#raymash

this picture had me happy all day, can't stop thinking about how cute Mash is, how it looks like Mash is sitting on Rayne AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAÀAAAAAAAAA

Abel did call Mash a rabbit. ☂️🍄🐇

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By a huge fan of Rayne who ships RayMash.

So after finishing my analysis on Rayne’s relationship with Finn (that I highly recommend you to read before this one), let's focus on Rayne's relationship with Mash.

I am writing this because I've read that a lot of people think that Rayne helped Mash because he saved Finn, which means that Rayne’s interest in Mash is conditioned by Finn, and I think that it is wrong. I can't deny that Finn may have a little little bit something to do with this, but I don't think that it is the main reason why Rayne literally chooses to support Mash with his life.

Before starting ⚠️ Disclaimer: I am not hiding the fact that I am a RayMash shipper, but, in this analysis, I will try to stay neutral and just qualify Rayne's feelings for Mash as "interest". I also, again, highly recommend you to read my previous analysis of Rayne and Finns relationship because it is important for this one. And, lastly, there would be some of my interpretations that you may or may not agree with me! But I will try to use the manga as much as possible to prove some of my points! ⚠️

(Also, for those who wondered why RayMash is so popular, i hope that this will help you understand why.)

1- Rayne's relationships before meeting Mash

In the canon, Rayne only has three relationships (i am not counting the Divine Visionaries); his relationship with Wahlberg, with Finn, and with Max.

I won't talk about Max in this point cause he is irrelevant for the moment, so let's just focus on the two others.

Let's begin with Finn. At the beginning of the story, Rayne and Finn's relationship is bad, and, to take what i already stated in my previous analysis, one of the reason why is because Rayne didn't want Finn to be in Easton; it made him mad and not want to interfere in Finn's life anymore (he is just taking care of him financially, according to the fanbook) That means that Rayne knows nothing about Finn's life, like who are his friends, and who could protect him from danger. And i don't think that Rayne even wants Finn to have friends and protectors in Easton so he wouldn't have any attach to it and eventually drop it.

Now, about his relationship with Wahlberg, however we see it; father and son, or mentor and disciple, it is undeniable that they are close, closer than a simple headmaster with one of his student. Rayne seems to respect him a lot and does whatever he asks him to do.

And we have never seen Wahlberg acting this "bossy" with anyone else. And, with how he talks to/about Rayne, it seems like he affections him as well.

2. How Mash interfered in those two relationship.

In chapter 31, we have learnt that Wahlberg had talked to Rayne about Mash. It was not said when he did, but i think that it was a few days after Mash entered Easton.

Wahlberg does not tell Rayne that Mash was magic-less, he just tells him how interesting Mash is in an enthusiastic way. Regarding what we said about Rayne and Wahlberg's relationship, Rayne could have been jealous of how Wahlberg was talking about Mash. So negative feelings could have started growing in Rayne towards Mash, but what worsened it was when Wahlberg told him that Mash had saved Finn.

Again, regarding what i said about Rayne and Finn's relationship, Rayne didn't want Finn in Easton, he didn't want him to have friends, he didn't want someone to help him in hard situations because he wanted those hard situations to push Finn to get out of Easton.

But Mash appeared and became Wahlberg's favourite, which could lead Rayne to be jealous, and a reason for Finn to stay in Easton, which Rayne didn't want to.

To sum: before even knowing Mash, i don't think that Rayne liked him. And it probably made him not want to have anything to do with him, and many things could make us think that way.

3. Things that show that Rayne didn't want to have anything to do with Mash.

-First of all, Rayne didn't even know how Mash looked like when they first met. That means that he didn't do what Wahlberg told him to do when he usually does what he asks him. And, i strongly think that if Wahlberg hadn't mentionned Finn in his request, Rayne would have helped Mash since he is someone that does help others (even if his jealousy toward Mash would still be present.)

-Mash is Finn's roommate and best friend, having to meet him would mean shortening the distance with his brother and it is out of the question. Rayne had his reasons to cut his brother off, he wouldn't go back to his words after the decision he took just for a random student that Wahlberg liked.

