[tjxastor]

Name: Titan Jerome Astor Faceclaim: Matthew Broome Age: 23 Sexual Orientation: Homosexual Species: Witch Ability: Gold Touch/Alchemy Occupation: Heir to the Coven/Magician/Gambler Relationship Status: Single Personality Traits: Loner, Captivating, Observant, Sheltered, Clever, Asocial, Mannered, Repressed

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE INFERRED/MENTIONED, KIDNAPPING

Titan Jerome knew he was different from his very first memory at the age of three. His father had gifted him gloves and at first, the young boy was happy -- excited, even. But then his father revealed to him why he must wear them at all times: You killed your mother by your own hands the day you were born. Don't let it happen again.

Since then, TJ hasn't touched anyone without his gloves. And even with them on, he was always hesitant -- standing at least a foot away from others and shoving his hands into his pockets. If he could have cut his hands off without his parents disapproving, he would have. But their magic was what made them them. And what was Astorgold without gold?

By the age of seven, TJ realized just how important his family and the business was. He started calling his father's wife, mom, and did his best to obey every rule and meet all expectations. There were slip ups and punishments were dealt out, which only caused TJ to want to obey even more. His brother, however, seemed to react different to it.

Over the years, TJ tried to connect with his older brother. He looked up to him and in truth, he wanted to be close to him. But when TJ was pronounced heir to Astorgold and their coven, it tore apart the last shred of true connection that he had with his brother. From then on, the expectations of TJ only grew and soon, he found himself completely isolated from anyone but the coven.

He never once revealed to his parents, or his brother, that he did not feel confident in his magic. In fact, he felt as if he barely had any at all. This led him to learn slight of hand, twisting other's perceptions when he needed to. It worked, up until the age of twenty two when he was asked to complete a series of tests. It would prove to his parents, and the coven, that he was ready to take on even more responsibilities. As if he didn't have enough already.

In a panic, TJ fled to Port Leiry, leaving everyone behind. He didn't tell anyone where he was going, not even his brother. It was an ill thought out plan, as he had no real experience outside of what his family had provided for him for all of those years. He had no money, no shelter, and no food.

During his first stay, he experienced a kidnapping of sorts. A man who saw him turn an apple gold. He had a bracelet charmed -- TJ insisted it was cursed -- and it caused him to not be able to leave the town. This was what originally brought his older brother, AJ, to Port Leiry. His job? To send TJ back home.

It took months for TJ to find someone that could remove the bracelet. Months of being used by someone for his magic, even though he could hardly control it. After being released from it, he decided to go back home. To make it up to his family.

It lasted ten months. He'd postponed the tests until his hands were forced by his father, revealing that his magic was no where near as strong as his family originally thought. The heir status that he'd been given and even fought for was immediately stripped from him. Money was drained from his accounts. He was kicked out of his home. Then, he was brought to the Pactorlus river.

TJ didn't fight his father as he forced the water into his mouth. If he wasn't going to be heir, then what did he have to live for? He was a failure. Defective. A horrible excuse for an Astor. Death was what he expected after such a long game of deception.

Death did not come, though. Instead, he was stripped of his power for some time and was told by his father to retrieve his brother. Even though AJ had not been groomed in the way TJ had to be heir, Levi is adamant that the heir needs to be strong with the Astor power.

TJ is now in Port Leiry again except this time, he's on his own mission. Not to find AJ, but to learn how to become strong in magic. To find a teacher that can help him grow and become what he's meant to be: The Astor Heir.

HEADCANONS

At a young age, TJ was desperate for affection and attention. He had an extremely hard time keeping his hands to himself, even though he was afraid of what his magic could do. He restrained himself so much that he rarely takes his hands out of his pockets unless he absolutely has to.

The restraint he has is immeasurable. Even so, he always has something in his pocket to fidget with. A rubber band, a ball, something to click over and over again. Anything that allows him to use his fingers without touching someone.

TJ looked up to his older brother. He wanted to be like him so badly but he knew, as heir, he couldn't. He had to be more mature -- making similar decisions to what their father would. He had to be present, mentally, at all times. He couldn't afford to mess up and if he did, the punishments he endured made him regret it.

