#things to note

1) In the first couple episodes of the Flash, I couldn’t decide between who to ship - snowbarry or westallen (i.e. I thought Grant had chemistry with both ladies and his potential story with both of them appealed to me.) It was the snowstorm backstory in 1x03 that killed any SB romantic feels. I haven’t shipped even the potential of snowbarry ever since.

2) I hardcore shipped spallen while they were together and was sad when Patty left. Even though I didn’t want them to be together long term, I did want them to reach Iris/Eddie status. It should also be noted that I thought Grant and Shantel (as much as I’m disappointed in her irl due to her remarks about Candice/Iris the following summer) had a ton of chemistry. I doubt I’d have shipped Barry with Patty if I hadn’t felt that, because I was not looking forward to Barry having a love interest that wasn’t Iris after season 1.

3) Due to my loving spallen so much, I wasn’t overly aware of Iris being sidelined in 2A, and I didn’t consider Barry a bad friend to her for that reason. (I’ve seen the light since then, but it’s still not an opinion I’m firm on, and I definitely didn’t start out thinking the worst of Barry for what was written.)

4) I didn’t appreciate Iris sneaking off with Wally in 3x11 and deliberately lying to Barry about it (and then that very fact not being addressed whatsoever). Again, I’ve come to an understanding about this as well, but I still didn’t appreciate the lying.

5) Before the “We are the Flash” scene actually happened, I was not a fan of Iris taking on the role of team leader at all - at least not after Barry came out of the speed force. I’m now a huge fan of it, but I didn’t start out liking it.

6) For AU I’m open to almost any pairing in many cases. For instance, I’ve seen SB AU vids that look really good. (I really just love how people are able to create AU SLs in such unique ways w/ unrelated scenes tbh, esp in vids.) In those instances it just looks like Grant and Danielle are starring together in a romantic comedy or whatever, and I have no problem with that. As long as Iris/Candice aren’t also in the scenario and Barry/Grant is refusing her for Danielle/Caitlin (b/c that I’m def not a fan of), I’m pretty open to scenarios that are completely separate from canon as we know it. (At least with vids. It might be a tough pill for me to swallow to read a fic that was SB, even if Iris wasn’t a character w/in it.)

7) I can buy Caitlin having a little bit of a crush on Barry in season 1. I really don’t think Barry ever shared that feeling (though some scenes they shared were clearly ship bait), but b/c Danielle played up those scenes towards an SB romance occasionally, I think it’s totally legit to have shipped them together in that season or shipped the potential of what they could have been. There was ship bait there. If there are feelings on one end, it’s not a crack ship. After season 1, however, (esp after 2x01) there’s absolutely no sign of it. And especially now the delusion is ridiculous. Barry & Caitlin had plenty of opportunity to get together, but they never did. And whatever Caitlin may or may not have felt for Barry even in season 1 never trumped the very deep love she had for Ronnie, so in the end it’s irrelevant.

8) I didn’t like Barry and Linda together. I didn’t buy that they had chemistry either. (Though to be fair, I didn’t even try to be open to it, because I didn’t want it. lol.) Iris was getting jealous, and Barry was shutting her down. With good reason, but still. My bb Iris was finally realizing her feelings, and she was hurt b/c Barry wasn’t responding to them the way she wanted when she couldn’t even say what they were b/c she was in a relationship of her own. It’s not Linda’s fault in the slightest, but - esp given Malese has come btwn two of my ships on two separate shows, one of them being my otp - that ship just rubbed me the wrong way. They were getting in the way of westallen finally happening and that bothered me (b/c it was such terrible timing and proves further why I fully expected to hate spallen before it even happened).

9) I love Felicity (though not a fan of that wedding interruption, obvs), and especially Barry & Felicity’s friendship. So, while I didn’t approve of everyone continually keeping Iris in the dark about Barry’s identity in season 1, I didn’t come away from Felicity’s 1B crossover where she encouraged Barry not to tell Iris about his identity (I don’t even REMEMBER that part of the advice she gave him tbh). I came away being pleased that he was going to fill in Caitlin and Cisco with what he was feeling, and I loved that Felicity was there for him as counsel outside of the people involved with his current struggle.

10) I love love loved what has been called the ‘original’ team flash - Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin. Because of that reason I love platonic snowbarry, and I was sad when they stopped having that many scenes together post-s1. I know it’s because Iris was no longer in the dark, but I really thought they had a special bond, just like he and Cisco do. She’s clearly the person he’s least close with of all the people in his life, but I do really appreciate when we get snapshots of their friendship, and specifically the Barry/Cisco/Caitlin dynamic. That threesome is special, and I like when it’s highlighted. For example: Caitlin actually being a part of Barry & Cisco’s game of laser tag at the beginning of 4x03 brought me so much joy. Also, 3x07 is one of my fav episodes of season 3 b/c not only did it showcase westallen beautifully - and killervibe - but also snowbarry. Iris’ pep talk to Barry and Barry saving Caitlin from herself in almost the last scene are just about on equal significance to me. The WA scene rises above for obvs reasons, but I really truly loved the SB through-line in that episode. It annoys me to no end that I cannot find purely platonic SB vids to watch, b/c that is all I want in life for them. Their relationship is sufficient enough on its own. It doesn’t need to be more, and it’s not canon that is. I think there should be more appreciation for what is canon, rather than what is not.

11) I don’t hate Caitlin Snow. There have been several points in the show - whether it be an arc (her falling for “Jay” so soon after Ronnie’s second alleged death) or a couple episodes (3x15 - her selfishly keeping part of the philosopher’s stone for herself and not only not ever using it to try and get rid of her powers, but keeping it a secret and having basically no consequences for that fact). But in general? I liked her in season 1, and I like her now. It’s true that I’m conflicted now, because she hasn’t apologized to Iris about being onboard team Kill Iris w/ Savitar last season. But the Caitlin she is now is reminiscent of the Caitlin I loved in season 1, so mostly I’m good w/ her. (Besides snowstorm was my second top ship and killervibe is my fav friendship on The Flash. She’s obvs a huge part of both of those relationships.)

12) I don’t hate Danielle Panabaker. I high key disapprove of a lot of the things she said in season 1/2 interviews, and even when she maintains SB was on the verge of happening in season 1, I raise my eyebrows and scoff. But generally speaking, she seems like a sweetheart. I don’t believe it’s a facade the way I do with Shantel. I don’t think Danielle is a bad actress either.