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[funnyname]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Luka Kovač
Canon: ER
Canon Point: Season 9

In-Game Tattoo Placement: On his chest
Current Health/Status: alive/healthy after taking a much needed nap in Exam 2 between two shifts
Age: 30s
Species: human

Content Warnings: war, death, child death, ptsd, depression, substance abuse, violence, religion

History: Wiki link

Personality:
Luka is your typical tv doctor – selfless, hard-working, willing to push himself to the limits of his job and displaying an altruistic sense of duty. Working in the ER, his daily life is shaped by fast-paced chaos, gruesome and traumatic injuries, high doses of pressure and responsibility as well as the need for split-second decisions. He can keep a level head in a crisis and push his own feelings aside and bottle them up for later as long as there are people needing his help. Through his job, he is used to being a team player and compromising. He can work with people even if he doesn't agree with them or even like them on a personal level. Oftentimes tensions are running high during the course of the show with interpersonal arguments getting in the way but, as with his personal feelings, he is generally capable of putting them aside to deal with them later.

He can also be very stubborn when he's convinced he's right. It's a fine line between the necessary confidence in his abilities for his job and a tendency for obstinacy and losing sight of what's ultimately important. After a particular gruesome case where he got into an argument with another colleague about the right course of treatment, he gets rightfully called out on it: "And that's the most important thing, isn't it. He was wrong and you were right. And while you were arguing about it, the little girl died."

Overall, however, Luka cares deeply about his patients; he is willing to go great lengths and even against hospital policy for their benefit. Losing them usually affects him deeply; it is a part of the job he accepts but he never quite shakes the emotional impact or guilt he has to work through in the aftermath. This goes back to a traumatic event as Luka is a man shaped by loss. His wife and both his children were killed by a mortar attack during the war in Croatia after which he relocated to the United States. While he carries on with his life and forges new relationships, the experience stays with him. There is a certain melancholy sadness to his person and he is often seen empathizing with patients who suffer from similar loss or experiences. It makes him a good listener with a kind, soft-spoken and slightly shy air about him.

Being Roman Catholic, Luka lost his faith after the loss of his family and over the course of the show struggles to reconcile with it. There is a longer arch where he treats a sick Bishop and at first is openly dismissive of God, scoffing at the man and his attempts to connect with him. But ultimately, he opens himself up for confession – he tried to save his wife and daughter but failed because he couldn't sacrifice one for the other: His wife was bleeding from a shrapnel wound and could have been saved if Luka had left their little daughter behind. However, Luka opted to perform CPR on her, waiting for a rescue team instead which never arrived. This choice and the survivor's guilt continuously haunts him to this day.

Deep down, Luka is very lonely and yearns to have a family again; whenever he gets serious with someone on the show, he is quick to propose the next steps like moving in together or discussing marriage and children. This longing for stability contrasts sharply with a spectacular failure to communicate: Luka can take care of patients but usually deflects when it comes to his own person in an intimate relationship; it makes him a good friend but terrible partner who often overlooks the other's emotional needs – not out of malice but an inability to understand how much his issues and his past influence his person and being with him. One of his significant others even calls him out on that, stating that if he were able to communicate in their relationship like he handles his patients, they wouldn't have any problems. At the same time, Luka's wish to connect with people makes him careless and despite his communication problems, eager to play house. He's easily exploited and naive, and for a couple of months gets taken advantage of by a woman who milks him for money.

Luka served in the Croatian Army, and saw combat. His experiences during the war have left him disillusioned and cynical about military involvement and he suffers from PTSD and depression. It generally doesn't impede him in his job; he can make it through several attacks on the ER department, even involving guns and during a crisis in the field after a train crash he can still perform even though he's suffering from flashbacks.

However, there is a hidden darkness and violent tendency simmering under the calm exterior; when his girlfriend Abby gets attacked by a mugger he defends her but ends up killing the man. It is ruled an act of self-defense but it is clear that in the situation, Luka lost control, beating the perpetrator over and over into the ground. Likewise, when Abby gets beaten up by the abusive husband of a patient, he seeks the man out in private to beat him to a pulp before threatening to kill him in a quiet, cold way should he ever get near her again. When another patient-turned-stalker turns up outside their house, Luka likewise shows up at the guy's workplace and threatens the same thing. They're not big, dramatic speeches, but eerie factual promises.

His underlying issues also lead to occasional downward spirals and self-destructive behavior. When he is forced to go to therapy by his supervisor, he is quite self-reflective about it: "My family died during the war in Croatia. So I came to America. I had a relationship with someone I cared about, which I then ruined. So I started to look for the answers in the wrong places, you know, like sex, drinking, living fast. I killed a patient I should have saved, and then I almost killed a medical student in a car crash. So I woke up one morning, and everything I thought I had was gone. Gone or broken. So what do you have for that?"

But despite his tragic past, Luka isn't just dark or brooding. When he can relax and open up, there is a warm, almost boyish quality to his actions. A former colleague from Croatia attests that before he lost his family, he used to be a practical joker and joyful man who used to laugh a lot. When he's in a good place this shines through, like getting absolutely swept away by a shiny new Playstation 2 or participating in a game of baseball with his colleagues (who needs to know what a foul ball is, really). In these moments he's sociable, humorous and goofy, eager to do nice things for other people – like spontaneously renting a camper for his girlfriend and his son, taking them on a two-day trip or making thoughtful presents that show he listens and take notes of people's interests. He is a very loyal and companionable friend and when in a relationship, he's extremely affectionate with his significant other.

All in all, Luka is very approachable and quick to make friends. It's maintaining these relationships that he struggles with. Last fun fact – Luka has a good grip on the English language but with a very notable accent. Oftentimes he messes up idioms and uses malapropisms which shape his interactions: Always look on the sunny side of life.


Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping:
- trained medical professional; often works on accident sites, knows how to improvise in the field or with limited gear
- fencing

No special powers, he's your run-of-the-mill human.


Inventory:
1. his clothes: blue shirt and tie, jeans, dark shoes; white coat with a hospital badge and a small flashlight in his pocket
2. stethoscope
3. (at the apartment) field kit with some rudimentary medical gear: gauze, gloves, tape, scissors, rubbing alcohol, pincette, scalpel


Writing Samples:
TDM TL and thread
TDM thread

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: LP
Player Age: 33
Player Contact: caffettiera

Other Characters In Game: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
In-Game Tag If Accepted: luka kovac: LP
Permissions for Character: Over here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Absolutely
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: (slow) corruption, manipulation and terrible choices that come with consequences; personal demons; negative CR and fights between characters with opposing plans/ideas; forced personality changes and mind control
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Nope!
Additional Information: Luka is Roman Catholic and a big part of him is his personal struggles with his faith. As I know that's a sensitive subject this, along with all the medical stuff, has an opt-out on his permission post.