Luis Byrne

The Lightsverse Wiki

This article contains spoilers for The Lights and The Afterglow.

Luis Ángel Byrne is the protagonist of The Lights, and a supporting antagonist of The Afterglow.

Luis is a member of the primary group followed in The Lights, the survivors, serving as the de facto commander and technical officer, although the command structure is mostly symbolic; Peter relies on Artemis Roberts and Luis Byrne to assist him in organising the survivors. Peter is a showmanly leader who enjoys putting his friends in stressful or deadly situations, appearing to take pleasure in doing so. He is one of the final six.

Peter hails from Gaithersburg, Maryland and attended Gaithersburg High, along with Artemis and the rest of the survivors, save Luis. Peter worked as a lighting technician for Gaithersburg's theatre. He was part of the second group to leave for the coast, and was in Tower 7 when the first Lightshow hit. He was hosting multiple members of the initial survivors at his parents' beach house, and used the space as a triage once the Apocalypse began. It was Peter's idea to evade the Lights by going to sea, having noticed that a Lightshow only affected an area up to forty feet off the ground.

Peter's initial characterisation was that of an awkward, nerdy technician prone to run-on sentences and impulsiveness, but over the course of the Lightshow Apocalypse, his personality shifted to a more callous, sadistic nature, becoming more confident and theatrical, as well as peppering his sentences liberally with swearing. Peter's relationship with Artemis similarly becomes more and more codependent, although the two trust each other enough to never doubt one another's loyalty even when in the Second Circle of Hell or when both parties showed an interest in Faith Lehane.

History

Before the Lights

Growing up in a suburban cul-de-sac, Peter's upbringing was wildly hands-off from his parents, who divorced when Peter was seven. After the split, Peter was rarely on speaking terms with either parent, let alone the revolving door of step-parents throughout the years. Seeking a way to fill the void left by his lack of love from family, Peter became friends with Oliver Williams. Oliver was hostile to most people, but he liked the same things Peter did, and the two bonded quickly. By middle school, the two reguarly cut class to work on haphazardly constructed contraptions - which Peter was much better than Oliver at creating, leading Oliver to call him a ‘human 3D printer’ on multiple occasions. Both were adept with code, and often joked that they could ‘send a rover to mars better than NASA.’ The two were both skilled with malware and hacking as well, becoming ‘virtual hitmen’ to some students, allowing them some social reach - although Peter was the only one who embraced his newfound conncetions. Both understood each other instantly, often compared to telepaths, and Peter was often seen as impatient when around other people. When Oliver dropped out of school during COVID, however, Peter decided to finally grow up, joining Technical Theatre classes, where his height proved both an aid and a detriment.

Peter became very close with Luis Byrne during this time, their personalities almost being like two sides of a coin. A loner named Artemis Roberts was always trying to one-up Peter during this time, and often succeeding because Peter had a bad habit of failing to notice exceedingly obvious things in front of him. Peter confided in Luis that he liked Artemis in a romantic way, and the two hatched a plan in return for Peter’s help with Luis’s own romantic issues. When Luis was rejected by Astrid Kollen, he became wild and unpredictable, and Peter enlisted his now friend Artemis to help; the three did everything in their power for each other when push came to shove, but Luis, who now went to a catholic school - much to the disgust of Peter and Artemis - went offline for sometimes months at once, leading to concern for his safety.

During one of these blackouts, Peter finally worked up the courage to ask Artemis out, and got a yes in response. The two dated for years and were sometimes referred to by other students as ‘basically telepathic.’ Peter had not been as abrasive since beginning to date Artemis, or ‘Art’ as he called her, and he helped Artemis with her depression, while struggling with his own. He had for so long buried emotions behind layers and layers of sarcasm and humor that he never knew what to say in situations that demanded a somber attitude, knowing only a reference or joke to make, trying to lighten the mood of those around him, he claimed, but he was always trying - and failing - to brighten his own. At the end of their Junior year of school, Peter received word that Luis had resigned from his 'job' and that he’d be in town for the summer. Peter and Artemis excitedly planned a string of meet-ups, but Luis had to go out of town with a group of old friends in August, so Peter planned with Artemis to go to Rehoboth Beach with a couple friends that they had made in High School.

The Lightshow Apocalypse

Death and Time in Hell

Resurrection and Crusade Against the Coalition

Alternate Timeline in 1999 Sunnydale

In the official fanfiction The Displacement, the survivors are transported into a crossover event with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, set during the show's third season. The Displacement focuses on the inability of the survivors to assimilate back into normal life, and Peter is the prime example, having subconsciously embraced the harsh conditions of the Lightshow Apocalypse. Peter and Artemis discover ways to kill vampires using their existing weapons and skillset, while simultaneously existing around - and disrupting the timeline of - an important episode in the show's original run.