-Rayne is the prefect of Adler, Mash is in Adler. Mash is known to break rules, and who is supposed to punish him? Rayne.

But. he. never. did.

The first panel shows that Mash used the dorm kitchen without permission and he was not punished yet. And i dont think that he was after this... This shows that Rayne didn't do his job, for someone that looks like he always does, which means that he didn't want to have anything to do with Mash.

The second panel shows that it was Wahlberg that punished Mash when he did some rule breaking, when it was, again, supposed to be Rayne. Maybe, Wahlberg had noticed that Rayne wouldn't take care of Mash after all, for some reasons, and decided to do what Rayne was supposed to do. Maybe Wahlberg was feeling bad for him because he already had too much on his hands? We will never know.

4. Rayne and Mash's meeting.

Ironically, Rayne was trying to avoid Mash but they eventually met. At first, without any surprise, Rayne didn't know how he looked like because he did everything to not have to deal with him. So, he literally assaulted Mash before finally knowing who he was.

When he finally learnt his name and realized that the unique situation Wahlberg told him about was the fact that Mash was magic-less, everything changed in Rayne's mind regarding him. He was not thinking about him as Wahlberg's favourite, nor as Finn's friend and saviour anymore, he was looking at Mash as someone strong that is fighting his destiny, society, for changing it for the better, something that Rayne is doing too. It must have marked him because it seems like he is the only one who actually does something for changing their world. No one else is, not Max, not the Divine Visionaries, not even Wahlberg (he is 118 years and it seems like things kept worsening more than anything... Which shows that he isn't doing much to prevent the bad things from happening...) adding to that, Rayne actually implied that he was lonely in this goal.

"Even one ally" that means that he had no one with him in his fight, until Mash, someone worthy of his trust, respect and interest (i am not saying that Wahlberg and Max aren't, but Rayne is pretty much living for his goal, surely they both help him in some ways but not enough for them to be called "allies", because they are not living like Rayne, they probably have other objectives, but Mash is, and that is why Rayne wants to support him as much as he could (with his life even).)

Notice that this has NOTHING to do with Finn. Rayne's opinion on Mash changed from bad to good because Rayne truly realized who Mash really is; a strong determined boy who is fighting against his fate, he is gentle and considerate enough to not have beat Rayne when he literally assaulted him, and he actually ended up forgiving Rayne and THANK him when he gave him the handkerchief and encouraging him to steal Abel's coins.

Rayne must have been touched by Mash's personality, which is similar to his but somehow better. He started to understand what Wahlberg meant by "him having a good heart" and stuff, and he could understand how and why he saved Finn, even if it is something that he didn't want to. All that made Rayne almost immediately wants to do all he can for him.

4. Rayne's devotion for Mash growing

I will start this point by saying that not a single time did Rayne think or mention Finn when he was with Mash. The only time he did was in Wahlbergs flashback, but we didn't get a reaction that could tell us that he was grateful to Mash for having helped his brother (he might be, but I believe that he didn't want it to happen for reasons that we already talked about) after this, there was not a second time. Which means that everything that Rayne did for Mash was mostly for Mash and not for Finn (again I am not completely opposed about the possibility that Finn could have something to do with it but it is a little tiny percentage.)

Now what proves us that Rayne's started to support Mash as much as he could? Well the only times Rayne appeared were about Mash and for doing something for him:

1- in the court, Rayne literally humiliated himself in front of his workmates to show that he sees Mash as a human being that he trusted and valued very much. (again this has nothing to do with Finn)

2- he became so invested in his mission of taking care of Mash that he literally started to know him almost by heart.

Let's analyse this scene:

-First, Mash asks Rayne permission to go to his father's, probably thinking that there may be a chance that Rayne would accept since i think that Mash at this point knows that Rayne is veeeeeery indulgent with him (he doesnt punish him when he breaks a rule for exemple)

-Rayne didn't verbally say that he was against this idea (even though he was as he showed it with his face) because i think that he knew that it would be useless since Mash would still go anyway (and he did).

