Hi, everyone! Welcome to The Late Late Show with The Marias! Today, we're here with the characters of Smokes and Mirrors. Join us as we get to know them better!

Marias: "So tell us, How do you feel about your roles?"

The Confidant

Lee: "Well, first of all, I'm grateful to be someone's confidant. Especially MC's. And I won't do anything to break their trust, as they're someone very dear to me. They've been my best friend for so long and they are someone I treasure and would absolutely do everything for."

On the side, Ren is seen rolling their eyes as they sink further into the couch.

Ren: "Boring. Next please!"

The Stranger

Lu: "Thank you for this question. I think the role given to me is very fitting. I mean, we are all strangers, right? But I am THE stranger- Oh. That was a little spoilery. I'm sorry. Anyway, I would just like to add that, even though I am The Stranger, I would certainly love to know the MC better. They seem like a wonderful person, don't you think?"

Lu's lips curved into the littlest of smiles before they back away and cover their face just as everyone in the room looks at them with a teasing smile.

The Savior

C: "Oh, come on, Lu. Get your ass back here."

C laughs a little louder before shaking their head and looking back into the audience.

C: "Anyway, I 100% agree to this role. I mean, come on, "The Savior"? It's the best role here. And the authors," C winks at the two before they continue speaking. "They did a great job appointing that role to none other than me." With a smirk, C ends their answer.

Ren: "What the f-"

C: "Shh, it's not your turn to speak yet, songbird."

The Watcher

Beau: "They're not wrong about the role they gave me. I'm doing a good job being the watcher. That's all I'm gonna say in this matter."

C: "Oh yeah, they did a very great job watching." C interjected, sarcasm heavy in their voice.

Beau just shrugged at this comment.

The Valiant

Bri: "Honestly, I don't know why they gave me this role, but it's amazing and I am thankful! I hope I live up to that role and not disappoint anyone."

Suddenly, Lee is seen patting Bri's shoulder gently.

Lee: "I have no doubt that you will. And you're certainly on a great track."

The Prisoner

Ren's fiery eyes looks around the room. Lee, Bri, Lu, and Beau backs away while C remains seated; a smug look on their face.

Ren: "First of all, what the fuck? Second, what. the. fuck. I have the worst role, and I get to speak last?"

C: "Language! There are kids here." They say as they point to Bri and Lu but Ren remains unfazed.

Ren: "I get to be the prisoner while that Nosferatu gets to play as a savior?" They say as they point at C's direction.

With the mention of the nickname, C looks at Ren with disgust.

Ren: "How are they 'The Savior' when I literally-"

Ren was cut off by Beau's hands and the collective shushing from Lee, Bri, and Lu.

C: "Time's up. Save that for another time, songbird."

Ren's muffled protests are heard as the six characters exited the room.

Marias: "Well that segment went rather well, didn't it?"

With the first interview done, this is where the first segment of The Late Late Show with The Marias end. Stay tuned to get to know the characters more!

Hello, anon! Thanks for sending us an ask 🥺 It's never too early to send us one of these wonderful questions.

To answer your question,,, hmmmmmm,,,

Lee - they prefer face-to-face cuddling where they can just caress MC's face whilst the two of them are talking. But if MC really wanted to be spooned, they will be the big spoon

Lu - prefers to be the little spoon, but is okay to be the big spoon if that's what MC wants

C - wants to be the big spoon, but if MC wants to be the big spoon, they'll relent. But they want to be the little spoon on special occasions lmao

Beau - prefers to be the big spoon. With their considerable height, not many people can be the big spoon for them properly (not like they've tried it with others). They want to feel MC safe between their arms

Bri - says they want to be the big spoon, as they want to feel that they are MC's protector. Really, really wants to be the little spoon and feel protected tho

Ren - doesn't really like cuddling. But if MC insists, they will agree but on the condition that they will be the big spoon. Wants MC's head to rest against their chest so they can press a soft (and secret) kiss in MC's hair once they're asleep.

