#it was always coldflash

[hautecoldture]

never underestimate the power of a hug

(especially from a speedster)

[qlala]

the problem is... the fic i just finished is a canon-verse teacher!barry fic... but to this day i have not actually finished the precursor fic that sets up that canon divergence.... so now i need to condense a coherent author's note out of

"yes barry is the flash, but he always let that responsibility control too much of his life, and if he just learned to step back and trust his team and allies to handle superhero duty for 8-12 hours a day, he could actually focus on building meaning in other parts of his life, and as soon as he tries doing that with work he will realize that working at the CCPD has been nothing but a complementary side gig to being the flash for years, and he would probably quit within a month of actually having to work full uninterrupted shifts for 40 hours a week, and a tutoring gig for the kid of a friend who needs some help in chemistry would make barry realize that all his years of training baby speedsters actually translates pretty well to teaching, so he's giving that a shot. also leonard is #back from the dead and he believes in rewarding good behavior, so he did jump barry as soon as he handed in his badge. this fic takes place about a year out from that"

[that-pumpkinspicewhitegirl]

I'm reentering my coldflash era so I've been reading your fics from 2016 and I think I'm in love with you <3

this is one of the sweetest things i've ever read omg i cry<33

[aflashofcold]

I would like Leonart Snart's reaction to Barry Allen dying in his arms after he's finally let his guard down and started to believe Barry's optimistic assurances they're going to have a happy ending.

[zemkzone]

Sometimes writing involves nearly dislocating a limb, bruising your knees, and almost drowning yourself in a tub because your hip is not being as cooperative as you'd like it to be on this one specific day. And you cannot puppy-dog-pout your way outta this... to yourself.

[lexicrvg]

i'm dying to write a fic set in late season 2 where barry meets lot!len and len meets savitar i dont even know what's gonna happen i just thought it was a fun idea

like barry runs into a team of superheroes saving the day for him and glances at snart seeing he has become the hero he always thought of.

then snart is at one of his safe houses when savitar phases in, he's absolutely ruthless and len is LOVING it

[barrencelenny]

✨fav fics published in 2023 ✨

173 fics (+ 15 podfics) (in English) were published in the coldflash tag in 2023! Bless everybody who continues to write fic for a show that has now ended!! Here is a semi complete list of all my faves from this year in lieu of a Spotify wrapped fics edition!!!

heading off the rails by Sandrine shaw

-let Barry be drunk (for a little bit) that's what I always say! he's in his 20s he should be at the club! and that's where he is here! incredible.

Into the Speed Force by captainicecube

-ahhh I just love fics where the speed force is a character and is also Super Creepy Eldritch Horror about it

detox just to retox (i’d promise you anything) by trespresh

-coming back to this series after years since the previous instalment made me go relisten to disloyal order of water buffaloes and single handedly restarted my fob obsession so thanks for that

Seek Comfort, Find Faith by Annawry

-love when fics just have the characters be cursed by magic. it's already a superhero show set in a universe with canon magic users it's not even a reach. also love when their solution is to fuck about it.

to give hope by Aerica_Menai

-Star Trek mention gives me so much serotonin it’s not even funny + honorary mention to ‘Just Another Tuesday Amongst the Stars’ for also being about Star Trek

small favours in high doses by QLaLa

-pov outsider and teacher!barry you are everything to me. the DTR bit had me in stitches. they're both SO goddamn embarrassing my god.

There’s blood on your teeth (let me get that for you) by SoftBoyDepot

-the tag being “if you’re a fan of Leonard Snart begging this is the fic for you!” and boy did it deliver

I Won’t Ever be Too Far Away to Feel You by RedRidingStiles

-this is the only fic where I would agree with len being a cop because it’s so good. the second hand embarrassment of the initial call from Barry makes my chest hurt but hey, that just tells you how visceral the experience of reading can be lmao

So Long, Scarlet Speedster by HowToKillAVampire

-time! travel! You are everything to me! Time travellers wife-esque situations where they meeting out of sync is catnip to me I’m gobbling this fic right up

The Fair Price of a Plate of Dinner by RetroactiveCon

-hehe love fics where both Barry and len are being little shits and causing problems for Joe. Me 🤝 Len “has no interest in Christmas, but do just about anything to cause problems on purpose”

slipstream by wednesday

- competent! Barry is everything to me. Misunderstanding is delicious to me. Len not knowing how to deal with random acts of kindness is Kryptonite to me. You see how this fic is exactly up my alley

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Can you recommend me some good fics where Barry Allen gets kidnapped :) since in one of your tags you said you read a lot of them lol

I read them, I write them, I live and breathe them. Absolutely anon, allow me to dive into my bookmarks.

