Aurelia Morelli

"She fights on in the face of neverending misfortune" - Snakes

"I was a cop. We didn't exactly do it for the money. All of us, to some degree, did it because we wanted to protect people. And now that I have even more power to do so, I'll dedicate my life to it."

- Rae Morelli Aurelia Morelli  ( モレリミズクラゲ, Moreri Mizukurage ), more commonly shortened to  Rae Morelli,  is a Shinigami of Italian descent and the current 13th seat of 7th Division under Komamura Sajin. She was once the 7th seat but was demoted for an alchohol related incident, and before the Shadow invasion was on suspension from mission work. For the war she has been returned to active duty, but is under close scrutiny. Her sister is Jo Morelli and she is currently dating Juno Edwards, a Shinigami in 3rd Division. Rae's partner is the 14th Seat of the 7th, Scott Kings.

Appearance
Rae is  a well-proportioned, lanky Shinigami with obvious muscle tone from years of training. Her body is what could be the model for the term 'athletic', with broad shoulders, somewhat narrow hips, and a slim, toned build. She has a B-cup bust, and has smooth, olive skin blemished with numerous markings. She has two bullet scars from her death: one just above her right breast through to her shoulder blade; one over the last rib on her left side- it didn't go through. She also has numerous tattoos: a yellow lotus tattoo under her left clavicle, a large black and white tattoo covering her back of two mockingbirds in flight with a dream catcher and several loose feathers in the background, the lyrics to ‘Call Your Name’ by The Beatles over the top of her right arm, a small treble clef tattooed on her right ankle, a stretching, black and white tiger under her right breast along her ribcage, a pocketwatch tattooed on her left foot, and a half-sleeve depicting the Morelli coat of arms. She also has a jagged mess of small laceration scars on her left hand.

Rae has an oval shaped face with a strong jawline, full lips, and a small, straight nose. Her eyes are quite narrow and somewhat hooded, and are a dusky orange color. Her face often betrays her emotions easily, and it often projects something akin to exhaustion. Rae's hair is sandy light brown and reaches the small of her back, with long, straight-cut bangs covering her forehead. It is stick straight, and she most often wears it in a ponytail.

Rae wears a standard shihakusho, though she wears a sleeveless kosode. She wears her zanpakuto tucked into the right side of her obi. Rae continues to wear a gold diamond ring and wedding band exactly like the one she wore in her first marriage, and wears a pukka-shell necklace with a small blue medallion around her neck. Her ears are pierced but she rarely wears earrings.

Personality
Rae is, at first glance, a very outgoing and strong-willed individual. She is generally rather friendly and enthusiastic, and her energy and charisma naturally draw people to her. She is a perfect example of the rest of her family: headstrong, stubborn, and lively. She also has an easy sense of humor, and is rather charming in speech and in action. She is very physically confident, and holds herself well. However, several tragedies and experiences have tempered Rae’s natural optimism, and have made her much more cautious with her feelings. Through her inability to fully protect her feelings because of her optimistic streak, she still falls into trusting people easily, though very easy to lose it. Though she hides it behind a smile and her natural boldness, Rae is quite insecure and often feels weak or unneeded. This internalization drives her to push herself far past her limits, at the workplace and the training ground. This trait also causes her to covet her friends and relatives, especially having experienced loss in the past, and clings to people. This makes her extremely overprotective, and she constantly worries about people’s well being, burdening herself with a lot of unnecessary stress.

In general, Rae tries to be polite and friendly to new people and acquaintances. She tries to be as non-judgmental and open minded as possible. She treasures friends, and finds herself easily and quickly attached to people, and almost jealously covets her friends and family. However, Rae has a stubborn and combative streak, and if someone offends her or a friend she finds herself unable to walk away- she will argue and defend her point until she is pulled away or scares the other person off. Besides her forcefulness, Rae is a dedicated friend, and goes out of her way to care for other people over herself. Rae also happens to be highly competitive, and that aspect manifests in not just her work ethic, but several subtle traits such as going too hard during sparring and secretly pitting herself against other people.

Rae tends to ignore her own wants and needs because she struggles with a deep-seated feeling of inadequacy. She will ignore injuries and sickness, and will force herself to train or work to the point of exhaustion. After losing her sister, and later her wife, she has felt that she is not strong or good enough to save or keep the people she cares about, and has a tendency to shoulder the guilt of anything bad that remotely involves her. Because of this, she throws herself full-on into any project or task she needs to complete, and is almost overly attentive in her relationships. Though she easily trusts people, she has very little faith in herself, and has a deep fear that anyone close to her will suddenly leave her. Because of this, she has developed a jealous clinginess to the people she cares about.

In a conflict, Rae has the ability to remain calm and dispassionate, thanks to years of training in her human life. She loses much of her outward friendliness, and becomes very serious and focused, partially from adrenaline, training, and a conscious effort to keep herself from getting too worked up. She does have a tendency to take on more than she can handle, and will treat each battle as if it is just another obstacle to get over. Rae still likes to challenge herself in battle, and on normal missions she will forgo using her zanpakuto just to see if she can. Her lack of a sense of self-care extends into combat: Rae will ignore injuries and will even forget she has them during a fight. With comrades, Rae will put their safety far above her own, and her concern falls solely on them; She is terrified to lose a subordinate in battle under her watch, after having witnessed the deaths of two close family members.

One issue Rae has struggled with is alcohol. Since the death of her wife, Rae fell into a deep depression and downward spiral that climaxed when she missed several days of work and her partner found her on the floor of her house. She had since recovered, and can handle drinking without going overboard, but any jarring event that Rae feels she could have prevented will easily send her back over the edge. Her drinking is not currently an issue, but if she finds herself under a great amount of stress she will turn to drinking at night to numb it.

Save for her disregard for her own needs and her guilt complex, Rae is a dependable and loyal friend to have. She treasures things that make her feel important and needed, from her position to her friends, and refuses to take anything for granted. Her dedication is the only reason that has saved her from a full downward spiral, and she no longer consciously realizes how invested she gets in work and in relationships.

Credit

 * All art belongs to http://snakes-on-a-plane.deviantart.com/
 * The battle data chart was constructed by http://blackwolfgrimm.deviantart.com/
 * Juno Edwards belongs to  http://xbrokenriversx.deviantart.com/