He's never been in any form of a relationship. He's also never came out to anyone. His parents have suggested several girls that he could and should marry. Thus far, he's avoided any solid plans on that.

About once every couple of months now, his magic is uncontrollable. Gold will seep from his fingertips and splatter onto any surface that it lands on. He has, on multiple occasions, completely gold touched every surface of a room. His parents were always proud, thinking that he did it on purpose.

TJ has never had a real job and doesn't really know how to fit in. He does, however, find the casino fascinating and frequents there, trying to learn how to gamble.

CONNECTIONS

STREET RAT ; TJ has become comfortable with the streets of Port Leiry in the last couple of months. It's where he prefers to be, observing and smiling at people. This person has taken a liking to him and his personality and they are slowly becoming friends.

WINNINGS ; In the last couple of weeks, TJ has taken to gambling. He believes that if he wins big, that he will be able to buy his way out of his captor's clutches. This connection is open to anyone who either also enjoys gambling, who has played games with TJ, or perhaps someone who's seen him use some of his magician tricks in order to win.

[tjxastor]

closed starter for @ofgarnett

"Whoah-- wait!"

"I've come in peace." TJ watched the woman's hands, as if she was going to suddenly use magic against him. She could, if she wanted to. He was useless and defenseless against it. But that's part of the reason why he was there. He'd heard rumors about her and while rumors weren't always true, he had to know.

"You know how to control power." He kept his hands up to show that he wasn't there to do any form of harm. "I desperately need a teacher. I need--" To take back what's mine. "I will literally pay you in gold." Gold that he did not currently have. "Teach me."

[optimism-blooms]

Matthew Broome As Nick Leister | MY FAULT: LONDON (2025)

[tjxastor]

where: infamy

who: open to all!

One night. He needed one fucking night where he could forget who he was and what he'd lost. His magic was still on the fritz -- ha -- which meant he had some time before it might seep out of it again. Or maybe it would never fully come back. It had barely been there to begin with.

"A shot of your finest alcohol, kind sir!" TJ smiled widely at the bartender, waiting patiently for him to put a glass and a lime in front of him. TJ wasn't used to this -- partying. But he could pretend he was. He sucked on the lime first, thinking that's what he was supposed to do, and then downed the shot.

He then turned to the person nearest him. "Want one? I'm buying!" He shouted over the music. Turning to the bartender: "Bartender! Two more please!"

[tjxastor]

𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐇   𝐎𝐑   𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒 / Riv

"I... I don't think he'd... ah--" TJ cleared his throat as his fingers tugged at the gold bracelet that wrapped around his lips. "I've never. Um... and he... probably wouldn't. Not with me. We're just friends." Friends that shared a kiss. "I think... I should say pass." Smash.

@rivenvictors

[rivenvictors]

"Doesn’t sound very convincing, Astor." He seemed to have forgotten they were just kids when Riven first learned every expression the other witch could make—the way his eyes got big and glassy when disappointment hit, or how his mouth pressed into a thin line and his fists balled tight at his sides when he was angry. Riven knew when he was lying. His face always gave him away.

Frankly, he didn’t really care if there was a bomb in TJ’s pocket and it went off, reducing them both to scraps of flesh and bone, because he already felt like he’d been through a meat grinder, and his brain was now a smoothie: freshly squeezed, and ready to be slurped up by someone with cannibalistic tendencies.

Compliments came out of the other’s mouth and usually, Riven would smirk, maybe toss back something cocky. But right now? His smoothie of a brain had stopped functioning. Bloob blob bloob. "You think I don’t look bad with vodka cranberry all over my shirt?" he laughed — a rare, bright sound, almost bubbly. Like it escaped before he could stop it.

You have a boyfriend, Riven.

His eyebrows knit, a flicker of confusion cutting through the fog as he pawed at the stain on his shirt, fingers smearing the mess into bigger, redder splotches.

"Then what are you doing here?"

[tjxastor]

"Convincing or not, it's the truth." TJ decided to stick to his story, his lie, and smile at his friend. There was no reason for Riven to know about what he'd just done. And besides, if he told Riven, that means he could be implicated if he ended up getting in trouble. Although, he doubted it would happen. It had yet to happen.

