After the Battle
From Fanlore
| Zine | ||
|---|---|---|
| Title: | After the Battle | |
| Publisher: | Oddbalz & Mayhem Fanzines | |
| Editor(s): | ||
| Date(s): | 1995 | |
| Series?: | no | |
| Medium: | ||
| Size: | 100 pages | |
| Genre: | gen | |
| Fandom: | Professionals | |
| Language: | English | |
| External Links: | ||
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | ||
| ||
After the Battle is a 100-page gen Professionals anthology. On the cover: "Four short stories by LRH Balzer". Warren Oddsson is the front cover artist.
About After the Battle
For this collection, Lois Balzer wrote the stories she wanted to see. Stories that dealt with the parts of the show she didn't see in the episodes. What happened afterwards? How did Bodie and Dolye deal with things that happened to them? How did their friendship affect their partnership? [1]
Contents
- Brothers-in-Arms (11 pages) ("He'd heard it from the first lecture Cowley had directed at them as new recruits. Bodie hadn't asked anyone, of course, but Cowley's continued, deliberate use of the phrase had him periodically speculating just who exactly the Bisto Kids were. Everyone else seemed to get the significance of the reference, but it left Bodie dry.")
- In My Lifetime (10 pages) ("The evening shadows cut through the flat; the record on the stereo had ended half an hour before. Doyle stood alone at the stove, stirring his can of soup, adding the chopped vegetables one by one, and watching it begin to bubble to life. It came to him then, that he had never been lonelier in his life.")
- Three Men and a Bodie (19 pages) ("Knowing what they must look like, Doyle got his arm free. "Hold on there, mate. Some rules first" He snagged Bodie's jacket and jerked him to a halt turning the taller man around to face him. "Rule 1: I say where we're going and when we're coming back. Okay?" "Okay," Bodie readily agreed, looking over his shoulder and edging closer to the entrance of the hospital. "Look at me!" Doyle demanded. "Rule 2: try and act normally - or what passes for normal for you, okay? I don't want everyone staring at us. I know your mind is kinda addled right now, but try not to act like a four-year-old" "Okay. Be good," Bodie promised, hand over his heart and staring fiercely into Doyle's eyes with such sincerity that Doyle felt suspicious.")
- Scissors (38 pages) ("A familiar blue and black checked flannel shirt caught Bodie's eye, one he had seen his partner wearing earlier that morning. He stepped across to the desk and gingerly lifted it, along with a sliced, black t-shirt, from the stained surface. "Excuse me, sir. We haven't catalogued that yet" "I'll save you the time. These belong to Raymond Doyle, CI5." Still clutching his partner's clothes in one clenched fist, Bodie walked across the crimson-blotched cement stopping to stare down at a handful of cut brown curls smeared in blood on the floor. One smooth motion and he had collected a single curl, tucking it into his pocket For identification, he let himself think.")
Reactions and Reviews
Strictly speaking this is probably not a slash zine, as there are no sex scenes in any of the stories. The relationship betwen Bodie and Doyle, however, is beautifully drawn and quite often reads as either a pre-slash or established relationship. For example, from Scissors:"Bodie buried another fierce kiss in the scattered curls, this time for himself, then rested his cheek on top of Doyle's head, his own taut nerves relaxing in the trust of his sleeping partner... The claustophobic room was a quiet haven, for now cut off from the rest of their world. In a bit, they would have to go back out there and deal with the events that had happened, but for a moment, he could relax and enjoy the living, breathing aliveness of Doyle. Safe."
I thoroughly enjoyed this zine, it's nicely written and I was left feeling that I'd had a peek at the lads themselves. [2]
