Fichain #5 (start date 20 Jul '23)

Segment #1

Taking a deep breath, Amyra let the familiar scent comfort her. She would never be able to decode the mystery of Suyash's shirts. There was something about them and their crisp cotton fabric that just smelled so wonderful. Amyra always felt like she was floating on a lake, during sunset, maybe with some beautiful swans floating around her. So calm, so peaceful. Even now, after everything, it was the one piece of her life that had remained unchanged. How ironical, considering the man behind the shirt was the one who brought in the whirlwind.

Although blaming him entirely was wrong, she supposed. She herself was just as much to be blamed.

Maybe more.

She used to be so sneaky initially, only smelling him for the briefest moments when they hugged. But after last week's fiasco, she didn't bother hiding anything from anyone anymore. What was even the point? She'd already crossed all limits of embarrassment; nothing could faze her after this. Death by mortification, that's what she'd attained. The only thing left to decide was her afterlife. Was she a zombie or a vampire?

She sniffed some more. Maybe, with some luck, she could be a mermaid at the bottom of the lake. Hopefully a beautiful one.

"Seriously, I should just give you my fabric softener. Then you can keep a bottle around and smell it whenever."

Amyra sighed, finally lifting her head from the crook of his neck where it'd been buried for the past few minutes. His pristine white shirt was now creased and crumpled, two of the buttons having come undone. She'd feel guilty, but this disheveled look suited him far better than his previously stiff outfit. No one should look like a suffocating giraffe walking into a date, even if they were walking hand in hand with someone like Amyra.

Still, she smoothened out the creases as much as she could, finally meeting his eyes with a slightly accusatory look.

"Your shirts just smell different, okay? I don't even know what you do to them. I already smelled your fabric softener and it wasn't that."

"You smelled my—" he snickered. "Of course, I should've known. You really are crazy, My." His gaze turned fond.

Amyra scowled and looked away, something inside her feeling restless at his words and his expression.

"Let's just go, Suyash."

She turned and started walking ahead, unsure where the sudden irritation had come from, but not wanting to analyse it either. Irritation was good — better than the hopeless misery she felt these days. And Suyash was plenty irritating, anyway.

A hand on her wrist stopped her.

She turned around, already anticipating the kicked puppy expression on his face and steeling herself against it. "What?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

"No."

"You seem like you're mad at me."

"I'm not."

"Well, you—"

"I'm not mad at you, okay! Can we just get going?"

Yeah, the puppy eyes were out in full force.

She sighed, forcing herself to calm down.

"Look, we should keep walking. We need to actually get to the cafe. Or do you want us to just sit here, have lunch and call it a day?"

He smiled. "I didn't know you were that excited for the date, My."

She snorted. "Not as much as you, that's for sure."

Again, she kept walking ahead, fast steps that made her heels go clack-clack-clack against the pavement.

Again, she was stopped by a hand on her wrist.

She turned, this time ready to just scald him—

"We're here." He held both his hands up in surrender. "That's all I wanted to say. Look."

Amyra looked, and sure enough, the bright yellow signboard of Daffodil Café was staring back at her.

She checked her watch. Two minutes to two.

She was here. For her date. Finally, a chance to maybe fix everything.

She looked at Suyash and smiled, a genuine smile. He looked a bit taken aback, like he hadn't been expecting it.

"So? Let's enter?"

There was something in his eyes that she couldn't read, but it was gone the next moment. He smiled back, just as genuine, and whispered, "Have a great date, My. I hope Vikram realises how perfect you are... for him."

~

A/N: This is purely romcom-y 🙈 I tried to keep it open enough that any of the popular tropes can be fit into it. Two things:

1. "My" is a nickname that Suyash calls Amyra. Just in case that didn't show up clearly enough

2. Suyash is also on a date acc to Amyra. They walked here together, so it may be in the same cafe, in an opp cafe, or maybe it's just a friendly date that he's bluffed to My about. Take it however you want.

Have fun! 🥳🤗

Segment Links and Summary

Segment #1 - Bee222  

Amyra is taken up by the smell of Suyash's shirts. She's embarrassed by last week's fiasco and doesn't think 'it's' worth hiding anymore. They both head out on their respective dates.

