A Magnificent Obsession

Born Javic Piotr Thane on the Boeshane Peninsula in the 51st century—one of those impossibly grim places *Who* likes to drop in its character backstories—Jack grew up in a war-torn future and made a name for himself as the first from his region to join the Time Agency. But somewhere along the way, something was erased, quite literally. Whole chunks of his memory were stolen, leaving behind a sharp-tongued flirt who masked his disorientation with bravado. If the Doctor is the universe’s compass, Jack is its weathervane—always shifting, adapting, smiling through the storm.

But what made Jack *important* wasn’t his flirtation with everyone with a pulse (though let’s be honest, that helped). It was what happened after he died. Gunned down by Daleks, Jack was resurrected by Rose Tyler in her “Bad Wolf” goddess phase—infusing him with life, but also cursing him with immortality. You’d think living forever would be a gift. *Doctor Who*, always cleverer than it lets on, flips that on its head. Jack’s immortality becomes his burden, his isolating scar, and more importantly, a storytelling masterstroke. The Doctor, disturbed by this fixed point in time, bails—something many fans (and the character himself) never quite forgave.

Stranded in the 200,100s and time-hopping with a vortex manipulator held together by duct tape and desperation, Jack missed his target era by a century and wound up waiting. Literally. From the 19th century to the 21st, he lingered in the long shadow of the Doctor, watching history unfold with the patience of a man who could not die. This stretch of lonely time is what quietly forged him. By the time we meet him again in *Torchwood*, he’s no longer just the cheeky con man; he’s the immortal leader with blood on his hands, regrets in his eyes, and a silent question lingering: *Who am I without the Doctor?*

It’s not an accident that Jack became one of the most enduring figures in the *Doctor Who* universe. Behind the scenes, Russell T Davies, ever the master of character-driven genre writing, saw in John Barrowman a rare screen presence—part Errol Flynn, part tragic Byronic hero. Jack had flair, yes, but also emotional gravity. He joked like a sitcom character, fought like a soldier, and carried the ache of a man who’s lost too much. Davies wisely spun him off into *Torchwood*, a messier, more adult sandbox where Jack could fully unravel. And unravel he did, especially in “Children of Earth,” where we saw the price of immortality laid bare with unflinching cruelty.

Jack is *Who*’s Han Solo, its Dorian Gray, its Peter Pan with a death wish. He’s flirted with the Doctor, fought beside him, been rejected by him, and still saved the Earth more times than we can count. He’s the kind of character who can go toe-to-toe with Time Lords and still feel more *human* than most of them. And that’s the paradox. He began as a con artist with no memory and no allegiance. He became the man who outlived empires, timelines, and every person he ever loved. In a universe of sonic screwdrivers and regenerating aliens, Jack Harkness stands tall as the one thing even the Doctor couldn’t predict: a man who remembers *everything*.

I know a lot of us have chosen to treat only the book and Season 1 as canon, and I completely understand why. As for me, I've decided to keep the book, Season 1, and about 60% of Season 2 as my personal canon.

But you can't deny that this scene was executed incredibly well.

Michael is an absolute genius of an actor. It genuinely made me want to cry for Aziraphale. His shock, his fear, his pain, the way it feels like absolutely everything and everyone is pressing down on him from every direction, the sheer weight of what he's carrying. Those eyes, full of tears that never quite fall. That broken voice. His heavy breathing. The way his fingers tremble as he brings his hand to his lips, which are trembling just as much. The way he's holding himself back, pressing his lips together, clenching his jaw. There are so many emotions raging inside him, from the pain of wanting to stay with the love of his life to his frustration with Crowley: his recklessness, his failure to grasp the full situation, his assumption that Aziraphale is some naïve fool when he never was, and even, to some extent, the way he uses the kiss as a form of manipulation.

