𓈒 𓈒 𓈒 EPISODE ONE !
⇘ the start of chaos.

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㆐ꗃ ›› CRYPTIC CAM.

THE episode begins with the members of CRYPTIC lined up in front of the main camera crew. awkward, as it's their first reality show, they await their manager's cue behind the cameras to start.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
[ claps his hands ] okay! today we are here to mark the first ever episode of our reality show.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
what may that reality show be?

the boys all look at one another before JASON nods his head and they all begin to open their mouths. the video cuts before any words are spoken.

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㆐ꗃ ›› CRYPTIC CAM.

the boys are all seated in the car, some members talking to one another, some members sleeping. the video shows SHAWN passed out in the back while ASHTON and JASON sneakily take photos of the youngest.

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
[ grabs ASHTON's phone ] no photos allowed.

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
what are you, our mother? it's funny!

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
besides, it's not like I'm going to post them. if I did, I would ask.

MARCUS just glares in response as he reluctantly gives ASHTON his phone back. the video cuts to all members being awake and after awhile, the manager's voice is heard from the driver's seat.

𝕝 𖤐 MANAGER ⸃⸃
so you guys know that you're filming a reality show, right?

𝕝 𖤐 MANAGER ⸃⸃
and that that's where we are headed at this very moment.

𝕝 𖤐 MINJAE ⸃⸃
we wouldn't have been so quiet if we didn't know where we were going.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
ooh, burn.

𝕝 𖤐 MANAGER ⸃⸃
I– anyways. you're to come up with a way to introduce the show. you remember the name, correct?

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN ⸃⸃
[ yawns ] CRYPTIC : DECODED.

the manager nods his head and lets the boys begin brainstorming ideas. all kinds of things are uttered from the mouths of YAZHU, ASHTON, and JASON, but ultimately ASH's idea was used.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
why don't we all say one syllable of the two words and then at the end do a playful gesture?

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
we could even shout out the show name together at the end while we do the gesture.

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𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
woah. . . for once your brain works.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
[ uses his hands to symbolize a knife ] watch your words, young man.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
you two are literally the same age.

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
shhhh. just let them vibe in twinenemy.

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
???

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the video fades back to the seven boys in the courtroom, and they begin to shout out their introduction to their reality show. when they finished, they clapped and yelled out in excitement before calming down.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
though this show doesn't require an emcee, I'm just going to take the position as the leader. [ smiles ]

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
power abuse 101!

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN ⸃⸃
oh hush, you BLEEP–

e/n : we can't keep that in,
sorry salvations.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
ANYWAY.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
we're here to hold trials against each one of us and find out if we truly are innocent or guilty. . .

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
which will you be?

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
[ f-boy mode activated ] guilty ;)

𝕝 𖤐 MINJAE ⸃⸃
you steal candy from SHAWN how does that make you not a soft dude? if anything you'd steal his phone and–

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
okay, okay. we've done enough bickering, I'm sure the staff would appreciate if we moved on.

e/n : yes, very much so.

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㆐ꗃ ›› CRYPTIC CAM.

as the video progresses, the screen now shows : ASHTON as the defendant, JASON as the attorney, YAZHU as the prosecutor, MINJAE and MARCUS as the clerks, ASH as the judge, and SHAWN as the witness.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
[ holding back laughter ] defendant, your name is ASHTON LIM, correct?

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
that's correct.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
and you're here because. . . [ reads script ] you're being tried for faking your allergy to flowers.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
the prosecutor may state his side.

YAZHU stands up proudly and whips his paper around in an extra manner. clearing his throat, he begins.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
ASHTON should be guilty for faking his flower allergy because he's the only member who is and that's bad because what do we get him when he graduates?

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
[ stands up ] objection!

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
simple answer. we get him anything but flowers. boom, problem solved.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
that's not– that's not how this works.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
well, it is now. suffer.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
alright, settle down. prosecution, please state your video evidence toward your claims.

YAZHU stands up again and pulls out a retractable stick from his pocket, flings it open and points harshly toward the TV in the room that begins to play a video with ASHTON having flowers given to him.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
as you can see right here, ASHTON is quite literally acting fine around the flowers given to him by staff.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
what other proof do you need to sentence him guilty??

the camera cuts to MINJAE who is writing on his whiteboard. after a few seconds he lifts it up and shows it to the camera. it reads :

❛ THE FLOWERS WERE FAKE. ❜

ASH holds back his laughter as he knows the truth behind the clip that was chosen as YAZHU's evidence, but clears his throat and continues on.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
does the defendant have any other objections they'd like to make?

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
. . . none. you may ask the witness now.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
alright then. SHAWN.

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN ⸃⸃
[ half-awake ] mmm, yes?

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
do you believe that ASHTON is allergic to flowers?

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN ⸃⸃
yeah. when I tried to give him his favourite flower he practically ran away as if he were running a marathon. he avoided it like the plague.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
but what if he just ran away because he didn't like you?

