Night 1 

Nine of Swords - Strange Text on the Screen 

+1 Pick 

King of Pentacles - Local Event Footage. When? What? 

Return any Major card to the Deck 

Ace of Pentacles - You can stop all Broadcasts for a second. How? 

Remove all Picks 

3 of Wands - Walls of text on the screen. What does it say?

+1 Toothpick 

NIGHT LOG: 

For the first three hours nothing unusual happened, but around midnight, right after the clock chimed, during a rebroadcast of the match of ‘89 the text started to appear on the screen. 

I thought it was just a sports annotation so I ignored it at first, but there was one word that caught my eye and I had to pay closer attention to it. Across the screen, for every player, it showed their name, birthdate and how they died, or would die in some cases. 

These weren't normal deaths either, like car crashes or cancer, but horrible gruesome deaths. Murdered in a parking lot over a space, murder-suicide of family, other more terrible things. The longer and longer I stared at it the longer and longer the description became. 

Soon it was covering the entire screen like a coroner’s report, flashing over and over until I just started pulling out all the plugs on the switchboard. 

I pulled the last one and everything went dark, then the emergency footage, you know the one that auto-plays so we don’t violate the FCC, kicked on and it seemed normal. Like nothing had happened at all. 

I plugged everything in about halfway through the footage. The regular programming started up again after the hour. 

Night 2

5 of Wands - Random clips play like a spirit box. What does it say? 

+2 Picks

King of Wands - A local information film plays. What landmark is it about?

Return any Major card to the deck 

5 of Cups - A weather report, but it has been altered. What does it say?

+1 Pick 

3 of Cups - Strange noise, what does it sound like? What caused it?

+1 Pick 

NIGHT LOG: 

It started earlier this night. At first, I thought the cables got all screwed up since it was playing random clips, skipping around going through the queue like a kid flipping channels when there’s nothing on. 

But then I could hear my ears prick up and the clips started to make sense, like it was saying something. I’ve seen some of those old ghost hunting shows, and they have something called a ‘spirit box’ that’s basically a frequency skipper. It skips around on all signals til people think they hear sentences. 

Well, that's what was happening tonight and it said my name over and over, each one accompanied by some horrible strange noise, like a dying animal or a meat grinder, or sometimes just static. 

When I started to go unplugging everything again it just stopped on an old information film about grass. I talked about the local farmers and how the kids in the area wanted to make crop circles out of all the wheat, but the stalks don’t bend right so none of it stayed down. 

I let it play out until it got to a section about the weather, but it weren’t the weather in the film, it was the weather today. It had the dates and the times and even the same forecast on my phone. I thought maybe I had just heard it wrong, or it had flipped to a regular broadcast, but it was the same guy, the wheat presenter, telling me about the weather tomorrow. 

I guess I’ll need to bring an umbrella. 

Night 3

Seven of Swords - Local town footage, but with weird stuff 

+2 Picks 

Ace of Cups - A happy memory, what  object triggered it? 

Remove all picks 

Knight of Wands - An old sitcom plays. What's the episode about?

Return one Major Arcana to the deck

2 of Cups -  The light goes out. What do you use for light instead?

+1 Pick 

NIGHT LOG: 

More weird local footage about wheat. This town loves wheat. But there was something odd about it this time around, the colors didn’t seem to match with what they were last time. Like there was some filter over the footage but it weren’t no distortion that I had seen before. 

I tried fiddling with the cables but there was nothing I could do about it. All the water looked red, and all the eyes of people were this odd yellow. 

They played an old episode of Too in the Afternoon. I used to watch that show with my grandma and she would tell me about all the scandals surrounding the guest actors. Christine Pochiba was in this episode playing a young woman whose husband had run out on her. I had her poster on my wall when I was a kid. Not from this sitcom, it was before she was a big name, but from one of her later movies. 

The damned lights in the studio went out again and I had to fumble around with my phone until they decided that they wanted to be on again. Can’t tell if this is just a spooky happening or if there’s something outside chewing on the powerbox again. 

