Verso by Kovou (on A03)

Anyone who has ever watched House, MD either loves or hates Gregory House. He’s snarky, rude and can put more politically incorrect phrases in a sentence than is feasible. The audience either loves to laugh or is horrified by his behavior. His co-workers toggle between tolerance and despising him and his boss has thousands of dollars set aside for, not if, but when they get sued because of his lack of bedside manner.

He’s also a diagnostic genius who plays on words and zings the audience with his cumulation of medical analysis as well as one-liners. All which makes him very memorable.

This also makes him extremely hard to write as an author, but Kovus has pulled it off very well because they have not only nailed House’s demeanor and dialogue but have created a new character-House II, in the form of a 16 year old girl.

Arin Rae is a wealthy teenager who doesn’t care about fashion or money. Parents and grandmother deceased. She lives with her grandfather who jets around the world doing business and ensures his assistant buys Arin $350 dollar Converse when she would be happy with a $50 pair. She is also highly intelligent who never really fit in, so she has learned to hide it all and blend in with the crowd. “It’s easier being with the villagers. You don’t need to think, really. It’s like becoming Amish, but sometimes you kinda miss the light switch.”

This is where she meets House in front of the vending machines. An excellent back and forth conversation as they discover each other's interests and intellects. Recognizing some symptoms, House attempts to diagnose her which leads to resistance, then a Nunkist and mentos bath and Cuddy and the lawyers groveling to avoid a lawsuit. 

Instead House gets his way, the girl is admitted into the hospital and he parktakes in his favorite pastime--diagnoses patients; however, this takes a bit of a twist. He actually enjoys interacting with the patient which is just as well because she’s made a deal that he is her only doctor. He can’t hide behind the scenes on this one; however, the mysterious illness is always intriguing, understanding this enigma of a girl is even more interesting.

Verso has nailed House’s personality, his blatant disregard for social norms and his willingness to gamble to get what he wants. Although still in progress, it’s a great characterization and a well built original character that might just be able to put House in his place.