Just a reminder, always be sure to check the tags and warnings to know what you're getting into. Stay safe out there folks!

Juncture by @pennflinn may be my favorite fic of all time. Technically he gets kidnapped before the story's events but that's because it's an alternate ending to Escape from Earth-2 (and he is held captive for pretty much the entire fic so). The whump is SUPREME and the overall story is so well written. I will always recommend this fic.

One Second by pennflinn. Another one by penn because she is an incredible writer and HOLY FUCKING SHIT THIS FIC!! It takes my favorite premise for a fic "What if Barry was kidnapped in this scene/episode when he wasn't in canon!" and brings it to a WHOLE nother level. This one is diverges from 1x14 "Fallout" where, instead of everyone getting away semi-safely, Eiling kidnaps Barry and whump ensures. BUT there's another twist to this fic that (in my opinion) makes it stand out from many others-- every once in a while, there's a glimpse of a parallel universe where the events were different and let's just say some of those universes h u r t. Also, I wanted to kill Eiling so bad after reading this that I wrote a ficlet with the sole purpose of murdering him :) Anyways, go read; it's amazing.

Miles Through The Night by @hedgiwithapen. First off, this is an everyone whump fic, Barry is not the only one who is kidnapped but 1. IT HURTS GODS IT HURTS SO BAD I'M DYING. 2. The writing is spectacular, all the characters are super well done, and the story is INTENSE I'M STILL DYING SORRY I'LL STOP NOW. In this one-- actually nvm, the actual summary will do it justice. "With Eobard Thawne dead, life in Central City can go back to normalish. But Barry’s greatest enemy is not a speedster from the future fixated on him, and Eobard’s threat may have been the only thing keeping Team Flash safe from someone who doesn’t consider any meta to be human." THAT'S RIGHT-- AN EILING FIC! Just. Go read it, it's so good and I'm dying.

Lightning Bug by Hedgi. The writing in this was SUPERB and Eiling is a fucking bastard as always (count your days general.). And this time we have another speedster in the mix-- a toddler Wally! Ngl, I just reread this while getting the link and it was SO GOOD-- and once again my words can't seem to do it justice so I'll leave you with the summary "Months after the defeat of Zoom, Barry's main concern (aside from the odd metahuman attack) is helping Joe and Iris raise the four and a half year old Speedster Wally West, Cisco-named "Lightning Bug." And while that's hard, it's nice to have this speedster as family, not an enemy. Things are pretty easy.

Unfortunately, that doesn't last. After all, General Eiling's deal was only good for as long as their mutual enemies were still a threat." Eiling needs to die in a ditch as you can see, but there's some really sweet whump in this and it's because of him soooooo-- anyways, go read; it was fantastic.

Can’t Take That Away From Me by SophiaCatherine (or @sophiainspace on here). DUDE. DUDE DUDE DUDE-- I LOVE THIS FIC. I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS FIC. EVen once the whump passes, the A N G S T is so delicious! From the beginning of the first chapter alone; you'll see the sweet whump AND angst this fic has in store. Oh, and it's Coldflash which I somehow forgot to mention even though that's a foundation of the entire fic lmao. I love it, go read. Also, there is a sequel but it's not Barry being whumped this time... double also; there's a prequel and it's really sweet (no whump in that one fyi)

I Never Told Him by messedupstargazer. I am SCREAMING. THIS. FIC. Fyi, it's Coldflash. SO MUCH ANGST THE WHUMP-- IT'S SO GOOD I HAVE NO WORDS. DYING DYING DYING I AM DEAD I HAVE PERISHED.

Looking through all of these at once has filled me with many emotions and I apologize if some parts were incoherent. I'm probably missing a few and may add more as I find them but for now I'll finish with these two I wrote.

12 hours Barry's kidnapped before the events of the story but I think it still counts. He's trapped in Zoom's lair and forced to run for twelve hours every day :)

Trophy this is my beloved and the entire fic is a Barry whump fest (and angst. a lot of angst.). (or will be, There's one chapter posted atm) Technically we haven't seen the kidnapping yet but in the first scene he is in a cell so. Premise is that Zoom wins in the season 2 finale and everything goes to hell from there. I do feel obligated to warn though that there's not a happy ending for this one.

Thanks for asking! I'm always eager to share Barry whump! :D

[cowboysandpilots]

COMMISSIONS!!!