Night 4 

6 of Wands -  A new ticker appears, what does it say? 

+1 Pick 

Queen of Cups - An old movie starts to play, Which one?

Return one Major Card, and Draw Another, (Since I don’t have one I’ll just draw one ) 

5 of Swords - A random news clip plays - what’s it about 

+ 1 Pick 

9 of Wands - Strange footage, unknown source, showing what?

+3 Pick , Toothpick fell, +1 Major Card 

The Hanged Man - Your curiosity draws you to the broadcast. What needs to be answered?

+1 Embrace 

The Empress - You spend time researching the origin. What do you learn? 

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG: 

It's A Wonderful Life started to play even though it's nowhere near the winter season. I guess since it’s public domain they can show it whenever and how many times they please without having to pay some corpo any money. 

I’ve seen it a million times but I could still watch it a million more, even the ticker that appeared at the bottom didn’t bother me like it shoulda. It started out with just trivia, like they got on some of the new fancy streaming platforms. 

Like who almost got the role, how it ended up in the public domain and such. Then it started to just give information about the crew, about grip, the lighting staff. It talked about how they died. Like with the football players before. Talking about murders, and gruesome deaths…. 

But it intercut with news reports this time. It would be five minutes of movie then, bam, on the dot, a report. But with each report it grew grainer, staticy and harder to hear the words, like they are talking through a tin-can on a string. 

Until it was just all static. There was nothing but to staticy squares on the screen. I didn’t know what to make of it but it’s gotta mean something. 

I’m no IT guy but I started to look into where the broadcast was coming from. I got nothing. I don’t even know where to begin! I’ll need to look over the manuals to learn this stuff. Maybe I’ll do that instead of just watching the channel… 

Embrace: 1

Fight: 1

Night 5

Page of Wands - An Old sitcom, what is the episode about?

Return one Major to the Deck (returned Empress) 

Seven of Cups - Footage of the station is shown. How feel?

+3 Picks 

5 of Pentacles - Text appears telling viewers to do something. What?

+2 Picks 

10 of Swords - A weird being flashes on the screen. What is it? 

+4 Pick Fallen Pick 

The Emperor - You find some information, where do you find it? What do you learn? 

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG: 

I was researching on how to look up info. I’m not too good at all this technical stuff, so it’s more of reading a sentence, looking up what those words mean, and then looking up what those words mean again, but I’m keeping a little notebook to help. 

It was able to pinpoint that the broadcast is coming from within the city. That’s something! But as soon as I did that, I caught a gimps of the tv. 

It was playing an episode of Greener Sundays, the episode where the dog runs away, when I saw it flash on the screen for just one second. It was almost human? But its forehead was too long, and it’s fingers too short and there was text along the bottom of the screen. Like an emergency announcement saying ‘Stop. Stop. Stop.’ 

Then it showed the back of me. It looked like live footage and I’ll admit I turned around. I didn’t see anything or anyone. We don’t even have security cameras back here. 

But when I turned back there was nothing on the screen. Or rather it was back to playing Greener Sundays. 

I think I might need to bring a bat or something with me to work tomorrow. 

Embrace: 1

Fight: 1 

Night 6 

Eight of Pentacles - An Emergency alert. What is it warning?

+3 Picks

Knight of Cups - An Educational Short 

Return one Card to the Deck (Returned Emperor)

Seven of Pentacles - Live footage of a location. What and where? 

+3 Picks 

Ace of Wands - Something that reminds you of a happy moment

Remove all picks 

NIGHT LOG: 

Tonight it was during an educational short. One that told about how you should wash your hands after using the bathroom. The more and more I looked at the footage the more I recognized it, until I realized that it was of the bathroom here in the station. 

I knew that graffiti and I knew those stalls. I remember scratching my initials on the first day of work into the sink alongside the initials of everyone else that’s ever worked here. I was so happy that I finally had a job. I didn't think it would turn into this. 