Hello, ricky!! Thanks for sending us an ask again 🥺

Regarding the leaning against them question-

Bri: Will feel appreciative and overwhelmed at the same time. Appreciative because MC trusts them enough to let themselves be vulnerable and sleep on them. Overwhelmed because this kind of affection is new to them

Beau: Oh boy, this person will straight up freeze. They don't know how to react and what to make of MC leaning on them. They're — in a lack of a better term — emotionally-constipated 😂

Lu: Oh, I pity poor Lu's heart HSKXBSKSJSK they'll try their hardest not to wake MC up because they're just too damn flustered and excited at MC being that close

Ren: Will roll their eyes and protest, saying stuff like "I won't be able to fight if something happens because you're crushing me" (but will tell you to position yourself properly if they see your back in an awkward or painful position — although they'll do it grumpily 😂)

C: Will ask someone else to switch positions with them or just straight up ask MC to lean on someone else (they don't want to get attached with MC at first, because reasons 👀)

Lee: It's a normal occurence already for Lee. MC leaning on them for sleep is nothing new, so they'll just adjust MC's position and tuck them better in their side. Will also ask MC if they're comfortable enough

Regarding if it will take place in a real world place-

Yep, some real places might come in the future. Since the world we used is still the Earth and we just added Taifa and Maeadhan somewhere (in our world, the Pangaea divided differently than how it actually did lol). So in the future, it's possible. However, as far as we planned for Book 1, we will be focusing on Taifa first.

Now for an ask! How would the ros react to walking in on the MC working out shirtless? For maximum reaction let's assume that the MC already has some substantial muscle mass.ᕙ(＠°▽°＠)ᕗ Let's say they that they had something they wanted to ask or talk about. Will they be able to say it coherently?😉

Hello, anon! Thank you so much for this, and we also hope that you are having a nice day!

Now for the ask, MC will have skills and specializations that you can choose. It's part of the customization stuff (so sorry if we forgot to include it 🙇🏻‍♀️).

Regarding the second question, we put two kinds of response (friends stage and early crushing stage) just because we want to show you all a glimpse of how they'll act during those stages.

Beau Darrow

Friend Stage: Would lecture the MC about locking the door, and go out the room, locking it on their way of course. They'll wait for the MC to finish before continuing what they were about to say earlier.

Early Crushing Stage: When they accidentally walk in on a half-naked MC, Beau will be careful not to make a sound and will back away to exit the room as quickly as possible and lock the doors behind them. They will wait for MC to come out of the room to say whatever it is they're gonna say and act as if they hadn't walk in on them dressing. They will never bring up what happened unless someone else brings it up (probably Ren or C teasingly, or Bri just casually dropping the fact.)

Bri Ellis

Friend Stage: Bri would probably treat this the same way as Lee does even when they haven't been friends with MC for long. They wouldn't even notice the MC is half naked until the MC stops them from whatever they are saying. Bri would probably say sorry though once they realized.

Early Crushing Stage: Again, if Bri had something to say, they wouldn't notice the MC being half naked and just say the thing they were there for. Once they noticed though, they'd say sorry and smile, say that the MC looks good, and look away.

C Blackwood

Friend Stage: C would come into the room ready to say something to the MC but when they see the MC they will stop mid sentence to compliment and wink at them. Something like: "Hey, you- look nice." They'll stop and wink before continuing. "As i was saying..." with a smirk on their face.

Early Crushing Stage: C would /blush/ but a sarcastic remark will make its way to their mouth, of course. "Is it too hard to lock this door?" They'll say this with a scowl before they walk out of the room.

Lee Morris

Friend Stage: Walking on MC getting dressed is normal for them. And they have lived with MC long enough to not be shy about it anymore. They've seen MC in their best and worst moments. Will just continue talking as if nothing's happening. (Plus, Lee is a surgeon, so they're not really that affected by nudity)

Early Crushing Stage: Lee that's been flirted with is a different story. The feelings involved complicates things and they will become a little flustered if they walk in on MC getting dressed. They can still say what they want to say but they will apologize for not knocking first. They will stutter and blush a lot.

Lu Draven

Friend Stage: Lu as a friend will try to flirt with MC despite being flustered as heck. Whatever they were about to say is now shoved to the side as they try their best to flirt with MC even though their faces are flushed af lmao

Early Crushing Stage: Oh, this is easy. Lu will become so flustered they will faint on the spot. 🤣 Kidding aside, they will be so flustered, to the point that they'll forget how they got there, and what was the purpose. Will say sorry and leave the room and will ask others to relay the information to MC instead.