"I-- No?" TJ's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes flickered towards the stain on Riven's shirt. "It isn't that bad. Kind of looks like it's meant to be there." He said with a wide smile, his eyes gravitating towards Riven's face, and then his lips. Riven could have been soaked in mud and TJ would still think that he looked good. He quickly tore his gaze away from the other, trying not to sink into the memory of when they'd kissed. It wasn't appropriate.

"Just ah-- trying to meet new people, I guess." He shrugged his shoulders. "My brother is hot on my trail, so... trying to throw him off by not being in the same space for too long."

[ajastor]

AJ aims that sneer-disbelief at his brother. Made up of curled lips, and furrowed brows. Sometimes he wonders how much extra work their father’s gene is doing for him, because of how opposite they really are. Their mothers were wildly different people. Titan’s pride to be formal, and perfect — and all that complacent, is truly, sickening. A fucking waste of potential. TJ knows exactly what he’s talking about, he just doesn’t say it because he’s a prude, and AJ bets has never got his dick wet.

It’s a bloody shambles. Hexed bracelet. Nothing in the apartment that tickles AJ’s fancy. A brother who he’s half a mind to chop a limb off of to fast-track this whole thing. AJ knows better than most that magic cannot be cheated.

An apple into gold — why the fuck —

AJ barks a laugh, “Who are you spitroasting? Shoving an apple in defeats the whole point — but, how kinky, little brother.”

A beat. Because AJ’s head tips, he knows it’s a load of shit but he’s having a laugh about it anyways. “— Unless you were the hog, you absolute pillock.” But he wants to know about this guy.

He doesn’t know why Tite has such a time controlling his power. Or how the hell he ever survived the first trials. But he had, and it’s the only time AJ remembers feeling any pride for his younger brother. A thing born in a day dies in the same. Even more infuriatingly, TJ’s bringing mum and fucking dad into the equation.

“And you think they’re not pissed now?” Delusional. TJ’s selfish, insufferable, stubborn — and none of it endearingly. “Tell me about the prick that did this to you, now, Titan.” There’s little humour left, as if it's been drained out of the older Astor. He gently tugs at the gloves on his fingers, pulling them off and handing them over to him. “Shut up. Put them on. They’ll help.” The burning state says that they won’t talk about this. “No more golden apples.”

[tjxastor]

"Who... what?" TJ asked, his eyebrows furrowing, once again, at something that his older brother had said. TJ felt like he should know what the other was talking about. And honestly, there was a vague memory of hearing about it once -- maybe twice -- but he couldn't bring himself to recall the full conversation. Or what it was.

TJ's cheeks flared with heat as he imagined a golden apple shoved in his own mouth. He shook his head back and forth, shoving away the scene. "Stop being a fucking twat." He said, though, he knew that his older brother would never change. That he'd always pick on him, fuck with him, and remind him just how inadequate he was. Intentional or not, TJ felt inferior to his older brother. He was heir, and yet, TJ had wondered, lately, if the family would be better off with Atlas taking over.

"No. I mean-- yes. I'm sure they are. But they are always pissed at something. Just... pissier, now, I suppose." TJ shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to go back. He didn't want to face their parents. He couldn't. His eyes burned as he kept his eyes on the gloves that Atlas started to take off and then, held them out for him.

Titan hesitated for a moment before he reached out and grabbed the fabric. Silently, he pulled them on each hand as he continued to avert his gaze from his older brother. "I don't know much about them." He muttered, shame settling into his bones. "They're pretty secretive. I'm not sure if they are a witch or... something else." His gloved fingers brushed over the gold metal of the bracelet. "They don't really bother me unless they want something. Unless I'm... ah-- my magic is showing."

[tjxastor]

⚡️- what if you had been the firstborn? do you think your life would be better?

"I don't... think so." Tj muttered as he mulled over the question. "I probably would have still been the reason my mother died. And... I don't believe that Atlas would have turned out any different. Being first born, I doubt, would have made anything significantly different. Unfortunately."