The short is showing a man washing his hands over and over while an alert plays on the bottom saying they aren’t clean. He keeps washing them until the skin starts to turn red and he’s rubbing away the skin. 

The footage looked live as the time and date were the same, and curiosity got the better of me and I went in, down into the bathroom but there was nothing there at all, except the same graffiti and the same broken toilet seat, and just one drop of blood in the sink. 

I checked all around for cameras but I didn’t find nothing and when I got back the station had returned to normal, playing some old movie that was already queued up. 

Embrace: 1

Night 7 

10 of Cups - A program schedule is shown. What is listed? 

+1 Pick 

Queen of Pentacles - An old news broadcast. From when What are the headlines? 

Remove one Major Card (Removed Hangman)

3 of Pentacles - Text flashes on the screen. What does it say?

+2 Pick 

4 of Cups - A fake station identification is shown. What’s it look like? What’s it say? 

+2 Pick 

NIGHT LOG: 

An old news broadcast played on loop for about 10 minutes. It was an old clip from around christmas time, where the newscaster kept saying “you better watch out, he’s coming--!” I assume he meant Santa, but the soundbite just kept playing over and over before finally the text on the screen just flashed in bright red saying ‘HERE HERE HERE’ over and over.

Then a station idea played but the chimes were all wrong, they sounded almost like someone screaming and the numbers didn’t match any in the local area. ‘Channel 94’ Now here! It said before flashing the programing schedule. 

It just had the same thing listed over and over. A tv show I’d never heard of called Soon To Bee and the episode titled ‘The Big Day.’ 

Embrace: 0

Fight: 0

Run: 0

Night 8

(A/N: Since this game has the potential of taking a very long time, I’m going to draw one Major Card each night as well as any that I get from picks falling)

Knight of Swords - An old documentary 

Return one Major Card to the Deck 

Eight of Swords - Audio recording, what does it sound like? How do you feel? 

+1 Pick 

King of Cups - An old home movie, do you know who is in it? 

Return one Major Card to the Deck 

Eight of Wands - A strange voice says a threatening message, what and to who?

+2 Picks 

The Magician - What weapon do you grab to fight if you need it?

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG : 

There was another old, long documentary playing tonight, this one about springs or something. I was almost falling asleep until I heard my mother call my name through the tv. 

This startled the shit out of me and I looked up and saw an old home movie was playing on the tv. I was young, like 8 or so, and we were in the backyard with the dog. 

She was the one holding the camera and she was calling out to the both of us before turning it towards her face. She looked it square down the barrel and said, “We’re here. We’ve always been here.”

I’m glad I brought that bat with me tonight since I heard a pounding at the door, then at the windows, and then the vents. 

She kept repeating it over and over until her voice changed from what I remember into something that didn’t sound like no human mouth made it. 

And then it just all stopped. I feel like I'm losing my mind. 

Embrace: 0

Fight: 1

Run: 0

Night 9 

4 of Pentacles  - A strange creature on the screen. Looks? Feelings?

+2 Pick (Toothpicks Fell) 

10 of Wands - An emergency alert that instructs locals. 

+4 Pick 

Knight of Pentacles - An old sports event plays. When? What event? 

Return one Major Card to the deck 

6 of Swords - A mysterious voice commands people to do something 

+3 Picks 

The Tower - You freeze during a broadcast 

+1 Run 

Judgment - What do you think the purpose of the broadcasts are? 

+1 Embrace

NIGHT LOG: 

That thing was on the screen again, the one with the big head and the stubby fingers. It was looking right at me and I can’t remember it’s face. 

It happened during an old sports event that was re-showing. Another one of the football games from ‘89.

I went over the notes from the other night and it was the exact same, only with a voice now. That same text ‘STOP STOP STOP’ as an emergency announcement, only this time it read it aloud in that voice that wasn’t my mother’s. 

I couldn’t move. All I could do was just sit there and stare at the damn thing, but I can’t… I just won’t remember it. I don’t know what it’s all for. They want something. People to do something or to not do something.

