The name on the cup: mystery chat template
A ready Instagram DM-look chat for the tiny mysteries gallery, eight messages and about 28 seconds as a video. Open it, change the words and export it as a labelled, fictional mock-up.
Preview in the Instagram DM look
My coffee cup says "For Ted. Not for the other Ted."
There is another Ted?
I did not know.
Which Ted is it for?
I have been drinking it.
Then you are the wrong Ted.
I would like to meet the other Ted.
Ask the cafe for his order.
The full script (8 messages)
The first four messages open on the Free plan; the rest need a paid plan.
The template: The name on the cup
The name on the cup is a eight-message template for a mystery chat: Ted and Una trade lines from "My coffee cup says 'For Ted. Not for the other Ted.'" to "Ask the cafe for his order.", about 28 seconds as a video.
Pacing numbers: the longest bubble is message 1 at 11 words, the shortest is message 2. Two questions give the chat its back-and-forth. You can change any line or name once the sample is open in the editor.
Using it in the Instagram DM look
State the question in the first line and give one clue per message. Extras in this look: typing dots, read marks, reactions and an online status. Free accounts can use Instagram DM without paying. Choose a puzzle with a domestic answer: a note, a key, a sound, a delivery. Instagram DM-style chats use rounded bubbles with a colour gradient for your side and a plain gray for theirs, and a round profile picture beside the other person.
What the Free plan shows
Four messages is the Free limit, so Una's "Which Ted is it for?" is where the preview stops. Paid plans carry the remaining four messages, up to "Ask the cafe for his order.", and allow more people in the scene.
Tips
- Give "I have been drinking it." (message 5) an extra half second on screen.
- Leave Ted's "My coffee cup says 'For Ted. Not for the other Ted.'" alone on screen for a full second at the start.
- Pin "can you guess?" in the first comment and answer the best guess in Part 2.
- Rewrite the last line, "Ask the cafe for his order.", in your own voice and mark the post as fiction.
- Swap Ted and Una for two invented names of your own; shorter names make tighter bubbles on a phone.
Questions
Can I use The name on the cup on the Free plan?
Yes for the look, with limits. The Instagram DM look is on the Free plan, and the editor loads the first four of the eight messages and two people. The rest needs a paid plan. Exports on Free carry a visible ChatsRat watermark.
How long is The name on the cup as a video?
About 28 seconds at a comfortable reading pace, counting eight messages with a short beat between them. Add a second or two for the ending card.
Is this mystery chat a real conversation?
No. It is an invented chat between Ted and Una, made as a mock-up. ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app, and look names describe a style only. Label what you publish as fiction.
Can I change the names and lines?
Yes. Open the template in the editor, replace any line or name and export your own version. Keep the characters invented, and keep the content free of real people and anything sexual.
This is fiction. The people in this template are invented. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.