I'm short on sleep, but I'll try to answer your question about the timeline shift. I tend toward the Stargate school of time travel paradox--the fact that the timeline has changed doesn't mean that the old timeline ceases to exist altogether. To wholly erase the canon timeline, one would have to make changes prior to 1861. But despite the duelling memories that the boys would have in the scene John sees in his dream-vision--brought on, I think, by his sleeping in Sam's room as much as anything--the changes don't really become irreversible until John cures Sammy of the demon blood. (Theoretically, the angels could heal/resurrect John if he backed off mid-trials, and Meg could take over for Azazel in dealing with the Special Children; the adult boys' memories might be different, unless Zachariah intervened, but probably no more so than in Titanic-verse.) Finishing the third trial further cements the split because the bulk of canon becomes impossible once Hell is offline. As to when and how the split would affect the boys in the canon timeline, I suspect that timeline just stopped shortly after the moment John saw. Does that make sense? If not, I'll try to think it through better later. :D
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2013-10-03 04:30 pm (UTC)I'm short on sleep, but I'll try to answer your question about the timeline shift. I tend toward the Stargate school of time travel paradox--the fact that the timeline has changed doesn't mean that the old timeline ceases to exist altogether. To wholly erase the canon timeline, one would have to make changes prior to 1861. But despite the duelling memories that the boys would have in the scene John sees in his dream-vision--brought on, I think, by his sleeping in Sam's room as much as anything--the changes don't really become irreversible until John cures Sammy of the demon blood. (Theoretically, the angels could heal/resurrect John if he backed off mid-trials, and Meg could take over for Azazel in dealing with the Special Children; the adult boys' memories might be different, unless Zachariah intervened, but probably no more so than in Titanic-verse.) Finishing the third trial further cements the split because the bulk of canon becomes impossible once Hell is offline. As to when and how the split would affect the boys in the canon timeline, I suspect that timeline just stopped shortly after the moment John saw.
Does that make sense? If not, I'll try to think it through better later. :D