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[A note: British schooling is different from American schooling, and thus some terms may seem confusing in this application. In Britain, there is Primary School, Secondary School, Lower Sixth (eleventh grade), Upper Sixth (twelfth grade), and University. From friends, I have heard that 'Lower and Upper sixth' are sometimes referred to as 'college', for the sake of ease, I will refer to them as college in this application.]

1. Arthur Kirkland was diagnosed at an early age with Aspberger's Autism, and it is something he has struggled to control his entire life.

It isn't his biggest vice, admittedly, but it does have a lot to do with how he thinks- and he thinks quite differently than his companions and peers. Though he has worked all his life to have better control of it, he still often finds himself relapsing in behaviours- spewing long-winded rants without taking care to see that his listener is paying any attention; having trouble with eye contact, postures, and gestures; finding himself quite obsessed with specific subjects in conversations; and speaking very quickly when holding these conversations.

He often finds himself unintentionally putting other people off because of his behaviours. Because he has a good perception of how other people feel- and can easily and correctly judge their moods- this often causes him to become uncomfortable, frustrated, and/or irritable. He doesn't understand how others think sometimes; while he may realise that someone is upset, he doesn't always make the connection that it is his duty to comfort them because of it.

His behaviour, though less obvious now, was very obvious to his companions in secondary school, college, and university in Britain. He was often teased for his inability to look people in the eye, his habit for long-winded tangents, and how easily he would become flustered with attractive men and women. It became very hard for him to forget that these people mistreated him, even if he forgave them.

However, Arthur also finds it difficult to understand why people refuse to forgive him for certain things– he realises that things are in the past and is very insistent that his intentions were never to harm people. He can easily empathise with people but cannot express this empathy quite as easily and often comes off as rude and aloof. Still, his social attitudes and behaviours have been improving strongly since the end of his British-college days.

In Hartsbridge, Arthur hopes that he can gain even more control and finally feel as though he is normal- but with the presence of a university 'friend' so close by in the form of a Frenchman named Francis Bonnefoy, Arthur doubts his ability to socialise with his peers. Instead, he keeps to himself to avoid trouble.

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2. Arthur's temper is horrible, but he learns from his mistakes.

Like a true Taurus, Arthur has the temper of a raging bull and when someone pushes the right buttons, he can easily be reduced to a mess of fury. When furious, he often can't think things straight and tends to come off as stupid, lacking very good comebacks. However, when upset in other ways, he can develop the tongue of a snake.

Earlier in his career but while he was still teaching in the United States, Arthur was technically fired from his teaching job at another institute. His temper got the best of him far too many times, and his students became uncomfortable with his outbursts. Fellow teachers also became impatient with him, often arguing with him between classes.

It couldn't be denied that Arthur was a great educator- still, with his interactions with his students, the higher-ups believed Arthur was not the right man for the job. After a few discussions, the administrators allowed him to quit and find another job himself without ruining his record with a pink note.

Being fired– and having failed, really– took much of the fuel out of the Englishman's fire. However, teaching is what Arthur loved to do; his parents taught, and he felt his gifts were there to teach as well. As such, the young teacher didn't give up and applied for a position at Hartsbridge University.

During the semester he has taught at Hartsbridge, Arthur has found himself much better at keepign control and getting things done diplomatically. Rather than become very angry at his students' antics, he has become adept at stopping, calming himself, and replying to his students with witty retorts that stop whatever silly goals they may have had.

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3. He is a fair teacher, but he is all-business.

He can’t stand idiotic questions, and he can’t stand it when people don’t try. If he finds anyone not trying in his class, he is quick to warn them that he will throw them out. Arthur is not a total hard-ass, however; he does understand that some people have trouble learning. While he is a difficult professor and he will be the first to tell you so, he is fair; his peeves only extend to those who make an effort to be stupid, slack off, or other such undue attitudes. Should a student seem as though they simply do not wish to do any of the work, he will be very dissatisfied with them.

The only slack he gives to students are to those who show an honest wish to learn, whether their work ethic depicts this or not. However, regardless of the skill a student has or how much he likes a student, he will physically remove any student from his lecture who dares to fall asleep. Luckily for his students, his lectures aren’t boring- just high-level. Arthur doesn’t see himself as an unfair teacher at all, though his students often say he is. His rules tend to revolve around the idea that if resources are provided, they ought to be used. If students are not using the resources he and the school provide, he does not expect to hear inquiries involving such things.

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4. When calm and comfortable with the person he is with, he can be a good listener.

Arthur is not without sympathy, even if he is a hard-hearted teacher. He understands first-hand that many people have problems that simply need to be talked out- and so long as these problems aren't trivial, Arthur is perfectly content to listen to them. Being a good listener doesn't mean he knows how to help, however.

Arthur isn't much for advice, and is quick to say so- though he will always make a decent attempt. He also has trouble realising that some people are only looking for comfort, and is never quite sure how to comfort them, anyway. Still, being an attentive teacher has won him the endearment of a few students who now see him as fair and considerate. This pleases him greatly as he was raised to be polite, and positive feedback from his students gives him hope as an educator.

