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yanderenightmare · 2 years

Note

alpha deku? he's already a daddy in the yandereverse, but with the added alpha-ness...if a darling ever tried to escape he found find her immediately. i could also imagine bakugou and todoroki as alphas and the three of them finding their cute little omega running away.

OMEGAVERSE ! bnha ! TODO-BAKU-DEKU

goodiebag WARNINGS: omegaverse, dubcon, NSFW, threesome, degradation, condescension, discrimination towards Omegas ig, its hinted that the reader is 18

TIP-JAR

The rules of The Harvest

The Harvest is a government-issued bidding game hosted on every harvest moon, where Omegas are auctioned off to the highest bidding high-society Alpha or Beta, to ensure every Omega is given a secure and wealthy home where they can be assured the proper care and protection.

Taking part in the auction is unavoidable to newly detected Omegas, however, per rules of the game, they're given a chance to fight for their own claim in what is now known as The Run. This additional rule to the otherwise strictly mandatory bidding game is based on prior Omegas succeeding in their escape, thus proving their own self-worth and their own means to take care of themselves.

Omegas who choose to take part in The Run are given a full minute’s head-start, however, by choosing to take part in The Run Omegas give up their position as bidding prizes, therefore no longer under the protection laws of The Harvest, and are thus free-game to any Alpha or Beta who would choose to hunt them down.

THE HARVEST

Her eighteenth winter arrived a couple of moons ago.

And she’d been made to go through the trials like everyone else her age.

It seemed silly now. And perhaps it had been before as well, where she’d long spotted how the boys in her class snickered at her ever since she’d first bled.

But, hopeful as she was, or perhaps stubborn, she’d crossed her fingers and prayed to the moon that luck was on her side enough to make her a Beta in the least.

Even though every bone in her body had long told her the truth.

She was smaller than everyone else. Weaker than everyone else. Emotional. Unstable. Incapable.

Simply not made to take care of herself.

She clicked her tongue and shook her head. The only thing she could do.

Except for crying.

It seemed. So. Fucking. Silly. Now.

That she was dumb enough to think she had a chance of passing the tests. That she was stupid enough to believe that if she just wanted it enough, she’d somehow be spared what she knew was the truth.

But, she was always going to end up here…

Groomed and dolled and sold to whichever Alpha or Beta was interested enough…

The Harvest.

Each year every Omega is round-up for this government-issued Match-Making event. Posing as a charity to make sure poor vulnerable highly fertile Omegas find safety in wealthy homes. Though, in reality, just a disgusting glorified auction to keep power-hungry dogs satisfied.

Caged behind pretty glittering gold bars, Omegas cower, at the gathering of high-society Alphas and Betas circling them like prey.

The highest bidder takes their prize home.

Though… not before they’re all given the option of testing out their skills in The Run.

But, of course, Omegas rarely dare. And even among those that try, it’s an even rarer story that anyone ever makes it. Riggedgame, as it is, as an Omega has slim chances of ever outrunning a Beta, much less an Alpha.

Which is in addition to just how silly she was going to further prove herself to be…

She chewed her nails where she sat on the velvet pillow within her cage. Suppressing the urge to tap her foot.

Unable to look them in the eye.

The swarm of fine-clothed large muscled shapes walking in and about her cage and the other dozen cages housing each their poor soul having had the bad luck of being deemed an Omega.

Some were in shock and denial. Screaming through the bars in the hope anyone would believe them, pleading that they were Betas, some even delusional enough to call themselves Alphas.

She remained silent though. Reserving her energy. Shivering a bit on the account of being as good as naked.

Cold cuffs on her wrists with matching anklets weighing down her feet, and though she couldn’t see it, she bet the collar on her throat was of the same gold fashion.

The harem pants were white like canvas. Thin silk. As was the wrap around her breasts. Probably for the satisfaction of seeing the innocent fabric spoil once the hunt for her started and she’d to be chased down until she trips in the mud by an Alpha’s feet.

She tried blocking out the haughty laughter of the rich around her. Sitting in the middle of her cage so no grabby hands could reach in without exerting themselves. Legs locked tightly to her chest with her arms slung around her. Tail tucked close. Pointy ears alert and shifty on every sound.

Memories of her teacher telling her that she’d make an Alpha very happy one day with that pretty face of hers made her hide behind her knees.

She remembers scowling ever since.