@ajastor

[therawend]

“Oh kid you don’t need to make it up to me, though I might take advantage of that offer and force you into a movie night at some point. Really an accent as posh as yours and you don’t even know what a bond movie is.” Thera shook her head. She was joking but the kid looked like he was holding the weight of a small nation on his shoulders and coercing him into some rest might not be the worst tact to take.

“It’s Roman Chamomile, no don’t make that face, this blend is fruitier than the normal piss you find in a drug store.” Thera almost never drank chamomile, but when one of her birds had brought her a bud this morning she had dug the blend out of the back of her cupboard. Chamomile, while most commonly used as a decongestant, was also good for anxiety; both things this child was struggling with, even if the congestion was ore-based.

As she sat across from him and watched him take his first sip of tea, “Though if you are offering,” Thera turned to the small cabinet beside her chair and removed a leather string bound pack of old looking lavender playing cards, she shuffled and then extended the fanned deck, “choose a card, one card per each hand.”

[tjxastor]

"Let me correct myself... I know what a Bond movie is. I've just never seen one." Tj said with a soft smile playing on his lips. "Maybe clips of one of the movies or... some of them, I don't know. Movies isn't something I'm well versed in." Clearly. "But I would definitely like to watch a movie with you. Those movies, specifically, if that's what you want." He owed her, after all. And Tj wasn't exactly picky on what they watched or didn't watch.

His eyebrows raised at the type of tea she was making. He opened his mouth to ask if she was sure that was a good idea, only to close it and smirk, nodding. Who was he to argue, if he'd never had this specific tea before? "Fruiter is good. That's what I prefer." He usually enjoyed tea like raspberry mixed with ginger. "As long as it's not minty, I'll drink it."

He waited patiently for the tea to finish steeping and held out his hands when she offered him the cup. He blew on the top gently, as to not cause any spillage, and then took a sip. "Oh." Tj took another sip. "Yeah, this is good. You were right. Definitely fruitier." His eyes then flickered towards the cards that she presented to him. "A card. Or two cards?" He asked with a smile before he sat his cup down. Tj reached forward, let his fingers brush over several cards before he snatched two out of the deck. "Okay. Now what?"

[tjxastor]

⚡️ - what do you look for in a partner?

"Uh... I... don't know? What am I supposed to look for other than what they look like? A good personality, I guess. Um... a good... job? Someone who... knows how to fix a leaky faucet?"

[tjxastor]

⚡️Fr tho, what do you REALLY think about Bhavi?

"I think... that she's beautiful, and kind, and really could be anyone else's friend other than mine. I don't really know what she sees in me, you know? I mean, besides the fact that I bring her presents. She deserves them. All of the things. I like being around her and I feel... comfortable with her. Like I can be myself? I couldn't be that person, back home. So... yeah? She's everything I could ever want in a friend, and more. She'd probably even make a good wife. I think I'm going to keep her. As long as she lets me..."

@beautybrains-bhavi

[ajastor]

If Titan calls him Atlas one more time, he will find a way to drive his thumbs through his brother's eyes, turn them gold. And then shove them down his throat so he chokes on them. "God, you're so fucking disappointing. Not even a used johnny." Not a lick of entertainment left out for anybody to just walk all over. "What are you doing, mate? This is a joke and you know it."

What he really means is Titan is the joke.

He's adamant he isn't leaving. Some story about a cursed bracelet locking him to a vicinity. AJ's had a good go at it, feels the hex, cannot break it. Not without trying a few caustic substances that might burn TJ's bloody hand off and at that point, they may as well take a saw and make a real mess of it.

AJ imagines the consequence of returning to London with a few limbs missing from the precious heir to Astorgold, and to the Astor Coven. (Titan as patriarch is honestly the biggest joke since AJ got bollocked for his Thameside party in 2019. It was summer, and it's still not his fault that there had been a pandemic right after. He'd claim featly to his innocence in that, all day.) Still, the vision of Levinon seeing the brothers and what AJ had to do to bring him Britside is enough to steer him from doing some sibling maiming.

"Who'd you get the artefact from, Tite?" When they'd been younger, AJ had had a great time calling his brother Tit, because he behaved like a fucking tit at the best of times. Tite, came later when Levi had found out about AJ's callous attitude and set it straight. "You know I'll find a way to rip this thing off you, whatever magic you got friendly with, I'm better. If I have to take your entire arm to snap the spell, I will. Play ball, Titan, or lose 'em."