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5. He is a casual smoker.

And he won’t let you tell him otherwise. He limits himself to a pack a week and only goes over when thoroughly stressed.

...That being said, the professor is quite easily stressed out– between his temper and his worrying over his career and friends, he often becomes shaky with stress. He is of the school of thought that smoking relaxes the body and mind, even though he's read the studies that prove otherwise. This leads to him smoking quite a bit.

He has never had any problems due to smoking before, and thus seems to have an air of invincibility about it. It has yet to occur to him how mortal he is, and he honestly doesn’t see smoking as much of a problem, especially since he only smokes outside.

Of course, Arthur is not as immortal as he believes himself to be, and his doctors warn him that he may be in danger of developing asthma- a threat that has been starting to become real in Hartsbridge. He finds himself short of breath a lot more recently and is starting to believe that he may be in real danger. While he makes it seem as though he doesn't really care, he has taken a few precautions and read up on ways to prevent and treat asthma attacks. He doesn't like coffee, but because it is said that coffee can help treat an asthma attack, he keeps instant coffee in his desk. The possibility of developing asthma has not discouraged him from smoking.

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6. With his co-workers, he comes across as older than he is.

Arthur has a very distinct manner of speech and acting that tends to lead his co-workers into believing he is much older than he actually is- 35-40 compared to his 26. The way he handles his students only adds to this, and his students themselves seem to believe he must be some crotchety old man who has to dye his hair blonde or something. He very much enjoys this perception and does his best to ensure that coworkers maintain this vision of him.

The idea of them treating him differently because of his youth is something that very much bothers Arthur, who (somewhat pretentiously and somewhat righteously, as he has studied more than enough) considers himself very well learned. In addition, he finds that if his co-workers have this perception, they will not guess at his immaturity and autism. The idea of being treated differently because of his behaviours makes Arthur very angry, as he considers himself mature enough to stand on his own two feet, and has indeed shown that he is.

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7. He owns a dog named King Charles.

King Charles is not a King Charles Spaniel, but a big Saint Bernard. He’s been Arthur’s faithful friend for 8 years, and was gifted to him by his parents (as a puppy). The dog seems to be wiser than Arthur himself sometimes and Arthur’s desk is covered in pictures of his beloved pet. Some of his students joke that King Charles is secretly Arthur’s husband.

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8. He's not much of a cook, due to a lack of practice. He never had much of a need to, and when forced to learn by necessity, he only learned the bare minimum. He prefers to purchase healthy pre-made meals and isn’t too fond of American meals. He does his best to find international markets or food-places. His favourite places to dine are those that serve Indian or Portuguese meals.

He sometimes enjoys watching cooking shows like Jamie Oliver and other such things, but never has had much time to put in the effort to cook well himself. He often says that he intends to practice some day, but never actually gets around to doing any of this practicing.

While he does enjoy good flavours, Arthur isn't all that concerned with eating. Meals often take the back burner for him, and he would prefer to work through meal-breaks while eating work-friendly foods. The idea that a meal could get in the way of his work often troubles him, so he packs light snacks instead of full meals to work.

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9. Arthur has a somewhat eccentric sense of style. Argyle, stripes, plaid, and earth tones don't exactly sound bad– until you put them together. Arthur isn't known for having a fashionable sense of style and usually wears what he likes. In this way, he comes across as very eccentric and strange. Most of the time, however, Arthur isn't paying attention or simply doesn't realise that the styles he is using don't work together.

He would be ashamed if someone pointed it out, but isn't entirely out to impress anyone, either. He doesn't see the real importance of it if he's not trying to be impressive, anyway, and believes that he dresses professionally when necessary.

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10. He wasn't as well behaved in school as he expects his students to be.

Alas, the now very straight-edge teacher had himself a little ‘punk’ stage during his late secondary school and lower-sixth years (highschool in America, minus twelfth grade) and got mixed up in drinking and smoking. Arthur was easily influenced by his peers, and believed what he was doing were the only choices for him– he was stuck, felt useless, and felt that he'd be better off doing things to make himself happy then. It wasn't as though he had troubles understanding material; Arthur was very adept with all of his studies, even arithmetic.

However, his grades would fail due to interactions with other students, outbursts, trouble with turning in work and disagreements with educators. It was only when one of Arthur's teachers reached out to him that he found a good path. His teacher was on treatment for severe ADHD and identified with Arthur's struggle, and together with Arthur's parents helped the misguided youth to see that there was an entire world of opportunity open to him regardless of his learning difference.

[OPTIONAL: Should the other British Islanders want to be brothers with Arthur, I'd love to have them been a BIG influence on Arthur during this time in his life.]

At university he straightened out, finding himself incredibly interested in literature and history, particularly anglo-centric history. While anglo-centric history became more of a hobby, literature became what he wished to teach about. His no-nonsense policies are all in hopes that one day he will be the kind of teacher to turn a student around from the kind of life he got mixed up in. He has confidence that such students will be able to turn themselves  around; however, he knows that his influence and constant challenge can inspire students. That, and he simply has no tolerance for stupidity.

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