#vtmb2 fic

I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW. I'VE BEEN IN A FUGUE STATE FOR THREE DAYS. Please enjoy this affectionate pastiche of "human AUs" as much as I enjoyed writing it--which, despite my bitching, was a lot.

Hard Ten - Rolling double fives in craps. Sometimes called a "pair of sunflowers", rhyming slang took this piece of casino dialect from "hard ten" to "hard ten the ladies' friend" and from there, logically, to a result of double-fives often being called as "Big Dick".

Casekeep - An accessory associated with the card game Faro, a casino craze in the 20th century. A casekeep was an abacus-like device used to track which cards had and had not yet been played, in order to assist players in placing bets and keep the casino honest.

See also: Prestidigitation, sleight-of-hand. From French, léger de main, lit., "light of hand". Associated with cardistry, improvised magic, con artists. The Nomad wakes, wounded and alone in an unfamiliar city, with an equally confused Malkavian in their head. A Malkavian who introduces himself as Gideon Hall. Or: Safia's plan works too well.

I’m not hungry, Ryong had griped, young and pent-up. I don’t need to hunt, I need to get laid. Boundary-crossing, maybe, but the embarrassed censure she’d expected never materialized. Safia had just glanced up from her microscope with a barely-restrained smile....and given Ryong a once-over that was not at all unfriendly. Do you think? She’d arched a brow and—amused, and to what Ryong suspected was both of their surprise—said, I could take care of that, if you like.

Second Dealing - A sleight-of-hand card cheat in which the dealer, while appearing to deal cards normally, actually retains the valuable top card of the deck in order to rig the game. When done correctly, second dealing is indistinguishable from an honest dealing pattern to the naked eye.

Pass Line - In Craps, a bet that the shooter will win against the house. Unlike most other craps bets, a wager on the Pass line cannot be withdrawn; only won, or lost.

The secret fourth thing all wise men fear: Lou Graham Poorly-maintained maritime safety infrastructure.