het_reccers | Shipper Manifesto: George/Izzie (Grey's Anatomy) (Reply)

(I debated whether or not to do this, since I used my most fav fics for G/I in my Character Manifesto for George, but then I figured there could never be too many G/I fic recs, so here I am with more!)

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy
Pairing: George O’Malley/Izzie Stevens

Blurb: The first time I watched an actual full episode of Grey’s was the season 3 finale (before that it was just bits and pieces, half here or a quarter there, not enough to know anyone’s names). In that episode, Izzie came into the locker room to tie George’s tie and profess that she was in love with him, and hoped he was in love with her too. I was instantly intrigued by their chemistry and her passion. When I started at the beginning of the show to catch up, I only had eyes for those two as a ship, throughout everything they went through.

“You said ‘I am not your sister.’ Do you feel like I was emasculating you?”
“No. Nawh, I’m too masculine to be emasculated.”
“I'm sorry.”

"I need to be able to talk to my best friend, I... I cannot get through this without my best friend."

It's incredibly difficult for me to even attempt to narrow down my favorite things about them, but here's me trying. They're a bit unconventional (she's "stacked", "a supermodel", and he's "just George", a bit on the geeky side, an underdog). They're both fiercely loyal and amazingly passionate, kind and caring. They make mistakes. They get jealous. They're both initially trying to prove they belong, and that's probably why they ended up gravitating to one another in the first place. They fit together, they connect. They support one another, they hold each other up, they encourage one another and call each other out on their BS.

"No matter how much you beg, I am not doing you." [mouthes, 'Yes I am']

What impressed me most about them across the seasons was their amazing, deep connection and unfailing friendship. George and Izzie had their share of fights, but they always came back to each other in the end. One of my all-time favorite scenes (in one of my all-time fav episodes), is when Izzie is donating bone marrow to her biological daughter, who she’d given up for adoption right after giving birth. No one knew about this daughter, until Bailey managed to get it out of her. George and Izzie were in the middle of a huge fight, and even though he and Izzie basically weren’t even on speaking terms, he saw that something was wrong all day, and finally found her and stayed at her side while she donated the marrow, though she refused to tell him what it was for (until some time later). It was so incredible to see that even in the middle of a massive, very serious fight, he still ran to her side when she needed him.

“Do you know how wrong it is if she's really in trouble and I'm not there because we're being idiots?”

“You said back off.”
“You didn’t tell me you were having a hole drilled in your damn hip.”

Another wonderful thing about them was simply the strength and comfort they lent one another. When George’s father was in surgery, Izzie was there. George was there for Izzie when Denny died, and held her hand when she went to listen to a voicemail message he’d left. Though George was openly critical of her relationship of Alex, and Izzie continuously disapproved of his relationship with Callie, they both were able to eventually see that their "person" was happy, and they changed their attitudes to be supportive.

“Life is short. Life is short, and it sucks a lot of the time. So if being with Callie makes you happy, then go be with Callie.”

All throughout the show, they displayed off-the-charts chemistry as well as this beautiful bond. They were best friends, soulmates – he was her "person", and she was his. They understood each other like no one else did. They weren’t the hot/cold, love/hate type of pairings like Ross/Rachel or Kara/Lee, but two best friends who finally realized their intense feelings for each other, two best friends who fell in love, more like Monica/Chandler or Jim/Pam. I couldn’t even narrow down favorite moments if my life depended on it. From the smaller (eating pizza in the bathroom, avoiding Doc, dancing when Meredith said they could move in, him complimenting her cupcakes, them brushing their teeth together) to the epic (Linen Closet, Elevator Kiss, “I’m In Love With You” speech, “I Love You Too” moment, “We Made It Through This Day”, him holding her hand while she gave bone marrow, Off I Go/Did You Say It) - it’s all so good, and just displays this incredible evolving love, that they finally come to understand.

“I had sex last night... with the wrong person. But the thing is... it didn’t feel wrong at the time. It felt like something was falling into place.”

She has this smile she reserves just for him, and he gets this look in his eye when he sees her... It boggles my mind that some people can’t see how well they fit together, and how freaking good they are together. The mere awesomeness of the scene in Linen Closet – where the pair of them share a painful, raw, stunning conversation without a single word – should be evidence enough of their sensational chemistry and connection!