Something happened then. Maybe something in ‘89. Or maybe something on that field. I’ll have to look into it more. 

Embrace: 1

Fight: 0

Run: 1

Night 10 

7 of Wands -  A heavily distorted emergency alert. 

+1 Pick 

2 of Swords - A synthesized voice repeats a phrase. 

+1 Pick 

4 of Swords - An audio clip from another network’s show. What does it say, where is it from? 

+1 Pick (Pick fell) 

6 of Cups - Footage from a person roaming town. 

+4 Picks 

The Moon - What does the contract say about quitting? 

+1 Run 

The Empress - Research the origin. What do you learn?

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG:

More and more weird things keep happening. This time we got an audio clip from the next town over remixed in with our own. It was playing both tracks at the same time one on top of another. 

It sounded almost like an emergency alert, but it had all the station bumper tones so I know where the audio was coming from at least. 

The audio kept repeating the phrase “wait, stop, here” in that order each time. At least that’s what it sounded like to me when I was listening but I couldn’t really hear it well. 

It then switched over to what looked like outside the station, like another angle from the parking lot and it was just someone standing out there. They were backlit and out of focus so I couldn’t see nothing about them but something about the way that they stood there made my skin crawl. 

The footage was about 10 min in length and the camera just followed them pacing around the outsides of the building. I thought about calling security, but they might not believe me and if I keep asking them to check out things then they’ll stop believing me when it matters. 

I looked into the signal origin again and didn’t see much more than I already knew. It’s from somewhere in the city. Maybe someplace close, but I can’t really tell. I’ll have to keep digging. I wish I knew more about it. 

I also wish I knew more about this damned contract. I’ve been thinking about just leaving. Finding a new job, but I gotta make sure they don’t sue the pants off me if I do. 

Embrace: 1

Fight: 1

Run: 2

Night 11

6 of Pentacles - Footage from a Landmark 

+1 Pick 

4 of Wands - live footage of a nearby location 

+2 Picks 

9 of Pentacles - Distorted Chanel Indent plays. 

+3 Picks (Pick Fell) 

Eight of Cups - Highly distorted song 

+2 Picks 

The Hierophant - A letter to you that’s a threat. 

+1 Run 

The Chariot - You dream of the broadcast 

+1 Embrace 

NIGHT LOG: 

I guess I’ll go in chronological order first. Last night I dreamt of the broadcasts. It felt so real, I was just at my job and I was looking at the screen. Watching them over and over again, I couldn’t move and couldn’t see nothing else. 

It was like nothing else existed but that screen. Funny thing is I can’t remember what it was showing me. I woke up terrified but it was all gone in an instant. All I remember is the fear. 

When I got to the station there was a letter on my seat. It was in a crisp white envelope that looked like it had never been touched by anyone before. It wasn’t sealed or had any postage, just an open envelope with my name on it so I assumed that it was from management. 

Inside was a printed letter in that same font that’s used on the broadcast interruptions. It just said ‘DON’T LOOK AWAY.’ 

The interruption started then, showing that strange figure standing up top the park monument, the one that’s the Egypt obelisk replica. I don’t know how they got up there and I think they must have used a drone to get that footage but they were pointing down at the station. 

It cut away suddenly and showed that wrong station id from before, Channel 94 but this time it said ‘Almost Ready!’

Embrace: 2

Fight: 1

Run: 3

Night 12

Page of Pentacles - An old sports game 

Return a Major Arcana to the deck (A/N: I’m not going to be doing this anymore, I’m just going to keep them)

Nine of Cups - A distorted commercial for local business 

+1 Pick 

Page of Swords - An Old Documentary 

Return one Major Card to the Deck 

King of Wands - A local information film. What landmark?

Return one Major Card 

The Devil - You track down the source of the broadcasts. Where are they coming from? 

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG: 

FUCK. It’s here. It’s always been here. The broadcasts are coming from here. It’s us! Something in the station is doing this. I don’t have the authority to go looking around the damned place. But somehow someone got in and is doing all this weird stuff on purpose. 