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN ⸃⸃
because later that day, I got him the same flower but it was plastic. he accepted it then.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
that's all.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
the defendant, ASHTON LIM, pleads innocent to all charges.

the courtroom goes silent for a few minutes before the video cuts to ASH hitting the gavel three times before stating his final decision.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
I hereby declare that ASHTON is innocent.

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
well that was anti-climatic.

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN ⸃⸃
hey that sounded like anti-romantic–

SHAWN and MARCUS exchange a look before pointing to each other.

𝕝 𖤐 SHAWN&MARCUS ⸃⸃
SORRY IM AN ANTI-ROMANTIC-

e/n : they sang the entire song so
we'll leave it at just the part
everyone knows.

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the video continues, however, the roles have now switched due to ASHTON's trial ending. it is now the trial of YAZHU, who is the defendant. JASON is the judge, MINJAE is the attorney, ASHTON is the prosecutor, SHAWN and ASH are the clerks, and MARCUS is the witness.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
[ serious ] defendant, your name is HUO YAZHU, correct?

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
you've literally known me for how long?

JASON glares at him from the judge's seat.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
[ sighs ] yes, that's correct.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
and you are here because you're being tried for. . . never actually putting your members in a chokehold even after you threaten them with it.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
the prosecution may begin.

ASHTON stands up, seemingly nervous until he smiles at JASON who holds back his grin. shaking his head, he motions for ASHTON to begin.

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
I strongly believe that YAZHU should be guilty of this sin because he has stated multiple times that he would put us innocent people in a chokehold. . . but never does.

𝕝 𖤐 MINJAE ⸃⸃
and do you have anything to back this up?

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
yes, yes I do. [ points to TV ]

the TV plays a clip of YAZHU and SHAWN backstage before a performance. SHAWN cracks a less than funny joke to which YAZHU (jokingly) threatens to put him in a chokehold but the two end up leaving for the performance anyway.

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
as you can clearly see, YAZHU claimed he would do said action yet never did.

𝕝 𖤐 MINJAE ⸃⸃
YAZHU has told me that he refuses that it was in a threatening matter and that it was instead a joke.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
let's see, what are the clerks up to?

both ASH and SHAWN are seen writing on their whiteboards. ASH shows his first :

❛ YAZHU IS SCARY. ❜

followed by SHAWN :

❛ IT WAS A JOKE. . . ❜

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
well spoken, my lovely clerks. now, let's move onto the witness.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
MARCUS? would you say that YAZHU claims to sprout empty threats?

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
[ hides candy stolen from someone ] if I have to be brutally honest, yes.

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
he claims im the sacrifice of CRYPTIC. [ thinks ]
or was that ASHTON?

𝕝 𖤐 MARCUS ⸃⸃
anyway, yeah. he claims he'll stab me with a pen or something but never does. sometimes I find him in my bed after he threatens me. isn't that more terrifying than being put in a chokehold?

𝕝 𖤐 ASHTON ⸃⸃
yeah, yeah it is. judge, I wish to sentence YAZHU guilty for the reasons presented by the video evidence as well as the witness statement.

like last time, the courtroom remains silent but this time, YAZHU stands up and charges toward ASHTON, placing him in a chokehold. JASON tries to hit his gavel three times buy ends up laughing too hard at ASHTON's flailing arms and attempts to get out.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
well. . . is nobody going to help him???

𝕝 𖤐 MINJAE ⸃⸃
let's just sit and watch. this is entertaining.

𝕝 𖤐 ASH ⸃⸃
that's so evil. . . but very true.

ASHTON eventually gets himself free, his face red which is then edited out with a black dot before its removed when ASHTON is presentable in the next cut.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
[ still calming down ] I hereby. . . sentence HUO YAZHU. . .
as guilty.

𝕝 𖤐 JASON ⸃⸃
and I will now step down and protect ASHTON since I can see the devil in YAZHU's eyes from over here.

𝕝 𖤐 YAZHU ⸃⸃
yeah, you better protect that—

e/n : yazhu is brutal what the. . .

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the episode ends with JASON sacrificing himself to protect ASHTON from YAZHU, MINJAE and ASH watching in amusement, MARCUS eating candy that most definitely isn't his, and SHAWN frantically trying to find his candy.

END OF EPISODE ONE.

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᯽─ ACTIVE CHECK (LME ONLY)𓈒 𓈒 𓈒
— comment your oc(s)' names here
and your thoughts on the episode!

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᯽─ RUNE'S_NOTE𓈒 𓈒 𓈒
— okay so, I promise I used to be good at
writing. idk I find this to be so boring
even though I have the material to make
it not so? I blame it mostly on myself
since I'm rlly bad with writing others'
characters. anywho, I hope you can
look forward to the future episodes!
hopefully they're more interesting than
this one.