She remembers yelling at him and growling out how she was just as much of a Beta as him.

She remembers how he’d laughed at her.

She remembers the entire class laughing.

Sneering at the memory, her eyes raised from watching her toes to the boy sitting across from her.

He’d attracted a crowd with all his whimpering.

They seemed to like that.

They’d been commenting on him for a while now and each snide comment just made him cry more. Taunting him with haughty jeers about how his puffy cheeks were cute, swelled with tears like that, and how adorable the snot running from his nose was as he bawled his eyes out in fear.

His fluffy ears parted in despair at the people surrounding his cage.

A female had a sharp manicured hand reached in through the bars, rubbing on the boy’s soft ear as she pulled it close to the top of his cage, whispering ugly nothings to him, every cruel word making him cry even more. The boy let his jaw fall open and the woman gave a disgustingly wicked smile before spitting into his gaping mouth.

The other Alphas and Betas watching snickered before their grabby hands also decided to join the game, aiming to manhandle the poor Omega into complete despair. Tugging on his tail until he whined only to tug even harder, yanking his other ear and pulling on his locks, laughing and cooing at him while trying to rip his harem pants off to leave him there naked, humiliated, distraught, and dominated.

She made an effort to not seem as pathetic.

Hoping she wouldn’t draw as much attention-

“You smell phenomenal, my sweet.” A voice beside her called and she realized how her hopes were too high.

She ignored him with a roll of her eyes. Bitterly wishing that she hadn’t jinxed herself, thinking he’d leave once realizing she wouldn’t fall apart so easily, like what the rest of the whelps sniffling in their cages had already.

“I can tell you’re a highly fertile one-”

She tried suppressing it, though she’d already bared her teeth.

A rebellious snarl acted up in the back of her throat, her head snapping to look at the pompous jackass who had that ugly lopsided grin slapped on his face. Her brows set low in a glare as she summoned what she could to give him a ferocious growl.

“Fuck off!”

The comment didn’t need to echo to be heard and make ashen blonde locks shake with a chuckle.

Grinning at the other side of the room atop the exclusive VIP balcony, reserved for only the filthiest of rich, who subsequently was also the strongest of the strong.

“Heh, feisty.”

Golden champagne sparkled with fizzy bubbles in the tall slim glass he held between his fingers as he snickered at the display. His red eyes set on the sweaty reject retracting the digits he’d stuck through the bars back to the safety of himself.

The pair of emerald orbs next to him lazily viewed the same sight, perking up upon the cut in the little thing’s voice. Amused while watching the poor sucker tuck-tail before hurriedly rushing away from the tiny hostile thing locked up in her cage.

“Looks like someone hasn’t quite gotten the memo...” He commented in a mumble. Tipping his glass to his lips before taking a sip.

And, while it was left undecided whether the comment was meant for the omega who dared bark or the alpha who dared scare by it, he surely seemed more taken by the former.

Charmed smirk accenting his features as his pupils slightly dilated, the bubbles in his drink tickling what other hunger brewed in his gut.

“I think we found tonight’s game, boys.”

Jaded duel-colored eyes had taken the same instinctive interest as his two partners. His head slightly tipped making his bangs fall shadily over the scar on his face as he smiled a complementary dark grin.

A curt chuckle escaped him before speaking. “Agreed…”

They were approaching midnight.

And she didn’t want to admit she was scared once the massive entrance split open like a floodgate and the large crimson moon was exposed to them, its red light spilling in and awakening something livid inside otherwise sophisticated tame beasts.

She knew half was petrified and would remain in their cages even when they as well would unlock.

But she wasn’t one of them.

She was staring ahead toward the foliage before her. At the thick coverage of trees only thirty meters ahead. Beyond the grass field she needed to cross first in order to slip past the thick trunks while running in the mud through the branches and roots and rocks to reach her freedom.

Keen eyes. So suspenseful you could see the adrenaline sharpen the red in her retina as she watched the digital clock mounted on the wall. The time of The Run nearing, her last chance fast approaching.

She was the only one to shift and people were noticing.

Getting excited to see the pup try her adorable best.

She knew, were it not fellow omegas, she still wouldn’t be alone in the woods.

In spite of it, she didn’t back down and instead embraced what little bit of extra power the moonlight gave her to shed her human skin.

Taking on the form best suited for wilderness.