Segment #2 - oh_nakhrewaali 

Amyra and Vikram meet at a cafe. She's struck by how different they are by their orders. Vikram asks if she wants to get married.

Segment # 3 - ExoticDisaster 

Vikram acknowledges that their parents want them to get married & says he would like to know her better by working on a project together. Amyra is unsure and finds her mind wandering to thoughts of Suyash.

Segment # 4 - oh_nakhrewaali 

While Suyash's date went well, Amyra is left conflicted.

She remembers how she invited Vikram to a party with Suyash and their friend Lisa.

Segment # 5 - LizzieBennet 

Amyra recalls how she sniffed Suyash and was turned on by his scent. Her 'weirdness' became apparent to Suyash and Lisa and she's mortified. Suyash begins to call her 'My' after that incident, after an anime vampire princess. Amyra had confided in a school friend, Moneesha about her gift but she was outed & teased by the whole school after which she vowed never to tell anyone. She does use her sense of smell to guide her in making decisions. 

She is dragging her heels about going to a party with Vikram - his scent seems 'off' to her.

She realizes Suyash is into Tutu & also that the woman smelled 'wrong'.

Segment # 6 - Satrangi_curls

Amyra, Suyash and Tutu chat about their common interest, anime.

Amyra accepts the party invitation from Vikram

Segment # 7 - oh_nakhrewaali

Amyra meets Vikram's parents - Gautam and Jhanvi at the party. Jhanvi praises her good work at the PR firm & Amyra is grateful for the acknowledgement. Gautam talks to Vikram about marrying Amyra & implies he has to do it despite his reservations. Vikram seems to know about Amyra's 'weirdness' from Moneesha.

Segment # 8- Satrangi_curls

Both Vikram and Amyra are conflicted about getting married and their families are upping the pressure. The engagement will be announced in a month.  

Segment # 9 - LizzieBennet

Suyash & Amyra are serving food to slum dwellers when Suyash recalls his sordid past. Suyash is also attracted to Amyra but is aware that he cannot act on the attraction. Amyra questions him about Tutu and why he hasn't invited her home that he deflects. Suyash has been fostered and his family isn't his real family. He recalls how Arvind Roy had met him a month ago and how he knows all about Suyash's past.

Segment # 10 - MochaQueen

Suyash recalls how Arvind Roy had told him to stay away from Amyra because he was the son of a murderer. He also recalls how Amyra had told him she didn't get a good vibe from Vikram and enlists Tutu's help to find out more about him. Tutu's contact, Harry, who's a private investigator wants them all to come to Europe so he can dig deeper about Vikram. He wonders if Vikram's family is the same one he knows about.

Segment # 11 - Dreamofendless

Amyra agrees to go to Europe with Suyash, Tutu and Vikram. Arvind is skeptical but when Amyra tells him it's a chance for her to know Vikram better, he agrees, deciding he would have someone keep an eye on her. The plot reveals that Arvind is nervous about Amyra being around Suyash because of what he and Gautam did to his father - wrongfully accused him of murder. 

Segment # 12 - LizzieBennet

Amyra has lied to her father & Vikram about going to Paris & is instead going to London with Suyash. He's going to work in his London office. Amyra plans to stay with their friend, Lisa who lives in London while working on signing on C-Cube, Chandrakant Chavan, a rapper, who is connected to Suyash's youth. Suyash was 13 when Chintu Chavan lost his whole family because of Suyash's dad. Gautam fears their secret will be out if Suyash meets Chintu (C-Cube).

Segment # 13 - Dreamofendless

Segment # 14

Main Characters:

Setting: City of Mumbai, Time: present

London/ Paris

Amyra Roy 25 year old PR professional, works in her dad's PR firm  - Amicomm - as head. She's conscious that she had a headstart as her father's daughter but is also proud of the hard work she put in to secure the position - she doesn't take it for granted.

