Aeris Lockhart
Hello.
If you found your way here through a book, a convention, a game, or simply by chance, welcome.
I'm glad you're here.
I'm Aeris Lockhart.
Life has taken me through many worlds over the years. Some digital, some real, and some existing somewhere in between.
Along the way I've worked with technology, built communities, organized events, played far too many games, and eventually found myself writing stories.
I've never stayed in one place for very long. There was always another road to follow, another story to hear, another thing waiting to be understood.
Many of the things that matter most to me began as small pieces collected on those journeys.
Yet there is one world whose call I have never quite managed to ignore.
This place is where some of them have come together.
You'll usually find me writing, gaming, working with technology, spending time with cats, or wondering where all these paths lead next.
And somewhere along the way, I learned to follow the scent of vanilla.
Writing
I wasn't supposed to be a writer, or at least that's what I've been told.
But things change.
I ended up writing Rewrite the Falling, a long-running fanfiction series set in the world of Final Fantasy VII. In many ways, it feels very different from anything I wrote before.
The story has been with me for decades. It began as a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Not the world, and not the people in it. Just a handful of small things.
The trouble with small things is that they rarely stay small. Who we are. What we choose. The paths we take and the choices we make.
For me, writing has never felt like inventing things from nothing. It feels closer to remembering.
If you'll forgive the terminology, it's as though the Lifestream carries fragments to me. Rarely complete scenes or conversations. More often feelings, impressions, and emotions. I worried about that when I was younger. I spent far too much time trying to analyze it.
Only when I learned to stop fighting it and simply listen was I able to begin writing this story.
As a result, I don't always know where one Aeris ends and the other begins. There are differences, certainly. More than a few. But there are also things that are difficult to separate.
As for being a writer, I still don't know if the title fits.
I don't expect to write other stories. This one is more than enough.
And at the pace it's growing, it will probably keep me occupied for years.
Events
In 2023, during a difficult period of my life, I bought a ticket to a local anime convention.
I was told I was lucky. The tickets usually sell out within minutes.
The event took place in early 2024, and it changed my life.
I'm not someone who naturally enjoys being surrounded by thousands of people, yet somehow it felt different there. Standing among the crowds in a pink dress, I felt more comfortable than I expected.
Still, something was missing.
I've never been particularly good at sitting still and simply watching. One conversation led to another, and before long I found myself volunteering at another event. Then another. Then another.
Over time I took on roles I had never imagined myself doing and met many wonderful people along the way, including my partner.
Today, fandom communities and events are an important part of my life. They gave me friendships, experiences, opportunities, and a place to belong. You may find me at events such as Yureicon, Matsucon, and Desucon.
Games
I'm a gamer, and always have been. From the Commodore 64 to modern PCs, with a few consoles along the way, games have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was probably able to type the commands to load a game before I could properly read. Figures.
I've spent decades in online games, particularly MMORPGs. Some of the more memorable stops along the way include Anarchy Online and Final Fantasy XIV. While I prefer the name Aeris Lockhart, it isn't always available, so you may also have encountered me as Mireiawen Rose.
I've led raids and guilds when needed, but I've always been more interested in the stories.
Stories are what keep bringing me back to RPGs in general, and some stories stay with us because they tell us something new.
Others stay because they give names to things we already knew but could never quite explain. Final Fantasy VII and it's universe has been an important part of my life for decades. Not because it gave me new ideas, but because it gave words to feelings and experiences I already carried with me.
It wasn't the only story to shape who I became, but it was one of the few that helped me understand it.
Technology
IT is my profession, though for many years it was also my hobby. I've carried servers into datacenters, written code that continues to function against all odds, managed projects, and spent more nights than I'd like to admit keeping stubborn systems alive.
Every so often I still find myself watching over a server somewhere through the night. It's less glamorous than tending the Lifestream, but the principle is surprisingly similar. Things are usually fine right until they aren't.
I've never been devoted to a single technology. Instead I've wandered through many of them, learning whatever seemed useful at the time. Infrastructure, software, cloud services, networks, automation and countless other things that blur together after enough years.
Some people become masters of a single craft. I've always been more interested in learning how all the pieces fit together.