History Literature / ReturntoNeverend

''Return to Neverend'' by J. M. Sloderbeck is a story about [[MommasBoy David Inari]] and the [[DreamLand world]] he created with his [[IllGirl mother]]. Naming it 'Neverend' (since David hoped his mother would get well so that the story would "never end") he abandoned it after her death.

%%* IllGirl: David's mother, Maya. [[spoiler:She doesn't get better.]]

%%* MoodRingEyes: Aya, whose eyes change depending on her mood.

%%* {{Unicorn}}: A bit different from their traditional portrayal:
%%* VirginPower: Not necessary, although Sage seems oddly [[ChivalrousPervert happy when he discovers that Sara is a virgin]].

* TheAgeless: Aya and the kirin seem to live this trope, or they at least age very slowly.
* ArchnemesisDad: [[spoiler:Kell, aka ''My Kell'', aka David's father, Michael.]]
* BerserkButton: Sage finds his not long after his HeroicBSOD.
* BigBad: The Queen.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Begins to develop between David and his half-sister, Sara.
* BreakTheCutie:
** David's entire life is focused on his mother and the hope that she'll get better.
** [[spoiler:Aya gets the treatment during the 200 years David is absent.]]

* AChildShallLeadThem: Neverend was created when David was 8, so he's the 'logical' king for it.
* CoolSword: The Kusanagi.
* CrapsackWorld: The results of David's abandonment of Neverend.
* DeadpanSnarker: Myajo, and Sage to a degree.
* FieryRedhead: Sara.
* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen!: The Queen.
* GreenThumb: Green Willow.
* HannibalLecture: The Queen shows some of this.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Green Willow sacrifices herself to renew Neverend.]]
* TheHighQueen
* IllGirl: David's mother, Maya. [[spoiler:{{Tearjerker}} She doesn't get better.]]
* ItMustBeMine: The whole reason the Queen wants to capture David in the first place.
* InterdimensionalTravelDevice: The Door.
* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler:How Sage kills Kell.]]
* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:Sage.]]
* LeftJustifiedFantasyMap: Inverted. Neverend is bordered by an Eastern Ocean.
* MagicalGirl[=/=]MagicalGirlfriend: The Ayrlin.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: David and Aya.
* MedievalStasis: A centuries-old example.
* MirrorScare: The Ayrlin/Aya uses one to beg David to come back to Neverend.
* MommasBoy: David is still an emotional wreck 20 years after his mother dies.
* MoodRingEyes: Aya, whose eyes change depending on her mood.
* NamedWeapons: A justified use of the trope. Naming a weapon is what gives it power.
* NarniaTime: How time flows between Earth and Neverend.

* NoNameGiven: The Queen.
* OurMonstersAreDifferent: Our unicorns are, too!
* PlantPerson: Kell. Also the kodama, after a fashion.
* RedOniBlueOni: Well, there ''are'' red oni, anyway. Sage and Sara might apply as well.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers: Deconstructed. David has the power to create an entire world from nothing, but he doesn't [[spoiler:remember having it or]] know how to use it.
* {{Talking Animal}}s: Sage is one, although there are implied to be others.
* TheDragon: Kell
* UnderdressedForTheOccasion: [[InnocentFanserviceGirl Green Willow and the kodama, who never wear clothes.]]
* {{Unicorn}}: A bit different from their traditional portrayal:
** PlayingWithFire
** VirginPower: Not necessary, although Sage seems oddly [[ChivalrousPervert happy when he discovers that Sara is a virgin]].
* WhenTreesAttack: More like 'when trees defend'.
* WickedWitch: Myajo, although she's willing to offer David needed advice.
* WildWilderness: The Western Wood.
* WishFulfillment: The whole reason Neverend exists in the first place.
* YearInsideHourOutside: For every year of Earth time, ten years pass in Neverend.

* WomanInWhite: The White Queen.

----

* BreakTheCutie: David's entire life is focused on his mother and the hope that she'll get better.

* KaleidoscopeEyes: Aya, whose eyes change depending on her mood.

* [[spoiler:ArchnemesisDad: Kell, aka ''My Kell'', aka David's father, Michael.]]

* WhiteHairedPrettyGirl: The Ayrlin/Aya, although her being non-human could explain it.

''Return to Neverend'' is a story about [[MommasBoy David Inari]] and the [[DreamLand world]] he created with his [[IllGirl mother]]. Naming it 'Neverend' (since David hoped his mother would get well so that the story would "never end") he abandoned it after her death.