Relationships

Peter is often extremely abrasive, but cares for those around him enough to put his life or, more often, Luis’s life, in danger.

With Artemis

Artemis is the one person Peter outwardly cares for, and is the only person to consistently lower Peter’s mask. Peter and Artemis have been dating for some time as of the opening to The Lights, but their relationship status is not concretely stated until The Reclamation. Peter and Artemis choose to live together on multiple occasions, and do so comfortably, but the two are still able to make each other blush or lose their confidence with so little as a well-placed compliment. It is possible they operate on some level of an open or otherwise sex-positive relationship, as suggested in the (non-canon) Sunnydale timeline, when both express a romantic or sexual interest in slayer Faith Lehane, though neither Peter nor Artemis typically display any amount of desire for sex or intimacy beyond general closeness, at least when around others.

With Luis

Luis is Peter’s best friend, but is often treated callously around others. Peter has little patience for any of Luis’s vices or medical issues, suggesting a rather puritan nature from Peter, though he lightens his anti-addict nature throughout the Lightshow Apocalypse. Although Luis and Peter butt heads regularly, Luis is the only person that can get Peter to lower his guard and speak frankly about his emotions. Although the two verbally spar in front of others, Peter rarely letting Luis finish a story and Luis brushing off Peter’s combat inexperience, the two are quiet and genuine with each other behind closed doors.

Skills and Abilities

While Peter is the weakest of the Reclamation-era survivors physically, he makes up the difference in ingenuity and energy. Peter possesses seemingly limitless energy, often staying up for days on end and climbing any surface he can. He often struggles to stay still; when he is sitting he is often perched on a surface, seconds from leaping to his feet. Despite the musculature required for climbing, Peter - who is often found near the ceilings of spaces - struggles to land a punch or carry heavy items.

Artificing - Peter can manufacture materials and weapons in a very short amount of time with limited materials.

Technical Knowledge - Peter is the computer whisperer of the survivors, and can interface with any computer from a door mechanism to a Coalition supercomputer.

Sleight of Hand - especially when with Artemis, Peter can smuggle items past trained and mercenary individuals.

Notable Items

Peter is a master artificer, and manufactures several gadgets and weapons used by the survivors.

M16

Revolver (later used by Peter to make the first Lightning Gun

Assorted drugs and illicit substances

Nicotine Gum

Green Subaru

Wedding Band

Quotes

"Never take pleasure in the kill, brother. May I remind you, I made that mistake once, and lived to regret it.” in Installation 01 in The Reclamation

Values

Luis is highly principled and holds tightly to his values, twisted as they may often be. While he sets aside his morals for the sake of getting a job done - whether the job was part of his mercenary cartel work during his High School years or protecting his friends and family during the Lightshow Apocalypse - he maintains the value of human life. Luis is the most outwardly emotional member of the Survivors, often giving speeches and soliloquys during emotionally trying situations and letting his heart guide him more than any of his peers. Before he died, Luis was heavily Catholic, owing from his Mexican-Irish upbringing, and often took time to pray and visit churches, spending time at the church of Parrocchia di San Giovanni Battista during the Monterosso chapter of The Lights. Luis is not fully weighed down by his past and values, however, and posesses a sense of humour, at times yes and-ing Peter's riffs. Despite his abrasive outer nature, he is a deeply caring and warm individual.

Trivia

Luis is Mexican-Irish, his first and middle names coming from his mother's side and his surname from his father's Irish lineage. Luis is proud of both of these identities, and is Catholic at the beginning of The Lights, regularly taking time to pray in situations of need.

Luis's first name comes from Lexi McManus asking for the character to be named Louis. However, the name was changed to Luis to better reflect the character's Mexican-Irish heritage, and to separate him from his foil, who already had a French name. Luis's name meaning 'famed warrior' was a coincidence, in contrast to the more planned-out names of other characters. His surname is a reference to David Byrne of the band Talking Heads, though it also serves as a pun, being pronounced the same as the word burn, in reference both to Luis's endless passion and his later nickname of Phoenix.

Luis's journey of redemption and healing is darkly mirrored by Peter's descent into madness.

Although Luis is regularly called 'emo' by Peter and Artemis, he is not part of the subculture, favouring classic and heartland rock artists such as Motley Crue and Bruce Springsteen - although he is known to enjoy at least one song by Cheap Trick. He also enjoys showtunes, likely as a connection between him and the Kollen twins.

Although Luis claims at various points to be conservative, even mentioning the antebellum and confederate American South, many of his stated beliefs are progressive and he displays hints of a punk edge.

Luis's spiritual beliefs change after his resurrection, but he still prays in the same manner, simply to a different deity.

The Guardian mentions its previous vessel to Luis on multiple occasions - Luis's predecessor was canonically Joan of Arc, although this is not stated in The Reclamation for reasons of not being gratuitous.