Ren Ordell

Friend Stage: As the resident casanova of the group, Ren will automatically flirt with MC when they accidentally walk in on them getting dressed. The things that they were about to say already forgotten. Will say something along the lines of "need help?" while smirking. If the MC turns them down though, they'll just shrug and advise the MC to lock the doors next time.

Early Crushing Stage: Ren in early crushing stage is a very different story from Ren as a friend. They will become so flustered when they see MC half-naked but will hide their flusteredness with anger and will shout at MC like, "Don't you know how to lock the damned door?! You just press this button in the doorknob and swipe this deadbolt in! Remember to lock your doors, damn it! What if someone else walks in on you?!" With words forgotten, they will probably continue grumbling even as they exit the room.

Beau: Doesn't celebrate their birthday ever since that something happened. However, they would accept any gift from the MC and will surely treasure them.

Bri: Would be happy with anything. Something as simple as a little birthday card will complete Bri's day! They love surprises, too. They will treasure it forever.

C: C is a very sentimental person, so a gift that is made is something they would love. For them their birthday is just like any other day, so C would probably be surprised that someone will give them a gift and will tease the MC over it but it will be quite obvious that they appreciate it.

Lee: Something personal. Lee would love a gift that is well thought of. Probably something that is of shared interest between them and the mc, or something that Lee had always loved having.

Lu: Like Bri, Lu would absolutely love anything! They're very easy to please, and very easy to satisfy too; and well, Lu thinks being around the special people in his life during that day is the most important thing. So just being there for them is enough.

Ren: Would appreciate anything. It's not like they would let you know, but Ren would be surprised if the MC even remembered their birthday. They would tell you the gift is stupid, but hey. Deep inside he actually loves it so much.

Hello, anon! This is mild nsfw but the answers are under the cut just to be sure!

Hello, anon! Thank you for this question and sorry for the late answer but here it is!

By themselves:

Beau: Soldier, lying on back with arms both on their side.

Bri: Starfish, sprawled out over the bed.

C: Yearner. Sleeping on their side with arms stretched out.

Lee: Fetal. Knees curled towards their chest.

Lu: Pillow hugger. (or knapsack, bag, or something else they can hug)

Ren: Freefaller. Lying on their stomach, arms wrapped on their pillow, and head turned to the side.

With MC (assuming that this is during deep rel):

Beau: Spooning, with Beau as the big spoon.

Bri: Tangled – which is an extremely close hugging while laying down.

C: The sweetheart cradle where one lies their head on the chest of their partner.

Lee: Front-to-front since Lee loves to be able to see the MC eye-to-eye.

Lu: Shingles is a funny name, but this is what they call the position where one rests their head on their partner's shoulder as they both lay on their backs.

Ren: Leg Hug. Literally just where Ren and MC's legs touches each other.

Hello there! Thank you for the question.

Beau will probably first feel weird because of the unusual, but they will feel happy that the MC is enjoying something enough to make them feel chirpy. Beau will happily listen to the MC and maybe even look to it too if they feel interested enough.

Bri will feel elated. Our resident cheerful member here will happily talk with MC about their interest. They will probably try to look into the thing that interests the MC or learn the new hobby that is making the MC act this way; Only because they would want to be able to talk about it with MC actively.

C will probably chuckle out of amusement the first time they hear the shy MC excitedly rambling over a new interest or hobby. They will probably the one to walk to MC and give them a gift that is related to the MC's new hobby or interest.

Lee has seen this happen more than the others, but they will still feel very happy that the MC is once again excited enough to talk a lot over something. Lee will happily sit and listen to MC talk about it for hours.

Lu will be surprised. Seeing the MC act this way is something that Lu will keep close to heart. Lu will probably note about the things MC is saying in their head, and they will mention it every now and then to make the MC feel at ease with talking.

Ren's eyebrows will probably shoot up at the MC's change in demeanor when they talk about their hobbies/interests. Will say something like "What's so great about [insert interest/hobby here]? Let me see that" with a slightly haughty attitude. If it's an interest, they will search and read about it until the littlest informatoon; If it's a hobby they will secretly conduct a research and perfect the hobby (for example, it's playing an instrument.) They will do it to better relate with MC but of course, they won't tell the MC that they did it for them. Will make a lame-ass excuse like "I'm a perfectionist in nature, you see."