AJ's stopped searching the boring, averagely tiny apartment that Titan's been chasing him around and made his way back to the kitchen. The older Astor puffs out a breath, turning to the other and asking him directly: "What's this about? You couldn't have picked fucking, anywhere else to go gallivanting off. Christ, you've even got crap taste in cities."

[tjxastor]

"A what?" Atlas' words replayed in Tj's head, trying to figure out what he meant. Although, it didn't really matter, did it? It sounded like an insult. Or judgement. Which, Tj was used to when it came to his family. Especially his brother. The two of them weren't the same, not in the slightest. "It's not a joke. I wish it was, but..." His fingers brushed against the golden bracelet that wrapped around his wrist.

"Some fucking guy. Some guy who saw me turn an apple into gold." He didn't have much more information than that. The guy had given Tj, what he assumed was, a fake name. He was scarce, too, not staying in the home all that often. Tj didn't know what the man did but he always seemed to show up when his gold was leaking from his hands.

"Yeah. And piss off mom and dad in the process." Tj muttered as he rolled his eyes. Part of him wanted to let his older brother do it, just to see their family's reaction. It would be amusing, at the very least. But Tj could also see punishment coming from a thousand miles away. "I hadn't really planned on staying here. It just... happened." It was the truth. He hadn't wanted to get caught by his brother, or anyone else their parents sent for him. He had planned on skipping town after a month but that plan had came and went after being magically locked there.

[rivenvictors]

Hi.

How small was this place? The Astors stuck around like sand in your shoe after a day at the beach. All that money in their pockets, and this was the patch of dirt they picked to infest. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Sorry I tried to kiss you? Christ, Riven. Real smooth. Gold medal in catastrophic decisions.

They stood there like two porcelain dolls—all plaster-smiled and trapped in the aftermath of a friendship cracked down the middle by a moment Riven had wildly, fantastically misunderstood. Then something shiny caught his eye. Mismatched hues snapped down, raking over the space where TJ’s hands disappeared into his pockets. "What are you doing?" distractions, distractions, distractions.

His jaw ached from clenching around the stupid plastic cup he hadn’t realized he was still holding with his teeth. Hands reached to take the drink, and because God had apparently decided that he was a joke— it spilled. Right down his shirt. "Well, even if I did, I couldn't show up looking like this now, so—" a sheepish sort of laugh. I want to die. Ha. Ha. Ha.

"Are you— here for a fun night?" he teased him, just a tiny bit.

[tjxastor]

"Oh. Nothing." Tj insisted as he shoved his hand deeper into his pocket, as deep as it would go. Maybe if he denied the theft, Riven would leave it alone. Or stop asking. He didn't see. He couldn't have seen. Tj chewed on the inside of his cheek as his nerves threatened to get the better of him.

"Why not? You don't look bad. Or... I mean you never look bad." Tj said. "So... technically you could be out trying to have a fun night." Maybe he was and Tj knew that he shouldn't feel any form of jealousy. It wasn't like they were together, in the slightest, but... they'd kissed. They had. Had it meant anything? Probably not. Most likely not to Riven. But to Tj... well. It had confused the hell out of him.

"Me? Oh. No. No, I don't... this isn't--" He glanced towards a nearby club, taking a step in the direction away from it. "Fun... Fun nights is Aj's thing. Not mine."

[tjxastor]

⚡️What would you do if you were forced back home?

"Run away again. Or... try to find a way where I could run the business remotely." A pause. "Probably beg for forgiveness somewhere in there... Maybe I could blame my brother and all will be well again?"

@ajastor

[devilsvenom]

@tjxastor

she hears the front door open and sighs in relief as she pushes back the drawers she's been searching. "gem, do you know where the batteries are? my fucking vibe die-- oh. you're not gemma." brows furrow as she looked at the other, a sense of familiarity about him. still, she swaps vibe for knife within seconds, holding it outwards. "who are you and what the fuck are you doing here? how did you get in? my knife hand is always an itchy one, and as you can tell i'm frustrated, so i'd answer quickly if i were you."