Hi, my name is Kian I'm 25 years old, and I'm a disabled transguy trying to move out of my toxic household and get to Uni. I will write you anything you want from my fandom/ship list. Just send in an ask detailing what you want written, and I'll let you know if I'd be willing to write it. ☺️ If you don’t want a commission, I am always accepting regular prompts and requests. ❤️

You can find things I've already written here.

FANDOMS/SHIPS:

Teen Wolf (Sterek)

Supernatural (Destiel/Wincest/Saileen/Winkline)

Shadowhunters (Malec)

Shameless US (Gallavich)

Criminal Minds (Moreid or Hotch/Reid)

Suits (Marvey)

Glee (Klaine/Seblaine)

The Good Place (Any)

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Any/trans!Jake)

Supergirl (James/Winn or Winn/Mon-El)

IT Chapter 1 & 2 (Reddie)

Star Wars (stormpilot)

The Flash (coldflash/coldwave/coldflashwave)

Community (Trobed)

Top Gun & Top Gun: Maverick (Mostly Hangster but really any)

9-1-1 (buddie)

Stranger Things (Steddie/Hellcheer)

**I will write things from these fandoms not involving the ships, but these are the only ships I'll write**

BUY ME A COFFEE ($3) = Your Pairing + Scenario 100-999 words.  

BUY SOMETHING FROM MY AMAZON WISHLIST= Your Pairing + Scenario 1000+ words. 

[coldflash-corner]

i'm confused. if cisco's soulmate isn't lisa, who is it then? i thought people pair cisco with lisa in coldflash fics. :/

You're right! Cisco/Lisa is a very common pairing, especially in the Coldflash context, and people really like that Vibe (haha- get it? ^-^;;)

But in my head, Cisco's soulmate is the person I was the happiest to see him interact with, as a viewer watching the show. Cisco and Lisa are happening to a degree. Lisa is interested in Cisco and they are kind of having a thing at this point in the AU, because I do think their relationship sometimes says something about them as characters and I don't want to discredit that

But the relationship that made me fall in love with the idea of Cisco having a serious girlfriend was his relationship with Kendra Saunders and I will always honor that, even though they are not actually together in this AU at this time

Hope that makes sense! ^-^

[hautecoldture]

there are worse problems to have than a lap full of thief

[incorrectcoldflashblog]

I'm behind on tags but I gotta ask about your coldflash roadtrip wip, can you tell me more?

Hi, friend! No worries, take your time <3

Okay, so the Coldflash Road Trip is actually fairly close to being done, I’m just being held back by some plot thingies like always but anyway, this is an AU where Barry and Len meet at a bar and give each other fake names, and then they just keep running into each other in odd places and it turns into a road trip because. I just really wanted to write a road trip for them, lol. I don’t really want to spoil the whole thing since I’m hoping to post this sometime soon but here’s a small excerpt:

“Where are you staying tonight?” Len asks him, halfway through their second round.

Something hesitant, and impossibly sad, flickers in Sam’s eyes just for a second, and then his lips twitch, an odd little mix of emotions visible on him. His head hangs, his shoulders hunch: misery, clean and simple. But interest and amusement and tentative curiosity linger on his face. “Are you suggesting an alternative?” he asks.

Len tries not to worry, to think about what it means; the last thing he’d want would be for someone to ask him why he looks haunted more often than not. “There’s a motel across the street I was planning to get a room at,” he answers, forcing a seductive grin back onto his face. “I could be persuaded to share.”

Sam laughs. “I don’t think you need persuading,” he replies. Amusement seems to loosen the tension in his spine more than the booze did.

Len lets his grin turn into a smirk and unabashedly checks Sam out, eyes dark under heavy lids. “Then that makes two of us,” he says.

He pays off his tab with cash, and pays for the motel room in cash, too; he wouldn’t put it past Lisa to try and track his usual aliases to figure out where he is, and he won’t be found, not tonight, not by anyone. Sam chuckles into his neck as he fumbles to get the door unlocked, and Len laughs against his mouth as Sam pushes him into the room, his fingers already working at the zipper of Len’s jeans. Len pushes him off, gently.

“One minute,” he says, and goes over to the safe. He locks in his gun, wallet and car keys, blocking the lock with his body so Sam can’t see the code he chooses.

He turns back to see Sam pouting, eyes wide. “You think I’d rob you?” he asks, fake hurt coloring his voice.