Bones broke and altered human anatomy first, before thick fur sprouted in an abundance. Starting at her nape like a mane running down her spine, before every inch was decked in a rich coat. Serving for better warmth.

Paws with claws made for running took the place of fickle human hands and former measly nails.

A pair of eyes that would better guide her through the thicket emerged last. Adapted with the rest of the ensemble. The final touches in aiding her escape.

Her door opened the second the clock ticked double o’s, and off she darted like she’d been counting down from the last-minute shift.

Three more seconds and she’d already reached past the clearing and entered the forest.

“And off she goes…” Cyan and grey eyes commented lazily as he watched the tiny thing disappear between the trees. Much quicker than expected.

Almost impressive.

Almost too bad a distinct scent left a clear trail behind her. Sweet like ripe peaches.

“Seems like the only one.” Red eyes admired as he viewed the other sniveling Omegas still spellbound to the safety of their cages. Already being drooled over by swarming Alphas and Betas pitching their proposals with checks in hand.

“We have to give her credit for trying…” Green eyes gleamed up at the moon as he wrung his blazer off his shoulders and stepped out from his shoes.

Almost shuddering by the ecstasy of the lunar eclipse.

“Hopeful ones make for the cutest Omegas after all…”

Her back paws only barely touched the ground as she maneuvered between the thick stems before her. Legs weighed down a bit by the gold bracelets cuffed on her. Her collar too, straining against her throat, added extra labor to her breaths.

Her ears shook at the sound of a gleeful howl behind her. Powerful where it bounced off the trees in an echo to reach her where she ran for her life. The sound of paws trampling the leaves soon followed. At least six pairs worth rumbling in the ground like thunder. Substantial in weight.

She cursed with a growl. Her lungs already burning while her muscles screamed for a break once she heard the twigs start snapping at her sides. She gave the sound a quick glance before turning to face forward again.

Where, in the near closing distance, red lights glowed in the dark like the blood moon itself.

Her back paws pushed into the ground to halt her from crashing right into the looming figure. Ripping up the mossy forest floor beneath her before her feet caught on a bridged root.

Tripping and sending her to the ground with a thud and an oof.

Her jaw in the mud, as she stared up at him with a wince.

She gulped at the sight of the thick sturdy claws leveled with her eyes. Plunged deep into the dirt. Looking closer to a dragon’s talons than any canid she’d ever seen.

Gathering herself enough to rise. She began slowly backing away. Her head bowed and back hunched. A bit too frightened to look fierce.

She always thought that the boys in her class were large.

Some girls too.

Saint Bernards and Mastiffs. And she’d seen some Hyenas in her life, and even Grey Wolves too.

But, this man…

He was beastly.

More like a bear than a dog with his bulk and size.

The teacher had schooled them about Dire Wolves. But she’d never think to ever lay eyes on one. She didn’t exactly feel lucky to have her thoughts proven wrong.

She’d been told Dire Wolves were the most aggressive of all canids…

Maybe he was one that preferred the taste of blood instead of mating. Maybe he was going to rip her open and eat her while her body was still warm. Stain his pale blond hair with her blood and his teeth with chunks of her flesh.

Spit out her bones when he was done.

A twig to her left snapped and her head snapped with it. Eyes growing ever more swiveled as she found another beast emerging from between the trees. Her hair on strict end and only tensing more when eyeing the new arrival of the same impressive and intimidating build.

Where for a moment she thought half of his white fur was caked with blood. Despite knowing how she would’ve smelled it if that were the case.

Another twig snapped to her right and she felt her odds thinning to the impossible.

But, once she turned to face the sound she couldn’t spot anything anywhere.

Until the luminescent green of his eyes distinguished themselves from the green of the forest, and the rest of his emerald fur exposed to her anxious gaze the more she struggled to spot him.

An excellent stealth hound. She bet, as her bones broke and healed to change her back to human.

Now naked, though having more combat options.

She thought before the other three changed back as well. Steam rolling off tough naked bodies riddled with muscle from neck to toe.

And she realized her options were as slim as before.

“D’you really think you could make it?” An amused voice jeered haughtily, and she turned to eye the one who’d initially blocked her path.

An explosive ash-blonde main pulled in every direction atop his head.

“Well, aren’t you a hopeful little bitch?” He gleamed with a wide set of pearly fangs bared in an awfully lofty grin.