Is an anime fan. She has a special gift- she's hyperosmic.. meaning she can tell someone's personality and character traits by how they smell. She has not shared this 'gift' with anyone but she uses it in her life to guide her into making decisions. She seems to 'like' Suyash from his scent. 

She met Suyash at a comic-con convention and they bonded over anime 4 months ago.

Her childhood acquaintance, Vikram Sehgal has returned from the US and wants to marry her, an alliance arranged by the families for mutual gain - her dad and Vikram hope to consolidate the business by having him join Amicomm.

Amyra and Vikram have a past- they knew each other as kids and went to the same school for a while where she bullied him and now she feels some guilt about it. She has been on a date with him and he seems to be pressuring her to marry him. 

Amyra is attracted to Suyash and was caught sniffing him once- an event which led to extreme mortification on her part. He began calling her My after an anime vampire princess and she hates it. Their other friend, Lisa also saw her sniff him and she feels embarrassed. (Could be why she agrees to date Vikram because she feels she’s ruined things with Suyash). Suyash invites her to meet a woman he clearly likes and she finds her scent to be wrong too. 

Physical description: She's been described as pretty and likes to dress well, has long straight hair that she sometimes styles into waves? 

Suyash Nair formerly Kamat: 28-year old IT professional and aspiring filmmaker. Gaming and anime enthusiast. Friends with Amyra and Lisa. He’s actively dating, and seems to have hit it off with Tilottama (Tutu) Ghosh, his co-worker, and is eager for Amyra to like her. He is into social service and has been serving food to slum dwellers as part of his company's CSR.  Although attracted to Amyra, he has accepted that there will never be anything between them.

Physical description: He's tall, wears steel-rimmed glasses and has thick, dark hair and gets dimples when he smiles.

Suyash's family is not his real family, he has been fostered. He comes from a disreputable background that Amyra's father knows about. Amyra's and Vikram's fathers had wrongfully accused Suyash's father of murder 15 years ago. The victim/s seem to be the family of Suyash's childhood friend/neighbour Chandrakant Chavan, now an upcoming Rapper whom Amyra wants to rep.

Secondary characters:

Vikram Sehgal: Amyra's childhood classmate and a family friend. They reconnected after years after he's back from the US with a degree in media and management. He hopes to join Amicomm and the families are hoping for an alliance between them. Has been described as intelligent, good-looking and ambitious.  

Gautam and Arvind plotted to accuse Suyash's bio dad of murder and a marriage between Vikram and Amyra could be meant to cement this secret further within the families. Amyra finds his scent to be off.

The Sehgals - Gautam and Jhanvi :  Gautam is a businessman.and has been friends with Arvind Roy for a long time.  

Arvind and Ashwini Roy: Amyra's parents. Arvind owns a PR firm that Amyra is head of. He used to own a newspaper business that he used to accuse Suyash’s father along with Gautam Sehgal. 

 They're loaded and Amyra lives with them.

Narayan Rao Dikshit: Amyra's maternal grandfather, a respected politician and entrepreneur. Has only been mentioned so far, hasn’t made an appearance 

Lisa: Amyra and Suyash's friend. She lives in London and Amyra is staying with her during her trip. She is also an Anime fan and they met at the same comic-con. She has witnessed Amyra sniffing Suyash at a party. 

Moneesha: Amyra's high school friend who betrayed her 'secret' and made her the laughing stock in school.  

Kriti: A girl Suyash dated briefly and found to be 'fun'.

Tilottama Ghosh aka Tutu: The girl Suyash is now dating and seems very into. Backstory to be established. She's also very into anime and is tall, slim and a stunner. Amyra thinks she smells all wrong

The Nairs. Suyash's Foster family: Have two bio kids - Nikhil and Nitish.  

Suyash's Real family: The Kamats  

Diler: Vikram's family friend. A guest at a party. 

Harvinder aka Harry - A private investigator friend of Tutu's based in Europe (where in Europe?) who has agreed to investigate Vikram.  

Chandrakant 'Chintu' Chavan aka C-Cube: Suyash's neighbour from the chawl he grew up in. He idolized Suyash as a child before his entire family was killed and Suyash's father was held responsible. He is now an upcoming Rap artist who went viral on YouTube that Amyra is keen on signing up for Amicomm. He is currently in London.

