Schroedinger's Cat and spn_standstill, zombies and emonemones

I wasn't planning on another SPN post this week, but we're at such an interesting juncture I couldn't resist.

Schrodinger's Cat meets the Supernatural Fandom
More so than with any previous cliffhanger episodes, I feel like we're all holding our breath for this week's finale. Anything could happen, and for this one week in particular there's such a wide field of potential ways the story could go stemming from those final few moments of last Thursday - all of which will collapse down to "what actually happens" in canon this Thursday. It reminds me of the Schroedinger's Cat thought experiment in quantum physics: different realities are possible (a cat may be alive or dead in a box) until they are viewed (someone opens the box), and then they all "collapse" into one reality that actually does happen.*

*Yes, I know this is a massive oversimplification. But I assume most of you don't actually care for a detailed explanation of the quantum mechanical concept of superposition. If you do, let me know and I'm happy to blather on about my layman's understanding. Or you can check out its entry in Wikipedia - or The Straight Dope's explanation of Schroedinger's Cat which is probably a better idea than listening to me. :)

That's why I was so excited to discover the community spn_standstill. We have so many different people's interpretations of those final moments of 2x21 - right before, during, or after - collected in one location, all sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. And anything is fair game. By the end of Thursday evening canon will be set, and we will all be in a different place collectively. We can all still write "what if"s of these moments after Thursday, of course - but it's different with the weight of canon now present.

I suppose this happens with episodes all the time, and I'm just unusually aware of it this time - so much so that I actually wrote a coda for the first time. Anyway, it's a really interesting space, so I just wanted to acknowledge it publicly before Thursday.

( In related news, Audrey and I are still on crack )

As a result, we were talking about how the whole fandom was "flailing in a sea of angst" this week, which brought SEA ANEMONES instantly to mind for us both, with little (Finding N)emo faces upturned and hands slowly moving back and forth in a rhythmic undulation.

Needless to say, a drawing was clearly required, and since I can't draw I browbeat prevailed upon Audrey. Thus I present to you

( EMONEMONES! )