“Manners, Kachan.” Another voice cut in. “You’re scaring the poor thing.”

It was the last one she’d spotted.

Purple marring ran up his arms gruesomely in stark contrast to his friendly freckled face. Green fluffy curls hung wildly around his ears, framing two large and even greener eyes.

“We wouldn't want that little Omega heart to give out, now would we?”

She didn’t know exactly why, but she already disliked him the most.

“Tch-” The man called Kachan scoffed with his grin still stretched wide like a crescent moon across his face. “If she wants to run with the big dogs- sooner or later she’s gonna learn what it’s like when the big dogs bite.”

The green-haired one, visibly exasperated with the other, sighed while resting his eyes.

And then the last of the fray decided to speak up, his voice smooth and refined like early morning snow.

Cold like it too.

“What do you expect when we don't put the mongrel on a leash?” He seemed to chastise, though bore the most indifferent expression while doing so.

In complete contrast to the counter, where Kachan’s glare immediately sharpened at the offender as he gave the comment a threatening growl. And the sound was so chillingly strangling she had to suppress a whimper upon hearing it.

“If I’m a mongrel, you’re a chihuahua, pretty boy. Eager to be carried around in Deku’s purse.” Kachan barked back with spit and spite.

The Alpha’s insane canines flashed along with his growling, making her further shudder where she wide-eyed tried keeping track of the three threats before her.

Where the green-haired one decided to cut in through the bickering of the other two.

“You’re both mutts.”

And the slight edge to his tone seemed to make them both shut up.

“Question is…” He continued upon the requested silence. His attention now set to her again. “How do we get the pup to come quietly?”

The heat in his dark green eyes had her breathing thin and her body feeling cold and hot in flashes.

“Tch-” Kachan scoffed once again. Shaking her from the spellbinding eye contact she shared with the other male to watch while the blonde took three thunderous steps forward towards her.

Where she, despite feeling shocked numb, instinctively reached down to fish a rock up from the ground.

“This whelp ain’t gonna listen to shit.” He proclaimed. “You said it yourself…. what she needs is to be put over a knee.”

Her eyes hardened even more upon that, her brows sinking into a low and sharp glare as she watched him brazenly step towards her.

“Look at me, pooch, and listen. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way.” The man stated. And though being naked and seeing naked wasn’t an uncommon happening among the species, she had to gulp nonetheless as she hadn’t ever really laid eyes on someone so…

Large.

“Oh please, Kachan.” Green-eyes interrupted him once again. “Quit the theatrics-”

“He can't help it.” The other rather quiet one snidely added. Further causing the blonde to bare his teeth with another growl.

“Shut up, Shoto.” He snarled back at the dual-colored one, and she learned his name was Shoto.

Now only the camouflaged one remained.

“Excuse our partner…” Said man apologized. Also taking a step toward her.

Lowering himself with an extended palm to where she kept low to the ground beneath the coverage of some large leaves, against the thick tree the trio had cornered and backed her up against.

“He’s a cur. But, I promise you, come with us willingly and-”

His hand neared her and she decided she needn’t know his name to bark at him.

“Keep your fucking paws off me!” She roared and chucked the rock at the man. Who, unfazed and with a slight smile on his face, caught it in his fist as though he’d anticipated the attack.

“So hostile.” The supposed cur commented with red eyes as wild as blood flow. “Even towards you, Deku.”

Grinning as he licked his teeth. His voice dipped into a low rumble close to the sound of a purr and either way a sound that had her toes curling into the wet dirt beneath her.

“I like her already.” He breathed, and the man they called Shoto hummed in agreement.

His sharp eyes side-eyeing the other as he spoke. “You would. Wouldn’t you, Tsuki?”

That made the blonde growl again for the third time, and while her brows furrowed at the entry of the new name she simultaneously wondered if he wouldn’t snap for the last time soon.

“But I do agree with you and Izuku…” He dismissed before the seemingly short-tempered red-eyed one could bark out another offended threat. “Wildlings are always the most fun.”

All the different names and nicknames thrown about indicated that they had a particularly complicated relationship. And with the heated looks in their eyes, she had the crawling feeling she was going to be the chew-toy in a dangerous game of tug-a-warbetween three Alpha Dire Wolves.

