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[femmefatalities]

○ Born Anise Addell Becker, December 9th 1987, 35/36 years old.
○ Grew up in a big manor house in the countryside outside Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.
○ Majored in literature and has a minor in gender studies.
○ Took her masters at a prestigious university in New York City.
○ Moved back to Luxembourg City when she was offered a position at her alma mater.
○ Has taught courses in gender studies at Luxembourg University for two semesters now.
○ Mainly teaches classes on feminist literature and is working on introducing a queer literature syllabus.
○ Takes over her old French lit professor's creative writing course when he falls ill, this is where she meets Alexa.
○ Is a writer herself as well, primarily poetry, writing mostly for zines and anthologies.
○ Works in something she calls 'look-up' poetry. (Example.)
○ Is a big fan of Alexa's two previous collections of poetry and has used them consistently in her teaching.
○ Identifies as lesbian, furthermore sees herself as femme.

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[femmefatalities]

Anise was born as the oldest and only child to Pierre and Maria Becker, he a prominent general in the armed forces, she a former nurse now homemaker who spent most of Anise's early years making up for her father's frequent absence and foul moods when he was home. Her mother was a gentle, demure soul, whereas Pierre was stern, short-tempered and impatient of nature as well as a general sexist of opinion. He and Anise clashed often as she grew into adolescence and in the beginning, she thought she only liked girls to not like men like her father. When she was sixteen, he suddenly died of a stroke and, although she finds it difficult to verbalize, it was a relief not to live in his shadow any longer. She mourned her father, sure, but mostly she mourned the father she never had. After her father's death, she and her mother remaining in the manor house until Anise moved out at 19, Anise took an interest in literature and politics, not sure whether to pursue one or the other. In the end, she decided to engage with writing, because you can write about political subjects whereas making politics that cater to literature is more difficult, the best of both worlds. She took a bachelor degree in literature from Luxembourg University and then, to get away from the Catholic and overall very conservative and narrow-minded environment in Luxembourg, applied for a master's degree at Columbia University, New York City. For two years, she lived and worked in New York, finding that the world suddenly broadened and expanded around her. At one and the same time, she felt more at home like this than she ever had in Luxembourg, and at the same time her roots were squarely in her mother country. After finishing her master's, she did a Ph.D. in gender studies and took courses in creative writing, staying an additional decade in New York, before a position opened at her old alma mater back in Luxembourg. They needed a professor in French-language literature and Anise applied, quickly getting word back that she was to expect a yes. In a whirlwind, she moved back to Europe, finding a suitable apartment not too far from her mother's new place, and started her new job. For two semesters, she worked pretty unremarkably, until her own old French lit professor, who also led the creative writing course at campus, fell seriously ill and they needed a substitute. She stepped in. That is where everything starts, and possibly how everything ends.