Name: Lukas Dimopoulos
Age: 41
Time living in Tonopah: Roughly 30 years
Occupation: Bartender at Dionysos
Gang Affiliation: Formerly Los Santos - Sicario
Neighborhood: Webster Village
Face Claim: Jon Bernthal
Biography (TW: death, war, PTSD, drugs, addiction):
As the firstborn son to Georgios and Sofia Dimopoulos, the pressure to somehow fit into that role was suffocating at best, especially when there was no chance in hell that Lukas was ever going to live up to it. He was a hellraiser early on– a hardheaded rebel who challenged his father at every twist and turn solely because he could. So any chance at being the golden boy? Well, it was pissed away before Lukas even reached adolescence. He’d always felt like the black sheep of the family, knowing that he’d never live up to his father’s expectations and, if he was being honest, he didn’t want to. Luke marched to the beat of his own drum, and the older he got, the less he apologized for it– but we’ll get into that later.
Early on, his parents tried again for more children and bore twins, Stefanos and Christos. At the time, Lukas was so young that not much registered to him, but as he grew older, he began to see just how strict Georgios really was on all of them. The expectations were impossibly high, and inevitably, that bred resentment from Luke’s standpoint when all he wanted was to shield his siblings from it too. But before he was old enough to even think about that, their mother passed prior to his siblings even first birthday. Her passing served as a catalyst for so many things. Not only did Georgios remarry a few years later and have another child, a daughter named Tori, but he moved the entire family to the United States in the years that followed, leaving Greece behind.
Oddly enough, Lukas didn’t resent Georgios for any of it, despite whatever tension existed between them. He’d always had this uncanny way of letting shit roll off his back. Plus, at ten years old, he saw Tonopah Valley as a fresh start, especially knowing that his extended family was here too. Even so, he didn’t spend much time at home. Instead, he just roamed about, getting his own lay of the land. In the process, he learned of his family ties to Los Santos, but largely steered clear, solely because he had his sights set on whatever would take him even further away from Nevada and give his life the meaning he felt that it lacked. And so after high school, he quickly enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000 and was shipped off to basic training in a flash.
The Marines became his entire life, largely because he felt like he finally belonged somewhere, but he joined at a tumultuous time. A year later, in 2001, the entire world was shaken up in one day, and Luke would find himself in the thick of it. Putting his best foot forward in the middle of an impossible time, Lukas received additional training to become a bomb squad technician, and then was thrusted into some of the most dangerous warzones during that time period. There weren’t many bright spots– mostly just endless carnage that would continue to haunt him well into present day. But there was one bright spot– or at least, to him, it had felt like a bright spot. In between tours, when he was twenty-five, Lukas met a woman who seemingly made all of those horrors disappear and married her on a whim. It wasn’t built to last, but Luke liked to think that it was. His marriage was just one small semblance of normalcy in a life that held no room for it. That was enough for him.
Many tours and even more deaths later, there was practically nothing that could console Lukas– not even his wife, though she tried. But it was still problem after problem, horror after horror– and naturally, Luke slipped. He tried his best to keep his head above water and continue to serve the way he desired, but every attempt backfired and pushed him further away from the Marines and back towards his family. After being dishonorably discharged upon failing a drug test, Lukas returned to Tonopah Valley at thirty-two, only to fall right into the hands of Los Santos. And with that fall and the demons that accompanied it, his marriage only strained even more.
In a lot of ways, the cartel was similar to what he’d known for the last few years. It was regimented enough to allow him to fall into the sort of routine someone like Lukas desperately needed. But in other ways, it was so different that Luke had a hard time finding his place within it. It was a slow start, to say the least, but little by little, Luke chipped away at the barriers he’d raised between him and Los Santos, and before he knew it, he’d become a trusted sicario. He’d always been better known for his muscle, above all else. It was a trait that was noticed by everyone– the way Luke would throw himself into the thick of it before the others. It was just the way he was wired. Some had brains, some had brawn– and it didn’t take long to figure out which one Lukas excelled at. Many within Los Santos took notice, especially the current Teniente, Matias Santiago. In his own arrogance, he figured he could persuade anyone within his ranks to do absolutely anything.
But along came Lukas.
He’d been tasked with doing away with one Owen MacNally back in 2020– some bullshit attempt to prove Luke’s loyalty to Los Santos, or more accurately, to Matias. But Luke wasn’t built like most. He wasn’t loyal to one person, he was loyal to a collective whole, and when that collective whole threatened someone his family held dear? No, he wasn’t about to join in. His younger sister, Tori, who’d become his entire world ever since she was born, was involved with Owen, and that was enough for Lukas to lay his guns down and refuse whatever bullshit scheme Matias wanted him to part of. But that wasn’t enough for Matias. In a bid to show just how “powerful” he was, he set Lukas up to take the fall for an armed robbery. The details were murky at best but enough to land Luke a hefty sentence.
While inside, Lukas did what he could to serve his family’s interests, little by little. Los Santos was on the back burner for him, particularly after the way he’d been framed by their local leader. Needless to say, he wasn’t upset to see just how far that man actually fell when push came to shove. No, Lukas hadn’t been there to bask in it, but Matias’ downfall meant a great deal to him. It meant that he might actually have a shot once he got out. As long as Matias was in charge, Luke knew he’d never stand a chance. But after a regime change and the other man’s downfall, Lukas actually had a fair shot– at least when it came to Los Santos. When it came to his marriage, there was little he could do– they were estranged at best, which only seemed to matter when tax season rolled around, but that was enough for Luke. He was already balancing too much to care about what that meant.
Four years later, Lukas found himself facing parole. After an impressive showing to the parole board, he was granted a conditional release. Initially charged with seven years, he’d be allowed to spend the last three on parole for what Matias had framed him for. He could handle that, or at least that was what Lukas told himself, but while he was inside, so much had changed. Los Santos had dismantled in Tonopah, threats were springing up from all around, and his family was caught up in the thick of it. So, on the eve of this conditional release and three years of parole…what the fuck was that supposed to mean for him?
Has a pitbull that he rescued from the fighting rings named Betty. She’s his entire world. His sister, Tori, has been babysitting her while he’s been in prison.
Still married, but solely for tax purposes bc it’s hard out here. Outside of W2 and tax season, they’ve not communicated much.
Will be purchasing a v cheap fixer upper in Webster Village that he plans to restore once out of prison.
Feeling rather lost, but has to prove to his parole officer that he’s functioning in society, so he’ll be working at the family restaurant.