No wonder they don’t believe me! They are the ones doing it! Does someone want this station shut down? Why? There’s plenty of parking out for the park, there’s nothing else in the area, so there’s no reason to build a mall or anything here. 

If it were a funding issue they could just keep complaining to town hall. I don’t get it! I just don’t! If it’s some sort of advertisement for something, not enough people watch the latenight to make it worth it. 

The fake broadcast wasn’t too bad tonight either. It just showed some old commercial for a used car salesman. There was some visual tearing and distortion around the top of the screen and bottom so it made it look like the presenter’s forehead was too long and the fingers were too short. 

I guess this is their main villain for whatever project they’re working on. 

Embrace: 2

Fight: 1

Run: 3

Night 13

10 of Pentacles - Historical footage, what does it show? 

+1 Tooth 

Queen of Wands - An old Children’s show 

Return a Major Card 

Page of Cups - An old educational short

Return a Major Card

Queen of Swords - An old PSA, what does it show? 

Return a Major Card

The Emperor - You find information about the source. What do you learn? 

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG: 

There was a local children’s tv show that showed all the information about the town. It only lasted about 10 episodes since kids don’t really care about all the details of some small place. It showed them breaking ground on a new tv station. This station. 

They showed the workers smiling and pointing at the ground and laughing, all while that visual tearing distorted their heads and hands. It played some information about not playing around in construction sites, basically a glorified PSA, 

But something caught my attention. They mentioned building a sub-basement. We don’t have one as far as I know. There’s just the old storage basement. I’ve been down there a dozen times and there’s no door or hatch or anything. 

I’ll have to find some plans. 

Embrace: 2

Fight: 3

Run: 3

Night 14

Ace of Wands - Something that reminds you of a happy memory. 

Remove all picks 

5 of Pentacles - Text on screen with instructions 

+2 Picks 

4 of Wands - Live footage, of a nearby location 

+2 Picks 

7 of Cups - Footage of the station. What show, how feel? 

+ 3 Picks 

The Fool - What would be the hardest thing about Moving? 

+1 Run 

NIGHT LOG: 

That figure is outside my door. I can see the shadows underneath it and I can see the footage on the screen. 

There’s text on the bottom of the screen saying ‘KEEP WATCHING. KEEP WATCHING. KEEP WATCHING.’ But I can’t. I can’t look away from the door. 

I considered taking the bat I keep underneath the desk and just wailing on whoever is outside the door, but as soon as I looked down to get it and back up it was gone. 

I stared at that door the rest of the night, holding that bat and thinking back to when my daddy taught me to swing with all my might at that ball. 

I weren’t no good but a person’s a much bigger target. 

Knowing I couldn’t go visit them would be the hardest part about moving. They aren’t doing too good health-wise and I know Ma’s not got many years left. 

Embrace: 2

Fight: 3

Run: 4

Night 15 

Queen of Cups - An Old Movie plays. 

Return one Major Card and Draw Another (Returned Chariot, Drew The World) -1 Embrace +1 Fight 

Nine of Swords - Strange Text on screen, what does it say? 

+1 Pick 

5 of Wands - Spirit Box clips 

+2 Picks 

4 of Cups - A Fake Station Ident 

+2 Picks 

The Lovers - You wonder if the town is worth saving

+1 Fight 

NIGHT LOG: 

The fake station indent is playing much more frequently. Each time it says it’s getting closer, etc. Even the station started skipping like the spirit box again, saying my name and that it’s here. 

I want to still believe that it’s a promotion or a joke or prank or whatever. But … even then it’s a bit much. There’s only so much I can take and this all seems so custom tailored for me. Why harass me so much? 

Or is it just because I’m here? That’s what the text keeps saying on the screen. ‘HERE HERE HERE.’

Eventually it just quieted down and played The Day the Earth Stood Still, the original. I wish all the tech would just turn off, for a little bit. 