Zaid Siddiqui: A breakout Bollywood star from the non-nepo brigade that Amyra is also keen on signing on. He is shooting in Paris.

Plot points that could be further developed/ details that need to be added/ questions that need to be answered.  

• When and why did Suyash get fostered/ adopted by the Nairs?
• What happened to Chintu when he lost his family?
• What was the incident (alleged murder of Chintu's family) and how are Gautam and Arvind involved? How was Suyash's father connected to them? How was Chintu's family connected to them? Are they directly involved in their death or are they covering up for someone else more powerful than them?
• Where is Suyash's dad now? Is he alive or dead? What about his mom? What about his remaining family if he had any?
• How is Harry connected to the Sehgals?
• Does Amyra have any siblings or is she an only child?
• What is shady about Vikram/ why does he smell 'off' to Amyra? Is he in touch with Moneesha? How does he know about Amyra's 'weirdness'? Does he know about the murder accusation and his dad's involvement? What is his agenda in marrying Amyra? Is it only to further his career?
• What about Tutu? Why does she smell 'wrong' to Amyra?
• How does Amyra's gift work? How does she know what exactly is wrong with someone just based off their smell? Are there times when her 'gift' does not work (like when she has a cold)? Does she read character traits like aggression, dishonesty, loyalty, goodness etc based on a person's scent? Can she sense these differences or is it just black and white for her ..like a 'right' or a 'wrong' person? With Suyash, it's very different for her.. she's never been this obsessed with someone's scent.
• Amyra works hard at her job but is also aware of her privilege in getting it. This can be explored.
• Suyash is an aspiring animation film-maker. This can be further explored.
• Suyash feels some reluctance in telling Amyra the truth of his past. He hasn't introduced his foster family to her. How close is he to them? Does he feel obligated to them? 
• How much does Suyash know/ remember about the incident that led to his father being accused?

Awwww.... That's cute😍 what did My do😅 I love how you wrote, it's so beautiful ❤️

Can't wait for more

Originally posted by: oh_nakhrewaali

Awwww.... That's cute😍 what did My do😅 I love how you wrote, it's so beautiful ❤️

Can't wait for more

Thank you 💓

Wait kyun karna, khud hi likhdo next part 

Originally posted by: Bee222

Thank you 💓

Wait kyun karna, khud hi likhdo next part 

As you said, wiayinh for the plot to thicken and.idh any thickness, bas lays ka packet kharid lungi🙈

BM...will come to read tomorrow.

My ki jagah Amy ho sakta hai? I know the previous one sounds cute but padhte waqt realise nahi hota itni jaldi. 😆 or its just me. NVM, it's a cute beginning! 

You could also go with myr 😆 but only certain people would get the joke 🙈🐤

Wow Bee. I love how intricately you established your characters. Their interactions and their thoughts reveal so much about them- each statement is loaded and open to interpretation and analysis and of course, further exposition. So a writer could choose to explore Suyash and Amyra’s past, Amy’s embarrassing moment, her current misery, her preoccupation with Suyash’s scent - any of it! 

I have a foreboding about this Vikram guy. No character named Vikram is  ever well-meaning or benign (sorry yo all the rl Vikrams out there! 😆)

Who’s next? 

Originally posted by: LizzieBennet

Wow Bee. I love how intricately you established your characters. Their interactions and their thoughts reveal so much about them- each statement is loaded and open to interpretation and analysis and of course, further exposition. So a writer could choose to explore Suyash and Amyra’s past, Amy’s embarrassing moment, her current misery, her preoccupation with Suyash’s scent - any of it! 

I have a foreboding about this Vikram guy. No character named Vikram is  ever well-meaning or benign (sorry yo all the rl Vikrams out there! 😆)

Who’s next? 

Thank you Lizzie 🤗 your feedbacks always make me feel so warm and fuzzy 🥰🥰

I did try to leave it open but I think kuch zyada hi open reh gaya 🥺 now no one is interested in continuing it further 😭