The man she was now fairly certain was the one they referred to as both Deku and supposedly Izuku as well eyed the rock he’d caught in his palm. Though, seemed to look past it into something that made his eyes glint with wicked excitement.

Those same vibrant vine-like eyes snapped to meet with her again and she believed the look alone was enough to cripple her even without the additional overwhelming musk that seemed to carpet all her senses, as though feeding some hunger deep down low in her gut, and rendered her dull and grossly satisfied. Caught somewhere between the sense of being knocked down to her knees and lulled into some false sense of safety. Either way, incapacitating.

“Grab her.” He commanded and the other two pounced within the split second.

She tried rounding the tree, clumsy in her haste as she grasped to stumble her way forward and away, but large rough hands snatched her before she could.

“Get off!” She tried growling, though only managed to whine. “No, stop- Let go of me you fucking dogs-”

She twisted in their grip. Her waist hugged from behind as she was lifted against a very broad and warm chest. Her thighs were picked up by the one in front, same hands pulling on her tail playfully in the next moment, making her cry out a pretty little howl.

She had her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she flailed. Pitiful shakes of her head as her impending violation dawned on her, her cute growls of anger turning into even cuter whines of panic and then further devolved into the cutest of scared little cries and whimpers.

“Someone’s eager to be collared…” The man behind purred with a growl against her ear before biting down on the tip of it. His breath; hot and damp against her neck with his thick meaty arms snaked around her tiny shape as tight as the constricting strength of a boa.

“That’s all you Omegas want, right?” Another of them added. Voice in contrast to the prior, silvery and smooth but still taunting like his mate.

Hands, thrice her size, squeezed the plush flesh of her thighs and she wrenched with another bitterly broken protest. But her struggles mattered little to the bigger threat puppeteering her into straddling the torso in front.

Hot breaths on her face indicated someone was leaning in close, but she couldn’t bear to open her eyes. The sting of warm tears wet on her cheeks, lip caught between her teeth as she awaited the imposing stranger’s mouth on her.

But though the heat was present, the kiss didn’t come.

“Pets don’t want freedom, little one.” He taunted softly instead, condescending with the grace and skill of a true Alpha. “Pets want safety and comfort. Pets want masters.”

And even though she had her eyes tightly shut, she could hear the leer which painted his face. Haughty and salacious, dripping with sadism potent enough to make any little thing like her shiver and bow.

“Hmm…” He admired, his claw scooping a lock from her face with a minor scratch left in its wake, sending a new slew of tears to go rolling down her cheek. “But, nothing’s cuter than a pet not knowing their place.”

She felt another warm breath fan against her face and bit down on her lip even harder to suppress the feeble whimper it caused. Where too much blood rushing about her ears rendered them too hot and useless in hearing the additional approaching footsteps coming from the forest.

But the three males, with Alpha instincts running on adrenaline and those raging owner-sick urges spiked by sweet and sweaty Omega pheromones, were on high alert and nowhere close to being as handicapped by the moment as the bewildered little thing they’d snagged on their teeth.

All three pairs of glowing eyes menacingly glared towards the source of the late arrivals.

“Aw…” Someone bitched. “You caught her already?” They groaned and her eyes opened to look at those who spoke.

A group of Betas stood like wraiths between the trees, all eyes an ugly desperate yellow. And suddenly, with the twist in her stomach the sight of their unsightly sharp smiles brought her, she felt no desire of leaving the Alphas at all anymore.

“Shame...” Another Beta whined.

His head cocked to the side as he licked his lips upon the sight of the hopelessly outnumbered little Omega stripped naked in the Alphas’ much stronger arms.

“You willing to share?” He piqued.

The tails of the rest of the onslaught all wagged aggressively behind them as they howled in agreement, the looks in their feral eyes having her regret running with every fiber of her body. Globs of drool dripping from canines that would surely snap at her to secure their piece.

She whimpered more upon hearing building growling in the trees surrounding the little clearing she’d been caught in. Unable to discern just how many there were. But, that just indicated that they were way more than what she could handle.

“Those that run are free game.” The Beta continued preaching amongst the fray. “We’re happy to take leftovers.”

He smirked and she swore it felt the same as being threatened with a knife.

“Ain’t that right, boys?”

The rest of the crowd jeered. Laughing like jackals. All hungry eyes fixed and spiked in her direction, eager to pounce. And though it was tough to spot in the darkness, it wasn’t easy to mistake why their hands all seemed to be tugging on something below their pelvis.