Len smirks. “Yes,” he says, and Sam laughs, letting Len pull him in by the belt loop at the waistband of his jeans.

[qlala]

tagged in this @ao3commentoftheday WIP post by the wonderful @crestfallercanyon, with whom i absolutely agree: sometimes a work in progress wednesday can be a friday, too <3

serendipitously, i couldn't sleep last night and ended up working on my sequel to my coldflash undercover-at-a-rave fic, "black on black," for the first time in a while!

this is a bit more than a snippet, but i was enjoying myself too much :) hopefully this isn't a piece i've shared before!

~~~

Barry slid his gaze back to him on an unimpressed look that only put Len in a mind to wipe it off his face. “Are we really going through this again? I’m here to stop the meta. You’re not—”

“Supposed to be here,” Len repeated, rolling his eyes. “Thought you’d be grateful. Always telling me what a good man I am, and now…” He spread his arms and turned a slow circle on his heel. “Here I am. Offering to help.” 

“Uh-huh,” Barry said. “And you don’t have any selfish reasons to want the CCPD to stop the warehouse raids out here?”

He was clever; Len would give him that. But he was also easily flustered, and Len diverted easily with another slow once-over that ended on the leather harness crossing Barry’s chest and drawled, “One or two.” 

It worked like a charm. Barry crossed his arms and glanced away again, but the tops of his cheeks darkened in the shadows, and his gaze wasn’t nearly as stern as he was trying to make it when he looked back at him. “Are you really planning on helping this time?”

Len tilted his head with polite disbelief. “Call keeping you from getting whammied last week ‘not helping?’”

Barry dropped his arms, exasperated. “Leonard.” 

“That little blonde number is starting to interfere with my life one way too many. I have a… vested interest in keeping their body count from getting any higher.” 

Barry visibly weighed believing him for a moment, as if he had better options for backup, then nodded, once, decisively. 

“We have have a name for them now,” Barry offered. “Some kids have caught on to what’s happening, and they’re trying to find the meta. Like, on purpose. They’re calling them…“ He shook his head, with an expression that told Len that he had clearly lost an argument at some point, then he tossed a hand out in defeat. “The 'angel of the rave scene.' Cisco has been making Phantom or the Opera jokes all week, but…” He shrugged. “‘Angel’ kind of stuck."

It was a lot of charming information that Len hadn’t asked for and didn’t care about, and he told Barry as much. 

“You wanted to help,” Barry reminded him. “If you hear someone mention it inside, you should know who they’re talking about.”

He was right, but one part of that sentence had stood out to Len, making his nose wrinkle in distaste. “Inside?”

~~~

Inside was exactly as bad as Len had remembered: oppressively hot, deafeningly loud, and sticky. The air was even thicker with fog machine smoke than the time before, and Len had a passing thought that he should’ve brought an oxygen mask. He’d come somewhat prepared, though; along with the pistol in the back of his jeans, he’d brought his least favorite jacket in case Barry decided it was a tactical decision to rid him of it again. 

Barry didn’t make him wait long on the stripping front. They skirted the crowd that time, hanging close to the edges where it was a little cooler, but Barry still shrugged out of the patterned shirt he was wearing unbuttoned over that goddamn harness as they went.

Len’s attention snapped back from scanning the crowd. He watched the shirt slide off one shoulder as Barry pulled an arm free, then the next, but didn’t waste a moment watching it drift to the ground. Because the muscles in Barry’s back were far more worth looking at, shifting lean and powerful in the strobing light and reminding Len how it had felt to have them under his hands. 

The sharp shadows cast by Barry's shoulder blades crossed with the stark lines of the harness, which was calling to Len stronger than every cigarette in the building. There were two rings on the back, one on each side where the straps from over his shoulders and under his arms met the strip of leather across the back. It suggested a matching set in the front that must’ve been covered up by the offending shirt, and Len didn’t stop himself from putting the toe of his boot down, hard, to catch Barry’s heel on his next step. 

Barry twisted to look back at him with an offended little frown that Len couldn’t have cared less about. Because Barry’s movement had given him the confirmation he’d been looking for: the same dark straps and matte o-rings on the front, framing Barry’s chest in a way that was borderline obscene. 