(Yes, I know Crowley had his own reasons, and I understand them. But if we're being objective, they both made mistakes here, Crowley included. I don't think it's fair to ignore that fact. Crowley calls Aziraphale an idiot and makes it clear that he sees him as someone naïve who still believes in Heaven and its goodness. But Aziraphale stopped believing that a long time ago, and Crowley, damn it, should have understood that, especially after everything they went through in Season 1. And it's very likely that it was Aziraphale who came up with the body-swap plan in the first place, because he knew they would come for them and exactly why they would.)

This scene is perfect. It's such a shame we never got a second kiss in a completely different context, with completely different emotions. But I can't deny that this kiss, and everything following it, is a masterpiece with enormous potential for further development.

Chapter 7 of The Rock of Your Refuge has been posted ✨

| tags | Crowley POV, Dreams/Flashbacks, Self Reflection, Growth, Hope, Healing, Forgiveness, Bravery, Leaps of Faith, One Year Later, Reunions |

| summary |

Crowley dreams of his father after a night filled with the impossible and the unthinkable. Newly armed with a reborn hope and the tender uncertainty of accepting that he might not be as broken as he thought, and that it might not be too late, Crowley leaves Lucius’ home and sets out to reclaim what he dearly hopes he’s not lost for good.

| excerpt |

Exactly 365 days earlier, Crowley had walked into this church carrying garlands of pine and cedar, an aching heart full of joyous birds and so much fluttering, newborn hope he’d nearly floated with it.

He had no greenery with him now, and his flock had fled— his cardial cardinals gone along with the starlings and hummingbirds and sparrows and sweet doves and all the rest— but the hope was back, and Crowley clung to it like he’d clung to a trembling Aziraphale in the confessional that first December night.

While his left hand still clutched the tiny cross inside his pocket, he curled his right around the chilled, brass handle of the door, and pushed.

Why the hell didn’t you just say “at home”? 😎🤣

❤️‍🩹 Come up, darling, let us start to heal together ❤️‍🩹

What if Aziraphale hadn't left Crowley in that dirty alleyway? What if he had helped him up and held him close?

Good Omens Fandom Events - Mid-June 2026

Quite a few new (or new to the calendar) events this month! There are so many new events popping up that I'm posting a mid-month calendar update to add a pretty big batch of them.

This calendar includes events inspired by Good Omens, across all eras, interpretations, and continuities. Whether you're a creator, participant, or enthusiastic cheerleader, there are plenty of ways to get involved.

Events in green have been newly added! Take a look! ⏰ indicates a submission deadline within the next month

———————————————————————————————————

Creative Events, Challenges, & Prompts: (Events where you make, write, draw, or create)

June 2026

•Time After Time — ⏰ 1st-30th June 2026 (Creation Period), 1st-31st July 2026 (Posting Period) A Good Omens AU-focused event celebrating the many worlds, timelines, and alternate lives imagined for Crowley and Aziraphale after S3.

⏰•Good Omens 3, Fan Reactions Project—Submission Deadline 21st June 2026 Fan Reactions to S3 Compilation Video Submissions are open for a compilation of fan reactions to Season 3. Information, rules & instructions can be found on the project page.

•Summer of Ineffable Pride Bingo— Posting runs June-1st September 2026 A low-pressure Pride-inspired Good Omens challenge for writers and artists, encouraging seasonal queer-themed fanworks. This event is designed to be flexible and welcoming, allowing participants to join in whenever they like. See link for full details

⏰•The Mischief— Deadline: 30th June 2026 A call to contribute to the Book of Pride (to be displayed at TIC) featuring one-page submissions including writing, artwork, or other content printable on one A5 page (with margins). Contributions should be inspired by the Good Omens universe and Pride. See link above for details.

•The Ineffable Rewrite Challenge—A GOAD challenge encouraging fans to reimagine the finale. Stories should include the events of S1 and S2, Jesus, pizza, and the Book of Life. Beyond those elements, participants are free to take the story in any direction, length, rating, or style. See the link above for details.

July 2026

•The Ineffable Con Vid Show—Submission Deadline 26th July 2026 Video submissions are now open for the convention. Songvids, video essays, crack vids, fan trailers, animatics, dubbed comics, and more are welcome. Both new and existing works may be submitted. Convention attendance is not required.

