mase

Hello, I’m masesan.

I love writing and drawing about the characters I care about.

I enjoy psychological analysis and studied psychology, but my posts don’t always reflect academic accuracy.

Since I’m not a native English speaker, I sometimes use AI to help translate my writing. My posts might sound a bit mechanical at times, but the ideas and feelings are all my own.

Lately, I’ve been writing headcanons about Mozenrath, which you can find under:

#masesan headcanons

I also post additional notes and explanations about my writing under:

#masesan writes

For non-Japanese readers: Here’s a summary of the fic I just posted on AO3.

This story portrays Mozenrath’s early days with his mother, before he went to live under his master.

I did not live in an area that suffered catastrophic damage. Even so, the memory remains vivid. It is strange, brutal, and impossible to forget.

On television, footage of the earthquake and the tsunami played without pause. Commercials were pulled and replaced by the same public service announcements over and over again.

Earthquake. Tsunami. PSA. Earthquake. Tsunami. PSA.

It felt like I was going insane.

The tsunami footage was horrifying. The tsunami was not the color of the sea. It was black.

It was heavy and solid, swallowing people as they tried to escape. A tsunami does not appear as a single towering wall of water.Instead, layers of water only a few centimeters deep sweep in and take your footing away. Someone who had been on screen just moments before would suddenly be gone.Buried in debris and waves.

They were alive just seconds ago.

I felt nauseous.

Even now, you can search for footage from that time on YouTube. Much of what was broadcast then is no longer available in its original form.

I can no longer watch it. The images are too painful for me. I cannot stop myself from crying.

Not long after, it was reported that a nuclear power plant had suffered a meltdown and released a massive amount of radioactive material. The first thing that came to mind was Chernobyl. I was seized by the fear that Japan might become uninhabitable.

As days passed, reports began to focus on the people in the disaster areas. There was footage of a child searching for their mother alongside relatives.

The relatives found the mother’s car and looked inside. They were convinced that the body inside was hers. At the same time, they could not bring themselves to accept it. Caught between certainty and denial, they kept repeating contradictory words.

“She’s there. She’s not. No. Yes. She is.”

They held the child, speaking not to comfort them, but to make them face reality. “Your mother is dead. But her body is still recognizable. You can face her now. It’s okay.”

Her body was not unharmed. It was simply not so brutally damaged that one could not bear to look at it. That scene was unbearable and difficult to forget.

And yet, even they were considered fortunate.At least a body was found.

There are countless people who never got that much.

There is one more thing that must not be forgotten.

In the chaos after the disaster, some people exploited those who were desperate.

Mothers were threatened. “If you want food for your children, do what I say. Otherwise you get nothing.” Some were raped behind buildings in order to secure food for their children.

Others pressured victims with a patriarchal logic. “We rescued you, so let us touch you.”

Disasters do not only reveal courage and kindness. They also reveal cruelty.

This is my memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

In The Citadel, there is a moment where Mozenrath leaves after being scolded by Genie. The way he suddenly goes quiet feels very much like a child who instinctively falls silent after being reprimanded, and that moment always stood out to me.

The front is a tuxedo, but the back basically looks like a dress. It’s so stylish and beautiful, I can’t help but adore it.

There have been cases where, when the perpetrator was connected to someone in power such as a politician, attempts to seek justice through proper legal procedures did not receive a serious response. There have been cases where people requested official documents about an incident, only to receive them completely blacked out. There have also been cases where police participated in this kind of cover-up.

There have also been cases where perpetrators were connected to organized crime, making police reluctant to intervene. In some widely reported incidents, communities were accused of closing ranks to protect those involved — as in the case often referred to as the ‘Murder of Junko Furuta.’

Because of this, publicly exposing cases on social media and causing them to go viral has become one of the most effective ways to impose social consequences. In many cases, it’s the only thing that actually works.

In reality, things are often worse than in the anime.

2026/01/18

The relevant ministries have announced they will request the prompt removal of “evidence videos” of bullying posted on social media.

Mozenrath has a devoted familiar named Xerxes, yet he treats him roughly. I would like to explore why that is.

Because Mozenrath was dominated, deprived, and broken by his abuser during childhood, it is likely that he was conditioned to believe that all human relationships are structured around domination and submission.

As a result, regardless of his own wishes, he unconsciously reenacts the role of the abuser. By taking on the position of the one who controls, he attempts to ensure that he will never be controlled again, keeping fear at a distance.