[tjxastor]

It hadn't been hard to figure out where his brother was staying. TJ had his own way of finding out information when he needed it. He'd argued, internally, with himself about whether this was a good idea or not. Going to his brother and asking him, again, to stop trying to get him to go back home. To somehow create a deal, or a bargain, that would benefit the both of them.

But when he entered the home with the help of his lock picking skills, he found someone that was most definitely not his brother. His eyes shifted between the girl and what she held in her hands. He had no idea what it was but process of elimination told him that it wasn't a weapon. Unless she was to chuck it at his head. "I should be asking you the same question." He said as his eyes dragged back to meet the other's gaze. "If you stab me, I don't think Atlas would like it." Or maybe he would. TJ wasn't sure, as of late.

[therawend]

Thera smiled warmly at the boy who looked… totally not fine. I mean who could blame him, it couldn’t be everyday you showed up at someone’s front door sweating gold. Well, she assumed it wasn’t everyday, because although the bags under his eyes and his placid completion told the story of a boy who was not doing well, he didn’t seem to be excreting any metals.

“TJ,” she used the name he had given her a few days before, “you have nothing to be sorry for,” she said as she moved around the desk to pull out a chair for him and put a kettle on. Because really he didn’t have anything to be sorry for, fate knew how many times she had ended up in a bind and had had to rely on others and her messes hadn’t left anyone with towels more expensive than they were before the clean up.

“And my door is always open if you do….. attempt to recreate a Bond movie again. I even promise to try keep my head this time.” She laughed pouring two cups of tea as she walked over to him trying not to think about the running and the chaos and the, almost pantomime, level of panic the space had seen a few days before. No. “Not my finest moment, but I can see you are,” she gestured about his person, “not currently secreting, so what brings you here today?”

[tjxastor]

"I do, though." Tj insisted, not agreeing with her. He'd come to her shop, a stranger, and practically bled gold everywhere. At this point in his life, he thought that he'd be able to control it, or at the very least, anticipate when it would happen. But there was never a rhyme or reason to his magic. It just came out of his pours whenever it decided it wanted to.

"A Bond movie." He said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "I'm sorry. I don't think I've seen any of those movies." Mostly due to the fact that he hadn't had time for himself, back at home. He was too busy with the business. Too busy hiding the fact that he couldn't control his power. Meanwhile, AJ had probably been having the time of his life. Clubbing and doing whatever the fuck he wanted to.

He moved towards the chair and sat down, eyes shifting towards the kettle. "What kind of tea are you making?" He asked, curiously, as he placed his hands in his lap. "Mostly just to apologize." He shrugged his shoulders. "And... I thought I could make it up to you, somehow."

[beautybrains-bhavi]

“Then I may or may not remind you that my company is not a subscription service.” Bhavi cocks a brow and scoffs with a smile, “No offence, but sometimes when we hang out, I am reminded that money really is the root of all evil.” It's abundantly clear that Bhavi is only teasing. Honestly, the constant clash of TJ’s excess and her own frugal nature is what keeps their friendship interesting.

Bhavi gestures to the gold chain that she hopes is not another permanent accessory, “So what’s the occasion? For this and maybe more, I mean. Is something special coming up or are you going to go for a round of peacocking?” If that's the case, he might be barking up the wrong tree.

[tjxastor]

"I never thought it was. But friends can get each other gifts, can't they?" Tj asked, his smile remaining as he stared at her. "Ah... offense... not taken?" He could understand that mindset to a point but Tj had grown up extremely wealthy. He'd never had to worry about money or lacking it. And technically, he still had money. He was just trying not to touch it because he didn't want his family to watch him in any aspect. He hadn't wanted them to know where he was.

Although, he supposed it no longer mattered. His brother had found him. Medina was here as well. The cat was out of the bag, so to speak. "Peacocking?" His eyebrows furrowed at her. "What's that mean?" He wasn't an animal by any means and he definitely wouldn't consider himself a peacock. "I just wanted to get something nice, on my own. Provide it for myself. And for you." He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held out a gold ring with an emerald set in the center. "Unless you don't like it? I can get you something else."