Sky Blue and Black

Fanfiction
Title:	Sky Blue and Black
Author(s):	Sylvia Bond
Date(s):	1995 (in print), ? (online)
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Starsky & Hutch
Relationship(s):
External Links:	Sky Blue and Black; also at AO3
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Sky Blue and Black is a slash Starsky and Hutch story by Sylvia Bond. It first appeared in the zine Red Hot Lovers and then was published online.

Summary

"Starsky and Hutch go undercover in a gay bar to fight the war against drugs. Unfortunately, the guy they go up against (Joshua Bright) decides to rid the world of one more do-gooder cop, kidnaps Hutch, and tortures him for information on the names of the people he works with. There is rescue and comfort at the end, but the middle is dark-dark-dark."

Author's Comments

Velveteen Hutch went to Linda Cabrillo’s fanzine called Turned to Fire. I also sent her Sky Blue and Black, but she rejected it. I remember her saying, with much kindness, that the fandom didn’t much call for the kind of aggression and violence that the story contained. She did say that Velveteen Hutch was perfect (suggesting a change in the title from “The Velveteen Hutch,” to just ”Velveteen Hutch”), but I was somewhat put out. Writing Velveteen Hutch had been easy for me, with its first person viewpoint (Hutch’s) and the breezy, easy stream of consciousness that came to me as I typed. So, thusly, since it was easy, it could not possibly be worth anything. On the other hand, writing Sky Blue and Black had been hard. The story had a plot, a bad guy, two points of view, and was long. Not sure how many words, but at least three times as long as the other story. Thus, it should be worth more. But it wasn’t. I eventually found a home for it in Caro Hedge’s Red Hot Lovers, but the zine had limited release, and very few readers. To this day, I’ve gotten very little back about it, but I still think it’s a good story...

One day, while driving along [in my car], I heard Jackson Browne’s song (from whence came the title for the story) on the radio. I somehow floated home while listening the lyrics, which seemed to be a combination of love and hate, hope and despair, and a the mixed-up emotions that two people in love might very easily share. The title, as well, seemed provocative, as blue and black are the color of bruises. I felt so very bruised inside and out and I wanted to write a story where Starsky and Hutch would feel bruised as well.

So I wrote the story, see. I put Hutch through hell and made Starsky watch. Then I made Hutch watch while Starsky went through hell. Then I made Hutch leave so Starsky could suffer some more trying to find him. Then I let them be together in the same room, but they had to reveal the most painful of secrets. Then I made them re-live the events of the original torture…and in the end, it was a pretty dark story. Perhaps too dark for the Starsky and Hutch fan community, I don’t know. I never received any feedback on it, but I did receive one verbal comment at a convention that the story was a downer. Which didn’t make any sense to me because it had a happy ending! No one died! Eventually the story was published in Red Hot Lovers, because the publisher was a friend of mine and she was a nice person.

When I think about this story, I think about that time and how cathartic the writing was. I’ve had people tell me that spending time on fanfic and other fannish activities is foolish and a waste of time. But I tell you what, there was no better way for me, personally, to work through what I had gone through than writing this story. Writing fanfiction saved me. It allowed me to express what I had gone through in ways that I could not have done speaking aloud to another person. It turned out to be the most valuable of therapies.

Reactions and Reviews

The boys get hurt, there is guilty Hutch, there is such sweet angst. Seriously I love this story. Sylvia Bond is awesome. The gradual slide into slash is so lovely and there are some scenes that make my chest ache with emotion.

They are best friends, partners, and the department knows that they can pass, so they send them undercover in a gay bar to catch a crook. The problem starts when the guy gets out on a technicality and Hutch swears that he will never let anyone exploit what they are to one another ever again... They are taken through trials and tribulations, from kidnapping to the Blue Sky motel, and many points in between. They push each other, they fight and yell and try to work out what exactly it all means. To move forward, you have to forgive. You have to let go of the past in order to focus on the future. They both have to learn that and accept it. And then they must learn to accept something that they both feel, but couldn't really put into words. They learn to quantify what they really mean to one another. It's an extension of who they are, one more step into the future.

A truly wonderful story filled with everything that is so very special about these two beautiful guys. I couldn't agree with you more Sylvia - about the therapeutic value of writing - particularly in this fandom. Because lets face it, there are not too many places like being inside of Starsky and Hutch's relationship where a love so pure can heal and restore any number of deep hurts.

I'm glad it helped to heal yours.

Thank you for your gift to us.