Rachel: Angel or Devil? (AND MORE)

[Mr. Cakes]

Thread WILL contain spoilers

Thank you guys so much for getting this post so popular! I am happy to see each and every piece of opinion/evidence, and I try to reply to each one. Keep it growing, let's get seen by the devs! :D

I decided I am going to change the description of this discussion, due to me understanding a lot more than when I wrote it.

In this discussion, we are discussing about Rachel, and a bit of everything else regarding the canon of LIS/BTS. To keep it short, we are trying to figure out the THREE questions:

1. Who did Rachel actually love, if she truly loved anyone?
2. What happened to Max (and/or Chloe) after both Bae and Bay endings?
3. How did the situation start with Rachel and the Dark Room?

You can also talk about anything on your mind that you are curious about, and the community can help to answer your question as best as they can. I don't really want to limit this just to Rachel, due to the questions being answered many times. Gotta freshen up this beautiful post. :D

This is the old description. Some parts are irrelevant now, but I will keep it incase someone has something to add. :)

I love Rachel's character, regardless of whatever dirt people found on her with regards to being unloyal. I feel something is not adding up.

We heard she was in love with Frank. Then we heard she was in love with him to get money and drugs.

We heard she was in love with Jefferson. Then we heard she was in love with him to become a model and get a lot of money.

We heard she was in love with Nathan. Then we heard Nathan was obsessed with her, and she didn't really care about him.

We heard she was in love with multiple people of the Vortex Club. Then we heard she slept around with many people at Blackwell as a whole.

And then in the very end, she 'may' be in love with Chloe, but it is clear Chloe is in love with her. The way they act around each other, kind of contradicts everything above for me. The way they are always there for each other, always offering to help, always offering to go off the deep end to fix problems. It just doesn't add up.

Then... we heard she only used Chloe to get what she wanted, and used her for personal gain.

On top of that... we heard she is a great actor, and manipulates many men (and women?) to get what she wants.

[Budoshi]

Originally posted by BlackyB Ω:

I don't want to admit it, but yeah I agree it's probably what happened to her, as William said to Chloe in one of her dreams : Darkness blinds with loss but fire blinds with beauty.
He tells Chloe that "she needs to be careful of being burned", Rachel is also described by Samuel as a Dragon made of diamonds and we saw what Rachel did to that old oak tree out of anger

So yeah, the thesis of Rachel being self destructive like her mother is probably true and she might have fallen down looking for an escape, pushing more and more the limits


"Rachel revolves around many problems that will make you love her anymore. Rachel is a free spirit and she can't be tamed or held, against her will no matter what situation you put her through."

wow that got me thinking "" Darkness blinds with loss "' the lost of her dad, chloe is blind to so many things and as a results she is self destructive too , and then fire blinds with beauty '' blinded by rachels beauty.

amazing how its all seems to fit ,''Dragon made of diamonds'' again the janitor can read people easily even if he can came out creepy.



"Rachel revolves around many problems that will make you love her anymore. Rachel is a free spirit and she can't be tamed or held, against her will no matter what situation you put her through.''

awesomly put. .

[Budoshi]

Originally posted by cucuonthebeat:

But that's the only thing we know, her relationship with Frank and Jefferson were close to each other (considering Jefferson knew about her relationship with Frank, and said it finished before it even started). Once she was 18, she hooked up with Frank and she was having issues with drugs too (even had a police record) We know that she ditched Frank since he became violent because of drugs; and she left him that easy -this is kinda where we understand that she wasn't fully in love with him. She moved onto Jefferson; this man had everything she wanted. A famous photographer, she wanted to be a model. Rachel was in love with this idea so followed her own wishes yet she made the biggest mistake in her life.

Despite Rachel's mistakes, I still don't buy ''she used Chloe for her own wishes'' too. Yes, we know that Chloe's romantic feelings for Rachel grew over 3 years. But we also know that they were never in a relationship and their romantic relationship couldn't stay straight. Yet, their friendship worked over 3 years and Rachel never left her. Rachel was also aware of Chloe's feelings for her but she didn't want to hurt her and hid her relationship. Even she tried to confess her relationship with Jefferson with letter -but you saw how she freaked out from it because she knew Chloe's feelings towards her and she knew how would she react. Even Frank admitted that Rachel cared about Chloe a lot.

awesomely put.

[BlackyB_]

Oh and by the way, someone in another topic noticed that in the before the storm credit scene we see Rachel and Chloe with their new tatoo (Dragon for Rachel, of course) and it seems in Oregon you need to be at least 18 to have a tatoo without your parent consent (Don't think James would be ok with his princess having a huge tatoo on the leg) so those ending scenes are happening between 2010 and at least 2012 so their relationship, friends or more happened during the whole time.

It means that Rachel didn't turn her back on Chloe and they remain very close.. until..

*Crying manly tears*

(Btw forgive my english if I'm doing some mistakes, I'm french, like DONTNOD :p)

[Budoshi]

Originally posted by BlackyB Ω:

Oh and by the way, someone in another topic noticed that in the before the storm credit scene we see Rachel and Chloe with their new tatoo (Dragon for Rachel, of course) and it seems in Oregon you need to be at least 18 to have a tatoo without your parent consent (Don't think James would be ok with his princess having a huge tatoo on the leg) so those ending scenes are happening between 2010 and at least 2012 so their relationship, friends or more happened during the whole time.

It means that Rachel didn't turn her back on Chloe and they remain very close.. until..

*Crying manly tears*

(Btw forgive my english if I'm doing some mistakes, I'm french, like DONTNOD :p)

no biggy im french too and i' m constantly need to re-edit my posts to fix spelling mistakes lol.One thing i noticed by replaying LIS is in the missing person posters of rachel . it says dragon tattoo but also the star tattoo that she get if you chose tattoo over the kiss and the bracelet..like the tattoo choice is ''kinda canon''....that also mean she got it in episode 3 she even show it to chloe in bed when they talk about the stars.

but ofcourse we can agree that if you dont chose the tatoo she could had it done later after episode 3 timeline.

