Endsville

No one knows why it happened this way. Before, everything was normal. Nothing amazing ever happened.

Then came the fog, rolling through the streets and covering the sky. It lingers on the edges. Everything looks like a storybook. You can’t ever see the sunrise, and the wind smells like rain that never comes.

This is the reality of Endsville, our endless twilight. When you’re in a town like this all covered with fog, you forget that there’s a world outside. The days drag on and on. Every day feels like a lifetime.

But now you’re here.

That’s how I know that there really is a world outside.

Endsville is a tabletop roleplaying game inspired by FLCL. It aims to tell stories about the melancholic impotence of youth and the temptation to cling to the familiar in the face of change, even as your hands grip nothing but ash.

It’s a game for two players: a Dreamer and a Waker.

The Dreamer is a resident of Endsville. They walk through life unfulfilled, heart full of yearning.

The Waker is an outsider. They crash through the Dreamer’s life and tear away the fog, even if just for a moment.

How to Play

First, the players define their characters.

They choose details like a name, some pronouns, and some simple descriptors (like “goth drummer” or “knife twink”). Then they give them a goal to work toward throughout the game (like “leave town” or “find my ex I left here”).

Play moves in turns. One player sets a scene, choosing factors from their character prompts. The second player chooses a prompt from their own list, and when that trigger is fulfilled they enter the scene.

Play continues as both characters interact, orbiting the subject at hand. The scene ends when it feels right, or when you decide it should stop. You have six scenes to accomplish your goal.

Setting a Scene (Dreamer)

In your scenes, keep the fog in mind. It clouds the edges, keeps only one thing in focus.
Locations: School, cafe, an abandoned building, a construction site, the library, the train station
Times: Before school, after school, late at night, first thing in the morning, high noon
Details: Hanging out with friends, running an errand, preparing for an important task

Entering a Scene (Dreamer)

You bear the fog with you as a resident of Endsville. Use it to cramp the view of the scene and bring mundanity to light.

Enter when:

The Waker needs help navigating the dull expectations of Endsville’s residents
The Waker enters a location you know well
Mundane life interferes with the Waker’s plans

Setting a Scene (Waker)

In your scenes, flaunt your otherness. Disregard what is normal here; the world is vast beyond the fog.

Locations: In class, under the bridge, at the park, on the school roof, in the Dreamer’s home, at a concert
Times: During school, late at night, first thing in the morning, high noon
Details: Working a gig, looking for something, pretending to be someone else, concealing something

Entering a Scene (Waker)

You are the gust of wind that tears away the fog, even if only for a moment.

Enter when:

Something is going according to plan
The Dreamer is too in their own head
You are least expected
When the Dreamer makes their limited perspective painfully clear

Concluding the Game

After six scenes have been played (three started by each player), you enter the Climax.
When the Climax begins, ask each other the following questions:

How do you feel about me?
What do you want me to be?
What should I do about ___?

After the questions have been answered, there are two more questions:

Dreamer, ask: Are you leaving?
Waker, ask: Are you staying?

Do not answer these questions out loud unless you have attained your Goal.