"Because I'm your best friend, and because I love you, if what you wanted is to be with Callie... then I will do everything in my power to support you, and help you make your marraige work. Because I'm your best friend, and because I love you... I also, have to say... that I'm in love with you. I'm in love with you. I can't promise a future, I can't... promise perfection because... we're us and I'm me, and who knows what will happen. But in my heart... I am sure. I'm in love with you, George, and I hope you're in love with me too."

“I can say Hail Mary’s… until I turn into Mary. But I still miss you. Not the… The sex… it was not tragic, George. But I’ll live without it. I won’t make it if you can’t be my friend. If we can’t…”

And despite what I feel was pretty unbelievable (as in not believable) writing for much of their relationship in season 4 (bad sex? Pecking kisses? Really??), and despite my feelings that in no way should they ever be breaking up, they did have the most beautiful, amicable break-up: they admitted they still loved one another, that their timing was off, and then they danced. And despite my overall feelings/opinions of the decline in quality of Grey’s come season 5, and George’s absurdly limited screen time, I did find it really wonderful that the very, very few moments between them once again showcased their deep bond. George was constantly concerned for Izzie when she was acting crazy and hiding her cancer (repeatedly attempting to alert the other characters to her strange behaviour), and he walked her down the aisle when she couldn’t do it by herself. Lastly, that elevator scene at the end of season 5? (*starts tearing up*) Ya. Seriously. Soulmates.

“We’re not gonna make this work, are we?”
“Marriage is hard, and even when it’s right… it’s hard. And… next time I do it, I just want it to be forever. And I don’t… I don’t think it’s our chemistry. I think it’s our timing… but I don’t think it’s our chemistry.”
“So, we’re saying maybe someday?”
“Yeah. Yeah, we’re saying maybe someday.”

Other reasons why they are perfect and totally in love? The smile she gives him in the flashback during My Favorite Mistake. The look he gives her when she says "I need sex, George, I just need it!" The way he runs to her side when she rushes in and says she needs his help ("I wouldn't ask if it weren't important.") The way he touches her hand with his pinky when she's laying on the bathroom floor post-Denny. Her face when he comes back into the room in Time After Time. The look he gives her when he says, "Ya. Ya, she's a heart-breaker." The smiles they share when they sit on the bench and say that they "made it through this day". The night when they don't have their "rare bird" because she's exhausted, and she only shaved one leg, and the way they cuddle up together on the bed. When he offers to take down the posters of her that Alex had plastered everywhere. When she relies on his advice when she doesn't know what to do about the surgery. When he remembers her birthday, knows something is wrong and reminds her that he still cares. The way he hugs her back when she tells him "life is short". The Linen Closet and The Elevator Kiss - I can't stop pointing those moments in particular out, because seriously.

"You know exactly what you have to do."

Basically, I could write a freaking book on reasons why I love them (um, looks like I basically did already), and name a thousand different moments for each emotion they make me feel. No ship can ever come close to them for me. (I’ve got it so bad I have favorite caps of that Elevator Kiss – and this is not even mentioning the fanvid I made, ample amount of fics I’ve written, art and fanmixes I’ve created and hours I’ve used watching other fanvids, reading other fics, looking at other art, listening to other fanmixes and discussing this ship ad nauseam with other shippers!)

"Did you say it?"

And regardless of anything else, that kiss in the elevator is just mind-blowing.

Fic Rec #1: Paris Nights
Author: Lex55
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): G
Why This Must Be Read: Let's start this manifesto off with something cute and adorable, because there is plenty of angst for these too and the fluff is a bit harder to find (and this is really fluffy). Izzie never got a real prom, so George intends to remedy that. This is just too cute not to enjoy, corny and fluffy though it may be!

Fic Rec #2: Crash Into Me
Author: My Sharpie Is Green
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: This is sort of a tag to end of the season 3 finale, a scene that could have (or should have) happened when Izzie was sitting alone in that church waiting for George to show up. It's short, but their voices - especially George's and the implied Mer voiceover - are so well captured.

Fic Rec #3: Predictable
Author: Literature Rogue
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): G - PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: A collection of drabbles, this one blew me away once upon a time and inspired me to write my own collection of drabbles (though mine were more like 200-500 words a piece). The author manages to contain every one within one hundred words exactly, and it's amazing how much story, character and emotion he/she manages to pack in such a small punch. It goes by very fast since it's a bunch of drabbles, but so worth the read. They range from utterly adorable to totally heart breaking and are all just SO George and Izzie.