•Julycious—Summer prompt challenge. Odd-numbered days 1st-31st July 2026 A summer-inspired creative challenge featuring prompts on every odd-numbered day throughout July. Join in with writing, art, or other fanworks whenever inspiration strikes and add your creations to the collection.

•Monsters and Myths Collaboration— Coming Soon Announcements are expected in early July, with sign-ups open for approximately two weeks. The event is scheduled to begin in mid-to-late July, with posting dates starting in October.

•Alternative Good Omens Finale Project— A fan-led animation project imagining an alternative ending is seeking artists, writers, and other contributors. See the link above for information and sign-up form.

August 2026

•Rare Omens Each week prompts you to create for different Good Omens canon and feature rare characters/pairs in your fan art and fanfic! August 2 - 8: TV Omens finale August 9 - 15: TV Omens series 2 August 16 - 22: TV Omens series 1 August 23 - 29: Book Omens

September 2026

•Good Omens Got True Talents Show 2026–Submission Deadline 27th September 2026 Submissions are open in a variety of categories, including Musical Performance, Non-Musical Performance, Arts and Crafts, Memes and Comics, Cosplay. The showcase video will premiere on 9th October 2026 through Sendarya: Exploring Visual Media Through Analysis

Ongoing/No Fixed Date

•Good-Omens-Gallery Monthly Header Project —Ongoing To highlight and celebrate Good Omens artists, the Good Omens Gallery is seeking artists to create a monthly header for the blog. Artists will be credited on the blog. Sign up anytime. Go check out this month's fabulous Pride banner!

•Good Omens Britpicking Library—A community-built resource for Good Omens creators, aimed at gathering accessible guidance on British cultural details. The initiative will also maintain a companion blog for updates, questions, and a list of available britpickers.

•Bildadzine 2—Bildad-themed zine volume 2 is in the very earliest stages of development. Watch for upcoming announcements and participation details.

———————————————————————————————————

Community Events & Meetups: (Events you attend, join, or show up for at a specific time or place)

August 2026

•Good Omens Tour of London—19th August 2026 A wheelchair-accessible walking tour of Good Omens London filming locations in the run up to TIC7. You don’t need to be attending the convention to join the tour.

•The Small Back Room— 21st - 23rd August 2026 A fan-organized weekend at Alton House Hotel, Alton, Hampshire, UK. Where attendees can gather to stream The Ineffable Con 7 together. Tickets are available for full weekend or single day attendance. Cosplay is welcome! For more information, contact @lintilla72

•The Ineffable Con 2026 21st - 23rd August 2026 Cookam, UK (but also virtual attendance options available).

October 2026

•The Ineffable Society Meetup 2026 24th October 2026 Philadelphia, USA. This looks like a great opportunity to meet fellow fans in person.

Ongoing/No Fixed Date

•Sendarya: Exploring Visual Media Through Analysis Following Season 3, Sendarya will continue Good Omens discussions while expanding coverage to additional fandoms.

If you have or know of an event to share, please submit it here or DM the calendar: Event Submission Form

Tag your posts #ineffablegoevents so we can find them and include them in the monthly roundup.

*(This list focuses on events currently open to participants and may not include events that are already closed to new sign-ups.) A huge shout-out to @naturallyteal, our agent-in-the-field. Like a particularly dedicated cryptid, he appears whenever a new Good Omens event is announced. 😉🩵

If you find this calendar useful, reblogs are always appreciated. It helps more GO fans discover events and create community within the fandom 💛

Tagging list under the cut.

Let me know if you'd like to be added to or removed from the tagging list.

i put them on my front door and anytime it opens they ring. that way if i think someone has broken in or i see someone who isn’t there i can think back to if the bells have rung, and if they haven’t i can assure myself it’s not real. obviously it’s not fool proof, like if you are prone to auditory hallucinations, but it has really helped me calm down in time to avoid major psychotic breaks. it’s a real lifesaver

Until my fucking dog decided to ring them when he wanted to go out to the bathroom.

companion piece to my earlier Crowley portrait 🥲