I haven’ reached out to anyone about the weird broadcasts since I’ve been worried that I might lose my job. Maybe I’ll start posting on an anonymous forum. 

Embrace: 1

Fight: 5

Run: 4

Night 16

Queen of Cups - An Old Children’s Show

Return one Major 

2 of Pentacles - A Strange Face on the screen. What does it say?

+2 Toothpicks 

Queen of Swords - An Old PSA

Return one Major 

Knight of Wands - An Old Sitcom

Return one Major 

Wheel of Fortune - You mindless stare at the broadcast

+1 Embrace 

NIGHT LOG: 

The recordings were all normal tonight. Nothing strange. A children’s tv show about puppets and sharing. A sitcom titled All Together Now! And a psa about washing your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash away the fingers. Wash till they are gone. 

Embrace: 2

Fight: 5

Run: 4

Night 17 

Nine of Pentacles - A distorted chanel indent 

+3 Picks (Pick Fell ) 

2 of Cups - The lights go out for a moment 

+1 Pick 

9 of Swords - Strange text on the screen 

+1 Pick 

Ace of Swords - Distract yourself, what do you like about the town?

Return one Major Arcana 

Death - You repeat what the channel says. What is it? 

+1 Embrace 

NIGHT LOG: 

I like it here. It’s nice here. Even when the lights went out, I know that I’m safe in here. 

Channel 94 is sending its messages here again, even though it’s already here. I can see the tearing and the static on the indent screen, but it’s fine if it's already reaching the screens. People will know what it is. The text is telling me that it’s here! I know! I can see it! 

Things I like about the town: 

Embrace: 3

Fight: 5

Run: 4

Night 18 

5 of Pentacles - What does the text tell people to do? 

+2 Toothpicks 

5 of Wands - Spirit Box Clips 

+2 Picks 

4 of Cups - A Fake Station Indent 

+2 Picks (Picks Fell) 

8 of Wands - A strange voice with a threatening message 

+2 Picks 

The Sun - Do you regret coming to the town? 

+1 Run (A/N Adjusting to ‘Returning’ for narrative reasons) 

The Star - You look for jobs in a nearby town, what stands out to you? 

+1 Run 

NIGHT LOG: 

My head feels much clearer than it was yesterday. I don’t know what happened. 

I think I need to leave. I’ve started looking for jobs in the next town over. I can drive if my family needs me. I should have never come back. I don’t know what I was thinking. I should have stayed in the other state. Fuck! I was just too lonely. It’s fine it’s fine it’s fine. 

The other station’s indent is playing again. It’s talking to me. It’s talking directly to me. It wants me to stay. It’s telling me to stay, it’s talking out loud in that creepy voice. I hate it I hate it I hate it! 

I played the spirit box thing again. This time it was going over all the other people who have left, and telling me how they died. 

I don’t know how many more nights I can take this. There’s an opening for a tech over in Brighton. 

Embrace: 3

Fight: 5

Run: 6

Night 19 

King of Cups - You search the studio for a hiding place

Return one Major to the Deck 

10 of Swords - A schedule. What is listed? 

+1 pick 

5 of Cups - Spirit box 

+2 Picks 

King of Swords - An old home movie. 

Return one Major to the Deck 

The Hermit - You look up transport out of town. What is the best? 

+1 Run 

Run: 7/7 GAME OVER

NIGHT LOG: 

Tonight’s my last night. I don’t care if it’s fake or real or whatever I’m not putting up with this shit no more!

There was a ‘schedule’ of all the different programs that all listed my death. I’m out! 

The only way out this early in the morning over to Brighton was a train and I’m taking it. I left a note under the door of management and I’ll call my parents in the morning and tell them I found a better job out here.

I know there will still be motels up and open so I’ll just sleep in one of those and get my shit sorted out after a long sleep. 

If I thought burning the place down would fix everything I would, but I just know in my gut that it wouldn’t work. 

I hope someone else fixes this damn thing since I’m not going to do it. 

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