She made an uneasy sound while her own pitifully tiny hands subconsciously made to tug just a bit on the arms securing her, whilst her thighs tightened around the torso that had initially spread her against her will. Instinctively begging the big bads’ for safety against the rest of the threatening forest.

And as she felt herself being swallowed by the echoes of cheers and jeers around her, came an additional mortifying sound.

Threatening like none other. Low in the beginning, but rising, hums of a chuckle slowly building and amounting to a spurt of sudden laughter.

Deku broke off the howls of the surrounding onslaught with a manic chuckle, reeling her back. Haughty and loud and moon-drunk, he began cackling as though mad. The sounds reverberating throughout the woods, it didn’t shock her to see the birds take flight.

And once he finished, the rest of the forest was left dead silent.

His eyes, steely and condescending yet electric with livid luminescence, didn’t even bother to narrow as he blanked a stale look at the pathetic army of weaklings begging for a taste. And where she was held, goose-fleshed even on her cheeks and from her nape to her ankles, she was glad his gaze wasn’t directed at her when bearing that awful look of disdain.

The moon’s bloody glow gave the green-haired Alpha a menacing silhouette where he stood in the limelight. An epitome of dominance begging for just anyone to try and challenge him. She swallowed thickly thinking she’d see him tear them all limb from limb in gory slaughter.

But he didn’t move. And she reckoned it was because none of them were even worth it to him.

“Scram, Beta scum.” Came his rust.

Low, dark, and deadly.

The danger of it making everyone wince.

“She’s ours.”

All eyes were large with fear. Ears dropped down, some yelping and whimpering, the meek yielding cowards turned towards where they’d come from. Booking back with their tails tucked between their legs, some even spouting apologies as they ran.

But, she couldn’t notice any of it. As the much too threatening atmosphere had made her overwhelmed Omega-body take protective maneuvers. Her heart hammered so loud she felt it might run its course before she shut down.

Passed out and left just a little sleeping beauty in the three Alphas’ many secure arms.

(stay tuned for part two)

TIP-JAR

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matinjapan · 4 years

Text

A treatise on markets

Back when I lived in Vancouver, I was living the unemployed dream. Not quite right: I was working at a driving range a few days a week, and during winter I was one of the ‘Mountain Safety’ crew up at Whistler one day a week. So, the employed dream?

Even though I had a job, it felt like I was unemployed. The golf range gig was very cruisy. Involved hanging out in a booth/shed selling ball tokens, hitting a whole heap of balls, and then driving a tractor to pick up said balls every so often. Was probably the best job I’ve ever had, all for CAD 10 an hour. The volunteer gig with Whistler was similarly cruisy. We got to head up to the top of the mountain about an hour before the mountain opened, and then make our way down, setting-up go slow signs as we went. We then just cruised around the mountain for the rest of the day with walkie talkie‘s, attending to collisions, injuries (including occasional heli-evacs!), lost kids, or whatever other problems or mishaps occurred.

The Whistler gig was actually home to one of my many shameful moments: I fell asleep on the job. Super cold, bluster’y day and I lingered on a couch in a breakout area for a bit longer than I should have, after coming in for a bite to eat. I woke dazed and confused to one of the lead dudes accosting me. He wasn’t too impressed. Woops!

I was pretty lucky to not get fired. A few of the regulars I normally boarded with, put in a good word for me, rightly or wrongly.

Anyway, the main point of this ramble is that I wasn’t particularly obligated in terms of having to turn up at a workplace. And while it’d be easy to think that that would mean I’d settle into a life of midday TV, and naps (substantiated by me falling asleep while working!), that didn’t really happen. Instead, I ended up delving pretty deeply into trading (I also had quite a lot of naps).

Like most people, I’m generally pretty keen to acquire currency. And especially so, when it requires as little time tied to an employer as possible. At that time, I was still making money playing poker (that’s another venture that I was spending considerable time on), but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The supply of new (read: bad) players was waning, and the online poker houses were squeezing more and more of a cut from the diminishing player pool.

I knew that poker wasn’t something that I’d do forever. Trading seemed like a worthwhile pivot, with quite a few similarities related to bank roll management and psychology.

Over the course of about 6 months, I spent a lot of time at the Downtown library reading books about the history of markets, biographies of famous traders, trading strategies, the psychology of trading; whatever I could find, really.