-Mash actually went to his father's because, despite having understand that Rayne was against it, he probably knew that he wouldn't punish him AND HE DIDN'T!!! (after Margarette's fight, Rayne never mentioned the fact that Mash broke the rule of going out of school without permission, which is the reason why he was put in danger, in the contrary, he encouraged him despite him sucking at it, like, ok Rayne, you are totally not trying to show something, but anyway.)

-Rayne followed Mash near his home because he somehow knew that he will be in danger, that shows that he really cares about him and went as far as spending his precious time (as someone as busy as him), abandoning his work (as a Divine Visionary, or as a student or as a prefect) for protecting Mash (who honestly doesnt really need protection but Rayne still did it for him for some reasons). But, this point makes me ask a lot of questions; how did Rayne know that Mash would be attacked at this moment? Did he know it before following Mash or did he just follow him in case something happened to him? If it is the case, does Rayne usually discreetly follow Mash to make sure he is okay? And if it is the case that again shows that he is not doing that for Finn but for Mash only, because, at some point, Finn had been in trouble but Rayne never ever did anything for him, but, when Mash was in danger? He literally drops everything for protecting him.

3- Margarette's fight. Just, this fight says everything we need to know about how Rayne values Mash. Even Margarette was surprised that he was playing "bodyguard".

That shows that what Rayne is doing, and how he is reacting when it comes to Mash is "too much". Yeah, you will tell me "but Rayne is someone that naturally helps others." I agree with you, but Mash is not just "others" for Rayne, he is someone like him, a fighter, a changer (he changed Rayne somehow, he made him feel not being alone in his fight, and his monologue to Margarette about Mash felt completely out of character. Rayne is not someone that talks a lot, yet, he spoke for quite a while about how Mash had marked him and how he will do anything for him.)

For talking about the content of his monologue, i talked about it in my previous analysis and i've said that i think that Rayne went through all the things that he had enumerated:

And the fact that Mash never let any of these things slow him from his goal had amazed Rayne, who, at some point, may have been affected by these thoughts, but, since he didnt have a choice but to survive with his brother, he had to fight while having them.

AGAIN, this has nothing to do with Finn :) Rayne is talking about Mash as Mash, not as Finn's friend or savior! And he is interested in his determination and strong spirit! And actually wants to see him get to his goal by helping him!! this is devotion and admiration!!

5. Additional stuffs (more personal note)

Sadly after this scene, we didn't get anything very contructive about Rayne and Mash. Rayne barely appeared and the only time that he did was for telling his story for his brother. But there was a one or two panel that showed that Rayne "needs" Mash and is very grateful of him.

Again, the other times he appeared without his brother included was for saying something to/about Mash.

6. Max's character.

That will be my last point.

Literally, Max just appeared to say that Rayne talked to him so much about Mash that it made him want to see Mash from his own eyes.

Max, that knows Rayne for so long, didn't even believe Rayne when he told him that Mash was amazing, it surprised Max so much cause this is probably not common for Rayne to talk about someone like he probably did about Mash. And, i may go too far, but it looks like Max is jealous of it. That again shows how impactful Mash was in Rayne's life, and it has nothing to do with Finn, again.

There is another thing that made me loose my mind over Rayne and Mash. It is true that in the fanbook section of Rayne and Mash there is nothing about each other except Rayne qualifying Mash as "a troublesome junior", but, in Max's section, it is stated (according to the translation post by @books-are-my-life-stuff) "Supporting the junior that Rayne is interested in." his insterest is canon! And, again, that would be the last time this time, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FINN!!

7. Conclusion

I hope this was somewhat comprehensible. With all this, nobody cant deny that Rayne has strong feelings for Mash (whether you see it as just interest or mad love) but i hope this can make some of you understand why RayMash is so popular.

*contain myself from screaming*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKTSUSTSJTSTKSSURSITDTIDYID6IDODYODOYDOYDYLDKYYDTISR7A48STISSITITSOYXYO

THATS THE FIRST TIME WE SAW THEM CLOSE TO EACH OTHER OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG POOR BABY FINN, RAYNE LITERALLY IGNORED HIM AND GAVE HIS FULL ATTENTION TO MASH, AND FINN LOOKED AT THEM LIKE ... *cries screams throws up* AAAAAAAAAAAAH