Fic Rec #4: The Etiquette of Chocolate
Author: angel_grace
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: Set circa season 2, post-bomb scare, during George still pining for Mer, and around the time when Izzie is pissed at Alex (so basically, when George has his most adorable haircut), this is an irresistably cute little way that George and Izzie could have gotten together around that point in time. There's a box of half-eaten chocolates, and both characters are so excellently voiced that it feels like reading a deleted scene or something. Humorous, just a tiny bit angsty, and a dash of fluff!

Fic Rec #5: just a daisy in the shadow of the sun
Author: angelgazing
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: George's voice is so spot on, for starters. The progression is PERFECTION, and the writing style unique. It captures the way George is so busy having eyes for Meredith, he fails to realize what's right in front of him. I've re-read this one dozens of times, because it's deliciously subtle and just so lovely.

Fic Rec #6: Contemplating Second
Author: holycitygirl
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): PG
Why This Must Be Read: This one is sweet and simple, involving Izzie (post-Denny) wondering why George (post-Meredith) doesn't think something could happen between him and her. This is the line that clinches this for me: "George doesn't know exactly how, but at some point when he wasn't looking, she became his end all be all."

Fic Rec #7: Something Better
Author: fox1013
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13 (for language)
Why This Must Be Read: Ok, are you ready for this? Because I don't think it literally can get more sweet and cute than this. Izzie, George, stuffed animals, and The Muppets. Cristina and Meredith are totally hilarious in this - their voices couldn't be more perfect - and this is yet another of my all time fav G/I fics. It is just SO. CUTE. And the internal dialogue is so perfect. It's ends on a sufficiently fluffy note, but it's more just the type of fic to make you grin the whole time and giggle every few lines.

Fic Rec #8: Do I Have To Say The Words
Author: Tom Beaumont
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): R (for sex and language)
Why This Must Be Read: And now to the opposite end of the spectrum from the last rec! Mind-blowingly good and soul-depressingly angsty, this one is powerfully raw, though it's relatively short. Set in season 3, post-Mistake, it's a gloriously, fantastically angsty look into Callie, George and Izzie. Tom's writing is always off-the-charts, but this is one is especially good. George's struggle between the two women he loves is so heart-felt, and the second last scene between him and Izzie gets me every time.

Fic Rec #9: The Fine Lines
Author: Lex55
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): R
Why This Must Be Read: It's a fairly old one of Lex's and therefore not quite as well written as some of her other fics (there's a couple formatting issues and typos, etc) but the story is more than worthwhile. George and Izzie get stuck in an elevator for a significant amount of time, and the pacing makes this story a real "page-turner" - the first time I read it I couldn't stop, as the tension and situation built on itself.

Fic Rec #10: Of All The Things I've Done Wrong
Author: SeaLegs
Link: here
Rating/Warning(s): PG-13 (for some language and adult situations)
Why This Must Be Read: This is a season 5 era fic, where Izzie is married to Alex. A/I shippers need not read, as it doesn't end well for that ship. Izzie is pregnant and talks to George about what to do about it. As with all of SeaLeg's fics, this is brilliantly written, sliding between scenes and beautifully capturing the various emotions that Izzie goes through. It comes off painfully real as it comes from Izzie's point of view.

Fic Rec #11: Tears in Heaven
Author: Literature Rogue
Link: here
Ratings/Warnings: PG
Why This Must Be Read: Short and sad, but really lovely and incredibly bittersweet considering what happened at the end of season 5. Izzie climbs into George's bed one night, as usual, and they have a little heart to heart about death. It was written ages ago, but like I said, knowing what happens at the end of season 5, the last couple lines of this fic really choke me up.

Fic Rec #12: Flesh
Author: Isabella1020
Link: here
Ratings/Warnings: PG-13
Why This Must Be Read: Set during Scars & Souveniers, this is relatively short but SO wonderfully done. Pretty well every line is quotable and excellent. Yet another fic where the author absolutely nails the emotion.

Bonus: George & Izzie Fan Website
(It's in dire need of updating, but I've lost my source files for it, so it may yet be a long time coming before I'm able to update it again. Still, thought it'd be worth sharing for the other G/Iers out there!)