Christ, want wasn’t a strong enough word. Len’s skin was prickling with it. He was of half a mind to leave the job for another day, skip the glitter-bombed bathroom and just take Barry back to one of his safe houses from the start. Hell, tell Barry to take them back to his place instead, let him find out how hard it was to get eyeliner out of pillowcases—

It was a stupid thought and all the reminder that Len needed to remember which head he was supposed to be thinking with. Leave the job for another day? He had six and a half million dollars in untagged cars sitting in a warehouse three blocks away, delivered the day before the CCPD's raids had started. His contact was getting jumpy—wouldn’t move them, didn’t want them to stay—and he was starting to make noise about Len getting Mick to just take care of the inventory. 

So no, Len didn't have another day, much as he might wish that he did. He gave Barry a smirk for tripping him up instead, accepted the exasperated look he got in response, and followed him deeper into the warehouse. 

Not that it ended up taking them much longer to find 'Angel,' in any case. Wasn’t hard, when a glance up at the stage found the kid perched on the edge of the DJ’s set-up, bleached-out hair full of glitter and reflecting back every flash of the colorful lights that throbbed over the crowd. 

Unfortunately, Angel didn’t have any trouble finding them, either. Because when Len tracked his gaze back up from where Angel was bouncing one long leg to the beat of the blaring music, they were looking right back at him. 

Angel's gaze slid to Barry, and their smile went hazy and beatific before they looked back at Len. They lifted one hand and wiggled their fingers in coy greeting. Then, when Len didn't wave back, they turned their hand over, palm side up, and crooked one finger in an unmistakable come hither gesture. 

Len caught Barry’s arm to stop his forward momentum. (It took a heroic amount of restraint to not grab him by the back of the harness instead, not that Barry seemed to notice or care). When Barry started to turn again, Len indicated the stage with a lift of his chin and pushed in close enough to be heard over the music.

“We’re being summoned.” 

[hawkstincan]

nine people I’d like to know better

Got tagged by @nixie-deangel thanks <3

Last Song I listened to: Forever and One (Neverland) by Helloween

Currently Watching: ... well, i'm mentioning only shows i'm actively watching on daily or weekly basis: Grey's Anatomy, The Good Doctor, 9-1-1, Walker, Beacon 23, The Rookie, Chicago Med, Alert: Missing Persons Unit; rewatching House M.D. (daily); airplane accidents investigations on youtube (mostly Mentor Pilot); dbd youtubers

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy?: Savoury and sweet (not drinks though).

Relationship Status: single, as i always was and probably always will be.

Current Obsession: Ted Lasso and Trent Crimm are driving me crazy. Coldflash is living rentfree in my head and not going anywhere. Hannigram is seductively smirking from the dark corner and winking at me. I'm fine (nope)

Tagging (for those who wish to do this): @starstruckpurpledragon, @mommalosthermind, @holycafe, @madsteacup, @majougari, @bedalk and whoever else wishes to do this!

[captain-cold-approved]

a small collection of coldflash fanfics i have written/am writing:

So Long, Scarlet Speedster - 4.6k Time travel wump. Lots of angst my loves.

Give it Time - 700 words Len kills someone who deserves it.

Ghosting Along - 700 words Len's ghost watches Barry as he visits the Rogue's Graves.

Apple Pie and Other Warm and Fuzzy Feelings - 5.6k Tooth rotting fluff of Barry meeting Mick Rory's daughter who loves the Flash. (I don't always write angst.)

The Ice Beast of Central City - 4.2k HalfBad Au! Len has magical abilities and runs the mob in Central. Barry works as a speedster for the police force bent on stopping him. Unfinished.

more to come >:^))

[sak-supernatural]

This is actually crazy! TODAY IS THE DAY!!!

I watched this when I was like 11 and I loved The Flash for the longest time (part of me always will), but I never managed to finish the show I stopped somewhere around s4. I randomly thought about it again today and looked it up only to find out that TODAY is the exact date that seemed so far off in the future in 2013. ONE day later and I would have missed this iconic moment in my life. How have I made it this far? As a kid it seemed like APRIL 25 2024 was nothing more than a fictional date that was never going to happen.

This was actually my first real fandom and I am forever greatfull for that, the first time I discovered shipping could be between any two characters canon or not and the first time I discovered gay fanciction (coldflash). Also a time where I delved hardcore into Xreader for the first and only time in my life, I had the biggest hugest fattest most gigantic crush on Barry Allen and consequently Grant Gustin. How can time be real when I am now the same age as he was when he started in The Flash? This is truly nuts and an iconic moment in my life!!

Anyway as a thanks to anyone who bothered reading my crazed ramblings I’m putting together a playlist of my favourite edits from this era of my life:

P.s. I don’t know how many times I listened to Barry sing “Running Home To You” and imagined it was to me, it was too many.