sean's confusion. He listened to Max vent about his frustration with never having felt like a girl and how uncomfortably feminine the guise of Aurora's Descendant was, quickly accepting Max's masculine identity and reassuring him, but still expressed confusion as to why he disliked the magical aspect. When a group of students at the next table joked about Max "going to the dark side" for hanging out with Sean and used his dead name, Sean leered to successfully threaten them into leaving the two alone. Max excitedly asked if Sean could teach him the Death Glare too when Jen returned to the table. Sean opened up about his dad's expectations for him to follow in his footsteps as a tough, macho man, being the oldest son of the family, opposing his wishes to collect cute things in peace and produce the best Sunshine Girl movie. Offering to help Max learn to appear more masculine and keep his identity a secret in exchange for letting him film his magical adventures, Sean dragged him out of school to the local park for their first lesson. When Max expressed that the lessons Sean was teaching him seemed fairly basic, Sean informed him that it meant he was already plenty masculine and that all he really needed was a confidence boost. While the two were discussing possible means of doing so, they spotted two more of Devoid's minions terrorizing children at the playground.

Max easily dispatched the bug monsters while Sean filmed with his phone, cheering Max on from the sidelines. The children thanked Max, referring to him as "ma'am," which Sean cheerily corrected as he announced that this was the work of "the amazing Magical Boy," flashing Max an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

The next day, Max transformed once again to fight a bug that had been feasting off a crowd's tainted aura, chasing it into an alley and defeating it. He had trouble changing back until Sean found him and asked what was up. At that moment, Pyper's former friends walked by, startling Max into staying hidden. Sean asked if he needed to beat them up for doing something to Max, not even hesitating as he went to confront them in spite of Max telling him to stop and get back.

The two ran into Jen and Pyper nearby and discussed Pyper's request to join Team Magical Boy (named by Sean), much to Max's reluctance to have the three get involved. Sean enthusiastically declared that the sooner they dealt with the Gates opening, the sooner Max could patch them and have no interference in claiming his true identity. Max frantically instructed him to stop waving a knife around and that he wasn't sure if it would even work on the bugs, which Sean responded to with a wink and finger-guns, declaring that they wouldn't know until they tried. The group ended their meeting, with Sean cheering on Team Magical Boy to conclude.

During the group's first official raid on one of the Gates, Max's self-doubt began to inhibit his ability to transform, worrying he couldn't protect his friends. With the others' encouragement, Sean's being the most enthusiastic once again, Max successfully activated his Descendant form, now with a distinctively masculine appearance.

Upon reaching and attacking the bugs guarding what they thought was the first Gate, the boss monster managed to stick Max's arm to a tree with his webs. Jen and Pyper held off the bugs while Sean cut Max loose with his knife and lent it to him for later use. After managing to take down Timor, Max's self-doubt resurged in regards to his staff acting up during the fight. Sean encouraged him to shake it up and try again since it probably just needed to be broken in more.

Later, when the keeper of the true First Gate appeared in the school, the bug monsters became visible to everyone in the building and swarmed the school. Sean kicked his way through the swarm, exclaiming that he needed to find Max. When Sean and the rest of Team Magical Boy found him fighting Lord Timor, Max's self-doubt had started to taint his aura and weaken his magic. Even with Jen's encouragement, his doubt began to consume him. It was ultimately through Sean grabbing his hand and telling him not to lose hope (and getting him to stop overthinking by telling him to imagine Tobi naked) that his power began to re-strengthen. When Timor knocked Max down and broke the end off his staff, Sean swooped in and stabbed the broken end into the monster to protect Max until he was back on his feet. Additionally, after Timor exploded, Sean caught a flustered Max before he could hit the ground.

After Max barricaded himself in his room out of guilt for Tobi getting hurt, Sean and the rest of the team went to his house to check on him. Sean successfully tricked Max into opening the door for them by saying they had a pizza, dashing in and declaring they were breaking him out. When Max responded to a comment about his room being different from what the others expected by stating he'd paint it black if he could, Sean advised that it would become way too hot in the summer and opened the blinds. When the team began speculating the cause of Max's powers acting up, Jen pointed out that it was thanks to Sean getting Max out of his own head that he was able to defeat Timor. Sean then excitedly threw his arm around Max and showed him the video of their fight in the forest, proudly reminding him that he was "kicking ass all confidently" and that all he needed was a confidence boost. Max admitted that Sean posting the video was for the best, Sean smugly asked if Max's positive response was because someone in the comments said he was hot, flustering Max once again.

The team discovered the Second Gate in the mall just as the Gatekeeper, Lord Avarita, appeared. Max transformed to fight the boss monster while Sean kept the bystanders safe, assuring them that he trusted Magical Boy could handle the situation. Filming from the sidelines (and "punching the heck out of the bugs" as they came near), Sean continued enthusiastically cheering Max on. After Max defeated Avarita and sealed the gate, the team fled the scene, with Sean insisting they leave before his police officer father arrived.

Fanon
The ship sailed in response to the quickly-formed, notably strong bond between the two, with Sean serving as one of Max's most adamant supporters and helping him through both his efforts to become more masculine and his destined role as the Descendant of Aurora. Max also has a tendency to blush and become flustered around Sean to the degree that he does concerning Tobi. When the two ultimately begin to date in the finale of the comic,

Mowen is primarily rivaled by Mobi (the ship between Max and Tobi Flynn). Shippers argue the more canon status of Max and Tobi, as Max was always confirmed to have a crush on him and Tobi has shown signs of reciprocating his feelings (This was debunked in the finale of the comic after Tobi politely turns Max down since he's straight). The opposition tends to argue that Max and Sean have spent significantly more time together and have been crucial to each other's development. However, the discourse is very minimal and fairly respectful for the most part, as a majority of fans seem to enjoy both ships.

The ship is occasionally compared to KanNao from the Persona fandom, due to the distinct similarities between Sean and Kanji's characters and their dynamics with Max and Naoto, both of whom follow a character arc concerning their gender identities.

On the official poll for which ship should receive its own wallpaper, Mowen was the second most popular containing Max and the most popular containing Sean, as well as the second most popular ship overall.

Fandom
TAPAS Source Material

Trivia

 * According to the book passed down by Descendants of Aurora, blue aura signifies gratitude as one's dominant emotion. Blue is Sean's default aura hue, indicating a strong feeling of gratitude towards Max.

Variations

 * Seaxbi refers to the ship between Max, Sean, and Tobi Flynn