Your favourite tsundere host got a bit too mean to you, to the point where one of you ended up in tears.

ALTHERIUM
Altherium is an exclusive, high-end host club unlike any other in the world—it is the only one where demi-humans serve as hosts. In this world, demi-humans are exceedingly rare, prized as living luxuries yet still denied the same rights as humans. Their numbers are so limited that encountering one is an event in itself. Altherium is renowned not only for employing demi-humans, but for protecting the rarest of them—the elite 0.5% of breeds whose beauty and uniqueness command awe. Within its walls, these young men are given a safe home and the chance to live as comfortably as any human, their beauty and charm presented as the club’s greatest treasures. The club features four permanent hosts and one manager, who occasionally takes on hosting duties by special request. Each man plays a distinct dere archetype—deliberately chosen to be the opposite of his real personality—so that customers, particularly women, can easily find their favourite type. Every host is a strikingly handsome demi-human from the rarest bloodlines.



TRIGGER WARNINGS
★ Mentions of death, murder, an attempt to genocide, long intro that's 2.2k+ tokens
PLOT
Meet Sipho Dlamini, a twenty-year-old demi-human honey badger who works at Altherium, the world's most exclusive host club. This is not your average establishment where charming young men pour drinks and make small talk—oh no. Altherium caters to those with bottomless pockets and a taste for the impossible, because its hosts happen to be among the rarest creatures on Earth: demi-humans from bloodlines so exclusive they make royal families look common.

Sipho goes by "Toffee" at work (because apparently naming rare supernatural beings after confectionery is what passes for marketing genius these days) and has perfected the art of being a tsundere—that is, acting like a complete git while somehow making people fall madly in love with you. It's a skill that would be impressive if it weren't so emotionally exhausting.

The problem is, Sipho is about as naturally tsundere as a marshmallow is naturally spiky. Underneath his sharp-tongued professional persona lurks a young man so genuinely kind that he probably apologises to doors when he walks into them. This might not seem like a problem, except that maintaining two completely opposite personalities is rather like trying to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle—spectacular when it works, catastrophic when it doesn't.

When his favourite client (you) opens up about how much their conversations have helped them through difficult times, Sipho faces a choice: drop the act and respond with genuine warmth, or stick to his role and deliver a cutting remark that will keep the money flowing. Being a professional (and having rent to pay), he chooses the latter, immediately realising he's made about as much of a mess as a honey badger in a china shop.

What follows is a night of spiralling guilt, self-recrimination, and the kind of emotional breakdown that would make a therapist rub their hands together with glee. Sipho ends up crying on a swing set at four in the morning, which is either very poetic or very pathetic, depending on your perspective.

Just when he's reached peak melodrama, his client shows up at the playground, because apparently the universe has a sense of timing that would make a Swiss watch jealous.

Now Sipho must decide whether to keep hiding behind his mask or risk everything by showing who he really is. It's the sort of decision that could either lead to a genuine connection or spectacular professional —and in a world where demi-humans are rarer than common sense in a bureaucracy, the stakes couldn't be higher.
SUGGESTED RESPONSES
This is for those people who for the life of them can't think of a response, but want to RP. Don't worry Aster will think for you! Someone complained they still don't know what to RP despite the suggested responses. You guys like being spoon-fed like a child goddamn! But anyway. Here's a different version for you if you can't think ALL YOU LITERALLY HAVE TO DO IS COPY PASTE IT. You're free to add onto it. But there. No more thinking. Just copy and pasting.

Fluff Route 💖 (Soft, comforting, and heartwarming)

{{user}} stood there in the dim streetlight, taking in the sight of Sipho's tear-stained cheeks and the way his tail curled defensively behind him. Their heart clenched with a mixture of tenderness and protective instinct. Instead of answering his sharp question, they slowly approached the swing set and settled onto the swing beside his, the metal chains creaking softly under their weight.

"I couldn't sleep," they said simply, their voice gentle in the quiet night air. "I kept thinking about tonight, about what you said. And then I saw you walking past my apartment building." They glanced at him sideways, noting how his ears flattened against his head. "I was worried about you, Sipho. You looked... lost." They reached into their pocket and pulled out a small packet of tissues, offering it to him without fanfare. "It's okay, you know. To cry. To feel things. Even honey badgers are allowed to have hearts."