A lot of the stuff I was reading was great context. And certain books were great at explaining the technical aspects of different things you could trade, such as options or futures. But once you learn all that stuff (which I never fully mastered), you were really only at the level of knowing the rules of the game. Kind of like knowing that a flush beats a straight; or the probability of hitting an inside straight draw is 8%, etc. It’s the framework that you need to know inside out before even beginning to develop a strategy.

And strategy is where things get difficult. It’s compounded by the overwhelming amount of chaff to wade through when you’re trying to figure out an approach. There’s no shortage of people trying to sell you their expertise and insight, but unfortunately, almost all is crap. Those who can, do. And those who can’t, teach, sums it up pretty nicely.

Anyway, the more I looked into it, the more daunting the prospect of trading became. On a surface level, it was clear that a select (yet diverse) group of people were able to be incredibly successful. But that assessment is like finding out that top basketball players get paid millions of dollars, and so deciding to start working on your free throw for the upcoming draft. Easy money.

There’s also the idea that those that are successful, are successful because they’ve superior intellectual fire power. They’re just better than the competition and naturally rise to the top. Many successful traders and the hedge funds they found, or are attached to, have this quality. But that’s not necessarily true for a substantial portion of them. Success is often tied to unscrupulous methods to extract surplus returns.

What’s more, to trade from home, both facilitated by, and against, the might of large financial institutions, banks, hedge funds, etc., you’re at a distinct disadvantage. Investing for the long-term is one thing. But to actively trade on a more short-term basis with a slower connection, less competitive spreads, less information, less computing power is not a great starting point, to put it mildly.

From when I was playing poker, people used to throw around stats that about 90% of online poker player accounts lost money. And then the next few percent were break even or modest winners at best. It was really only the top few percent that made all the money. I’m not sure what it is for retail trader’s, but I suspect the statistics are even more extreme.

So that’s essentially where I got to with trading. Super fascinating, but ultimately something I didn’t pursue. The reason why it’s come to the fore of my thinking in the last little while is that I’m still a sucker for the promise of ‘easy’ (read: not easy) money. Surplus time at home from the state of emergency and the GameStop saga of the last few months has fuelled my interest again. But I’ve quickly arrived at a similar conclusion to what I did a decade ago. If anything, it seems the playing field has only skewed more. And that’s despite the introduction of platforms such as Robinhood.

I’ve actually just finished reading the book about Enron: Smartest guys in the room. The book paints an amazing picture of just how corrupt the financial system was, and still is. Until I read the book, I always thought it was about the fraudulent misdeeds of a few people in one company. But it’s instead an indictment of capital markets in general, as facilitated by Wall Street.

And yet still I’m drawn to trading. Ha!

No, probably not trading. But investing, which has a longer time frame, is something I’m keen to get into more. For the last few years, I’ve been cash heavy (with my limited supply). While there’s not much inflation to speak of, the runaway appreciation in asset prices (damn you, Australian property) has left me in the dust. A flat white might still be $3.50. But a median house in Sydney of about 4 billion dollars kind of stings when you don’t own one.

Though now that I’m thinking about it more, rest assured that the point at which I do put my money in, that will be the top. For housing, I reckon I’ll be keen to buy a place end of 2022. So, Australian property bubble to burst beginning of 2023.

And I’ll just add, beyond property, investing for the long-term has been severely warped over the last few decades. So the game is far from fair, no matter what you do (property, stocks, bonds, commodities, or beanie babies). Thank you, elites (facilitated by political class and central bankers).

Anyway, here’s some pictures from the last little while in Tokyo and surrounds. The weather is starting to turn just about perfect. Some of the Sakura are already blooming, with more to occur over the next month or so. Magical time for all the hayfever sufferers.

Some quick running updates following an earlier blog: my running has severely stalled from about early December. Slight injury that I think is only now coming good. Good enough to start up’ing my mile’age again, but I’m definitely a ways away from being fit; it’ll be a while before I break any of those goal times, if ever.

But absent running, I’ve finally been climbing again. About 5 times outdoors this year, which has been great. Have lost a lot of strength from when I was climbing in 2019, but I’m keen to also up the climbing efforts too, to change that. Will see if I can simultaneously improve running and climbing at the same time.

Sayonara

#runittwice #riggedgame

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