I was thinking about my youth the other day (younger youth) and remembered about No Idea. Raura and I worked on it for over a year back when were around fifteen. Eventually Laura grew tired of colouring it (I think it was unfair in retrospect, I would draw and think up silly stories and never gave her enough input) and there was no one who would take such a thankless task from her hands. She's studying illustration and design now. I'm really looking forward to seeing what she does in the next few years, she is such a talent.
Eventually I tired of the project too. It was too hard for me to be self-motivated. I hit the crunch years of highschool and my mother (my only parent) had cancer. This isn't a sob story, it just highlights how NI became less meaningful. I was annoyed at my inability to translate my ideas onto the page and while I had initially planned to just finish it... the story got away from me. I still write stories with the characters from time to time but I'm a bit of a perfectionist now. I can write short, flawed pieces for fun but I wouldn't be able to make a full project without constructing a realistic and correctly structured world (science students have this beaten in with a plank of wood). In any case, anyone who read NI would probably turn up here eventually. Here is the gist of how it would have gone.

The white-eyed mage with the black hair turns out to be a court mage. He and Shin get into a giant row and partake in mutual ass-kicking. Ami breaks it up. The mage escapes with the aid of a blonde man (Marcus). You don't figure out where Benji went or what his relationship with the mage was. Dale tracks him down and finds out that he lives in the royal palace.

I never quite figured out where to place Benji, I decided he'd be the kings bastard. An acknowledged bastard, however, so he may have had a chance at the throne if not for his older, legitimate brother. Luckily he was more interested in running the political underground than killing his brother, hence his strange associates. Benji had a true interest in Dale that she would grow to reciprocate.

At the end of the current, incomplete, chapter Ami would have paid their rent and they would have moved to the next town. There was always supposed to be an interlude between chapters and the next one would have either focused on Shin's relationship with either Ami or Xel. It would become clear that while Shin did not blame Ami for hurting him, he still couldn't quite stop it from colouring their relationship. She stole a piece of his soul without knowing how to return it. She feels badly about her actions as well, knowing that her death would cripple Shin and fearing this violent power she possesses. Strangely enough they didn't separate for this reason but rather to search independantly for a way to defeat the infusco. It had already been revealed that infusco destroyed both Shin's court and Ami's village.

As time progressed the group would move towards Dale's hometown (which would quickly have come in jeopardy of being destroyed by infusco). Along the way secondary characters such as Dale's siblings (twins Fred and Yuki I think) and Marcus (captain of the guard and Benji's bro's main squeeze) would be introduced. Benji would meet up with them again and offer Ami aid while she attempted to restore Shin's full self. While this would endear him further to Dale, it would also destroy any chances they had as a couple. Ami was the last of her village, had mixed blood and was also the child of their wise-woman. By controlling Ami, Benji would have gained access to all the valuable land left by the infusco and to a powerful warmage. Though the area was currently charred and useless, she would be capable of eventually restoring it. Benji would make himself rich by exploiting her. He was considering marriage as an easy option that would lead to accomplishing his goals. Dale was going to find out (can't hide anything from a ninja) after finally admitting to herself that she loved him. Only after she quietly but violently threatened him into leaving woud he realise what he had lost.

The final arc (anything else would lead into the story but not be essential to this summary) the infusco were going to be confronted and Shin released. Shin and Ami have had some weeks of preperation at Dale's village. With Benji's help and many sleepless nights Ami discovers a way to return Shin's soul and also learns to focus her most powerful magic when calm. Shin realises that any feelings he has towards her come from within himself and not because she holds a part of him captive. The day before they go to fight the infusco Ami finishes and casts the spell that frees Shin from her. She tells him he's free to do as he wishes and he is too startled to say anything.

Since I always got annoyed at unhappy endings in anime (it's like they can't make happy ones), this story ends happily. The 'good guys' win but get hurt in the process and Shin and Ami walk into the sunset together. She tells him she loves him (a cliche I adore) and he admitts to feeling the same way. Dale mends her broken heart and ventures off into the unknown, ready for a vacation. Xel finally takes a break and opens her eyes, breaking her ties to her third (all seeing) eye.

See the holes? Too many to count. I did love it though and I still consider it a good part of my life. There are some parts of the story that didn't fit in above so I'll put them here:
-Xel can see into the future and change it as she sees fit. In fact, she uses this ability to walk. It takes no effort to see a minute into the future and chnage it so she doesn't walk into things. It took her a lot of practice not to answer before people asked questions. Since her path was a religious one (giving up sight for foresight) and she was particularly powerful, she resents her lot. It would take until the end of the story for her to chill. She could also see into pasts, explaining why she knew so much about Shin when he isn't big on D and Ms.
-Ami's father was a dryad. The fae blood in her would have given her longer life (easing her relationship with Shin) and also a magical edge on the competition.
-The fourth chapter was to be a fighting competition composed of teams of two. Ami would have ridden and fought mages while Dale would have fought armed and hand-to-hand. They would have learnt more about the white-eyed mage and left the city of good terms.