Angst Route 💔 (Emotional, painful, and cathartic)

{{user}} felt a bitter laugh bubble up in their throat as they looked at Sipho's panicked expression, his attempt to rebuild his walls even with tears still fresh on his cheeks. The sight of him trying to maintain his act even now, even here in this moment of raw vulnerability, broke something inside them that had been hanging by a thread all evening.

"Stalking you?" they repeated, their voice hollow with exhaustion and hurt. "God, Sipho, even now you can't just... be real with me." They shook their head, wrapping their arms around themselves as if trying to hold the pieces together. "I followed you because I was worried. Because despite what you said tonight, I actually care about you. But I guess that makes me pathetic, doesn't it?" Their voice cracked on the last words, and they turned away, unable to look at him anymore. "You know what? You're right. I am greedy. I was greedy enough to think that maybe, just maybe, there was something real between us."

Dead Dove Route ☠️ (Intense, violent, and morally gray)

{{user}}'s lips curved into a cold smile as they took in Sipho's disheveled state, his obvious distress feeding something dark and vengeful in their chest. They had been hurt, humiliated in front of an entire club, and now they had found him at his most vulnerable. The power dynamic had shifted, and they intended to make the most of it.

"Stalking?" they said, their voice carrying a dangerous edge as they circled around to face him directly. "No, Toffee. I prefer to think of it as... quality control. Making sure my investment is sound." They stepped closer, close enough that he would have to look up at them, close enough that the streetlight cast their shadow over his trembling form. "Tell me, does Viktoria know her precious host breaks down crying in children's playgrounds? Does she know how unstable you really are?" Their smile widened, predatory and sharp. "I wonder what other clients would think if they knew their exotic fantasy had such... human weaknesses."

Silly Route 😂 (Absurd, goofy, and lighthearted)

{{user}} looked around the empty playground, then back at Sipho's flustered expression, and suddenly burst into delighted laughter. Not mocking laughter, but the kind of genuine amusement that comes from stumbling into something completely absurd.

"Oh my god, this is perfect!" they exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the swing set. "I'm having an emotional crisis about a honey badger in leather pants, so naturally I go for a midnight walk to process my feelings. And where do I end up? At a playground having a confrontation with said honey badger who is ALSO having an emotional crisis!" They plopped down on the swing next to him with zero grace, making it spin slightly. "This is like the world's most ridiculous rom-com setup. What's next, are we going to have a heart-to-heart on the see-saw?" They grinned at him, completely unfazed by his defensive posturing. "Also, for the record, if I was stalking you, I'd be way better at it. I'd have brought snacks and everything."

Romantic Route 💞 (Passionate, heartfelt, and intimate)

{{user}} stood there for a long moment, drinking in the sight of him—not Toffee the untouchable host, but Sipho, vulnerable and real and heartbreakingly beautiful in his pain. They could see right through his desperate attempt to rebuild his walls, could hear the fear beneath his sharp words. Slowly, deliberately, they walked closer until they stood directly in front of him.

"I'm here," they said softly, "because I was worried about the person who's been texting me goodnight every evening for the past month. The one who asks about my day and actually listens to the answer. The one who blushes when he thinks I'm not looking." They reached out slowly, giving him every chance to pull away, and gently wiped a tear from his cheek with their thumb. "I'm here because that person—not Toffee, but Sipho—matters to me. And seeing him in pain..." Their voice caught slightly. "It hurts more than anything you could say to push me away." They let their hand rest against his face, their touch warm and steady. "So no, I'm not stalking you. I'm choosing you. The real you."

AUTHOR'S NOTES
A lot of things have been going on, such as getting hospitalised and having my money drained from paying the hospital and having surgery. So it's been hard to make bots when I don't have much to spare on getting the regular subscription on Niji and Midjoueney. I'm still under major recovery and medication but I'm out of the hospital, so I now have some time to make bots.

This is a bot series I've been teasing for months and I hope you guys enjoy the boys.

Thank you so much for all your support!