Xerxes is a loyal servant. He follows orders, does not resist, and even if his abilities fall short at times, he never betrays Mozenrath.

This makes Xerxes someone who will never abandon him, no matter what. Because of that, Xerxes becomes the only being to whom Mozenrath can direct his emotions without restraint, trusting that even crude and domineering behavior will still be accepted. In that sense, Mozenrath may be unconsciously indulging himself, relying on Xerxes as a safe presence.

For this reason, Mozenrath’s acts of aggression toward Xerxes can be seen as a form of rehearsal. By venting his anger on the one being who will never leave him, he is clumsily practicing how to maintain relationships with others. In a distorted way, this could even be considered a first step toward recovery, though it is far from a healthy one.

And yet, if Xerxes truly meant nothing to him, he would have disposed of him long ago. The fact that he never lets Xerxes go, that he continues to treat him as a tool while finding comfort in his presence, can be understood as a manifestation of deeply distorted attachment.

I think Mozenrath’s relationship with touch and desire is one of the most tragic yet human parts of him. Here’s how I see it.

Keep reading below the cut if you’re comfortable.

How interested is Mozenrath in anything sexual?

He’d be fashion-conscious and sensitive to trends, but always with a touch of refinement. He loves clean, elegant outfits—regardless of whether they’re labeled men’s or women’s. (Honestly, I think he could pull off even a skirt with ease, which just shows how stylish he is.)

He’d probably prefer a just-right or relaxed fit rather than something too tight. Oversized looks might feel a bit too casual for him—he values sophistication above all.

Leather shoes over sneakers. And even if he wore sneakers, they’d likely be leather. The type to brush his shoes after each wear and let them rest for a day before wearing them again.

He wouldn’t over-accessorize. Perhaps a watch with a simple face and a few delicate rings that highlight his long, graceful fingers. Always quality over quantity.

Makeup would be an essential part of his look. It would appear natural, effortless even, but in reality every detail is carefully crafted. His skin would have a healthy, vibrant glow, and his features would be subtly enhanced to perfection. Nothing looks heavy or artificial, yet everything is perfectly in place.

As the world moves closer to modernity, magic begins to be replaced by science. People come to see it as mere fantasy, something that never really existed. In an age where magic is dismissed as fiction, could power survive without belief to sustain it?

If the arcane force ceased to work, his right hand would no longer be able to maintain the shape of a skeletal forearm. It would be reduced to nothing but an upper arm. The difference between having a barely functional hand and having nothing at all is immense. To lose it twice, once as flesh and once again as magic, would be a devastating burden for someone as sensitive as he is.

Mozenrath is a devoted scholar, so perhaps before magic fades completely, he would try to merge medicine with sorcery, fashioning a way to keep his arm at least partially functional.

And yet, no matter what solution is created, even if prosthetics exist, his right hand will remain a painful complex. The wound in his heart would not be healed so easily. What he truly needs is not replacement, but something deeper and more fundamental.

But he keeps all his skills and cunning from before, giving him a strong-and-new-game advantage. A comedic take on life redo and reincarnation.

In Japanese, the choice of first- and second-person pronouns often reflects a character's personality, emotional state, or social role.

For instance:

A character who uses “watashi (私)” might be emotionally restrained or formal.

Switching to “ore (俺)” can signal a more assertive or emotionally vulnerable moment.

Similarly, using “omae (お前)” implies familiarity (or slight condescension), while “kisama (貴様)” often suggests hostility.

In English, these all flatten into just “I” and “you,” and that’s okay—but it means some nuance gets lost.

Think of pronoun choice as a mirror of how the character sees themselves—and the person they’re talking to.

I hope this helps you feel some of the tension, distance, or closeness behind their words.

For example:

Mozenrath mostly uses “watashi,” keeping himself guarded. But in a moment of stress or anger, for instance, you might hear “ore” slip out—and that says a lot. (Just to note, this is based on how I portray the characters in my own writing.)

For non-Japanese readers: Here’s a quick summary of the fic I just posted on AO3.

「糸口」 (Itoguchi) is about On the night Aladdin delivers a ribbon entrusted to him by the seamstress, Mozenrath begins a quiet conversation before his mirror.

The full fic is in Japanese, but I hope the tone comes through.

Title meaning:「糸口」 (Itoguchi)

The pairing is so niche, and I know most people don’t speak Japanese, but I really wanted to write it in a way that feels natural to me.

If you're interested, even just knowing someone out there might be curious would make me happy 🙏