Aloe Dear - Junior Review

[Renomitsu 934]

 

Picture Perfect: An Aloe Dear Junior Review

 

Straight hair, perfect marks, straight edge.

 

For most of her life, Aloe Dear exemplified perfectionism. She was a veritable role model among her peers with a classically attractive appearance, nigh-ideal performance in school, and a keen, socially conscious mind. It established her firmly as a stuck-up, pretentious prude to some, and a future paragon of society to others. She had her privileged upbringing – and a proportional increase in expectations – to thank for all of that. But her parents, while wealthy, refused to spoil their daughter by making her blind to the inequities of the world; she very quickly came to realize there were relatively few in Denmark (or otherwise) who were afforded the opportunities she possessed.

 

In school she was a model citizen, with a personality and mannerisms delicately and deliberately curated by her family and those around them; indeed, she was alternately dainty or outspoken as the situation demanded. She wasn’t afraid of approaching a situation with decorum fitting aristocracy or a confrontational voice, often expressing herself the way she felt would be best received. It was tempting, at times, to produce a Mean Girls-like social circle with her social standing – but there’s no good reason for that, right? What made her break this cycle of societal constraints (even if only just) was hockey – or, more accurately, the girl who introduced her to hockey.

 

Venus Thightrap.

 

The names really wrote the stories on their own – Aloe was, as described previously, a ‘model citizen’ to a fault, a paragon of someone’s oddly subjective view of what’s considered ‘good’ in society. She was a little bookish and relied mostly on her head to accomplish her job on the rink. Venus had been a hockey fan as long as she had lived, finding that she preferred excellent hockey – its physicality, pace, and comradery – to blind patriotism while watching an international match. Indeed, the charismatic, rough-around-the-edges Venus won over VHLM recruiters with her play.

 

And just as her picture-perfect good-girl appearance lent Aloe a large degree of personal magnetism, so did the contrasting ostentatious, high-energy, aggressive nature of Venus. In spite of their opposing personalities, Aloe and Venus became great friends pretty quickly – sped up by a call-up/substitution in that allowed them to play on the same line just a few years ago. Whether it was an inherent game sense or a perfect bonding of personalities, the two became an extremely formidable duo in the few opportunities they had to play together – positioning perfectly across the ice from one another after just a handful of practices. Venus was physical, aggressive, and masterful as a two-way center, while Aloe was a perfectionist, relying more on finesse and technique as a relatively pure scorer.

 

Aloe would be remiss to suggest her foray into the VHLM – and indeed, much of her success on the non-professional circuit – had nothing to do with Venus. Indeed, many considered her a bit too one-dimensional, especially early in her career, to be a successful professional hockey player. And while Venus earned her time on the ice and external scouting out of sheer skill, production, and personal magnetism, Aloe benefited from the exceptional on-ice chemistry she had with the center. Her invite came from VHLM recruiters who had been following Venus for a much longer time, and Aloe was all-too-happy to ride on her coattails.