[BlackyB_]

Oh I didn't know, I went full kiss x)

I'm installing LiS again to do another PT, I noticed in a cinematic from LiS that Chloe as the same graffiti in her truck than the one I draw (The illuminati sign)

Where is the star tatoo supposed to be ?

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/88/60/74/8860746478d6d85968754d761fe43f05--rachel-amber-character-concept-art.jpg

I just checked, you're right

Inside left wirst

https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/life-is-strange/images/7/7a/Rachelamber.png/revision/latest?cb=20170331091530

Do you have a picture where we see the tatoo in game ?

I just find it on the picture with nathan in the junkyard..

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/life-is-strange/images/6/6c/R3.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20170406183758

[Budoshi]

Originally posted by BlackyB Ω:

Oh I didn't know, I went full kiss x)

I'm installing LiS again to do another PT, I noticed in a cinematic from LiS that Chloe as the same graffiti in her truck than the one I draw (The illuminati sign)

Where is the star tatoo supposed to be ?

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/88/60/74/8860746478d6d85968754d761fe43f05--rachel-amber-character-concept-art.jpg

I just checked, you're right

Inside left wirst

https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/life-is-strange/images/7/7a/Rachelamber.png/revision/latest?cb=20170331091530

Do you have a picture where we see the tatoo in game ?

I just find it on the picture with nathan in the junkyard..

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/life-is-strange/images/6/6c/R3.PNG/revision/latest?cb=20170406183758

i tried to find any thing in between episode 2 to 3 but cant, but that also made me remember that she didnt actually had it tattooed yet, it was maked with chloe s marker but the real deal was that eventually she made it real.so that mean in episode 3 when she shows it to chloe because they are talking about the stars its the tattoo made with the marker not a real one .
so in the junkyeard picture it could still be that or the real one im not sure.
so i was probably wrong this isnt a canon choice, rachel could easily decide to make that later on i guess lol.

but still it would make more sense i think that if rachel ending up have it on her left wirst it is because chloe ask her to have it.

[Deusuum]

If everything between Chloe and Rachel hadn't stayed strong and loyal to the end, Chloe wouldn't have been looking for her so desperately and passionately. Maybe Rachel was hiding something from Chloe, but definitely regarded her as the closest person possibly. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my side, but I think that BtS credits show us glimpses of all three years they were together.

[BlackyB_]

Originally posted by Deusuum:

If everything between Chloe and Rachel hadn't stayed strong and loyal to the end, Chloe wouldn't have been looking for her so desperately and passionately. Maybe Rachel was hiding something from Chloe, but definitely regarded her as the closest person possibly. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my side, but I think that BtS credits show us glimpses of all three years they were together.

I totally agree, for me Rachel has always be sincere with Chloe and even when she felt bored, or when it wasn't enough for her anymore and had an affair with Frank, and probably with Jefferson (Also called d ickhead) she didn't told her and was trying to protect her not to hurt her.
She even felt bad lying to her (Reminded her of her father ?) and she wrote the letter she hided in the junkyard


Does it remember something to you ? Like when you had the choice to lie about her father to protect her from the truth..

Once again Chloe was right : Everybody lies. No exceptions.

[Æ | Darc Reaver]

currently playing. The folder where Max finds the pictures of Rachel is dated 2013, so in the same year that she's gone missing. So it's likely that the thing going on with Frank was not that long ago.

[BlackyB_]

Yeah like I said, I believe that Rachel had the dragon tattoo when she was 18yo so less than a year before she was missing
So she was still with chloe until then, next frank (in the meantime probably), then jefferson di ckhead

[Jeckenn]

Originally posted by fieryace:

Originally posted by Jeckenn:

All I said it for was to HOPE that Jefferson and Rachel were NEVER romantic, that a-s-s doesn't deserve her!

nvm then, I read it as sarcasm. But, yeah, I wish that was true, but I also don't think LiS would have happened if it was.

Sure LiS would have still happened, even if Rachel never even attended Blackwell because Jefferson was kidnapping girls and photographing them LONG before Rachel ever comes into the picture. He was already on his psycho-photo orgy way before he ever met Rachel Amber.

[BlackyB_]

I still don't get why max couldn't go back in time before rachel died, and prevent her death by reporting Jefferson

About Arcadia Bay ? Meh I don't care, plus she could have warned everybody few days before

[Budoshi]

Originally posted by BlackyB Ω:

I still don't get why max couldn't go back in time before rachel died, and prevent her death by reporting Jefferson

About Arcadia Bay ? Meh I don't care, plus she could have warned everybody few days before

ya its not like there is not enough rachel photos around that max could use. butthen again it would probably ending up ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ something else .

[Jeckenn]

Originally posted by BlackyB Ω:

I still don't get why max couldn't go back in time before rachel died, and prevent her death by reporting Jefferson

About Arcadia Bay ? Meh I don't care, plus she could have warned everybody few days before

Because going back in time and trying to make a different future pretty much always failed and ended up worse then what Max was trying to fix, which is the main reason why at the very end I think the RIGHT thing to do is tear the butterfly photo up and let the Storm do it's thing to fix the paradox because THAT is the ONLY way to vow to NEVER use the time powers again for any reason.

Don't get me wrong I fell in love with Rachel Amber too in BtS and I would LOVE Max to save her but if you examine it logically it would never work and only make things worse if she tried.

[BlackyB_]

So the whole point of Max power is ... Don't ever use it ?

Nah, I can't ! I saved Chloe, I could have saved Rachel too !