Self Improvement, chapter 13

Previous chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/self-improvement-88568413?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Establishing a good habit is usually much harder than a bad one. But when brainwashing is introduced it does however become a lot easier. Since the idea of exercise popped into her mind, Rachael couldn't shake it. The longer it took her to begin, the more of her mind it dominated. Eventually the need became unbearable. Having bought the exercise gear already, there really wasn't an excuse not to get started.
The track located conveniently on campus grounds just begged to be used. The jog back and forth served as a great warmup and cooldown exercise.

Over the course of a week, one thing had stood out to Rachael more than anything when she went out to exercise. The trip to the actual track was more enjoyable than actually running there. After school hours, it was either completely occupied by the various sports teams, or totally vacant. Obviously Rachael could only use it when it was unoccupied, but there we're plenty of people on her run over there and back. Precisely the reason she liked the warmup and cooldown more than the session itself. The glances and occasional catcalls she'd get while running on the sidewalk back and forth fed into her increasingly dominant desire for attention.

Her first attempt at running almost came to a scary halt when she nearly ran into a guy on an electric scooter. Between her hair bobbing in front of her face as she ran, and her already poor vision, she had practically been begging for an accident. After Fred's advice, as well as the close call, getting contacts seemed like a no-brainer. However, as fate would have it, only colored ones were left on the almost empty shelves. Apparently the entire city had been suffering during a strike amongst delivery drivers for the past couple of weeks. Reluctantly, Rachael had opted for a colored option, no longer wanting to postpone her desire to run.

Despite a life void of exercise routines, Rachael picked up running very quickly. She didn't time herself initially, knowing full and well that whatever results she got would be slow. Be it due to the hypnotic file, or pure genetic luck, her progress was undeniable. Not to mention the fact that she could already see the impact it was having on her figure. Becoming all around more toned, especially her abdomen and legs seemed much more defined than before. She looked good, and felt even better.

Even though it had only been a week since she got started, running around the same track time after time had become boring. She instead sat down with google maps and began plotting out a different route that would take her through more ..densely populated areas. Rachael hadn't yet made the connection between the enjoyment she got from running, and the attention she got while doing it. She simply chalked her desire to run amongst people down to wanting a more "scenic route" than what the track offered.

Looking back at herself and the type of person she used to be, Rachael couldn't help but wonder how she ever coped with her former life. It just seemed so ..boring. Almost no social interactions outside of school, no proper hobbies besides reading, which as an interest was becoming increasingly dull to her. Sure, her studies might suffer under her new lifestyle, but she'd realized how important it was to enjoy her life as well. You never know when the end might come. The dream you've tirelessly worked towards for years might not even be what you thought you wanted.

Becoming comfortable in a lifestyle where all you do is grind towards something, never quite being satisfied or allowing yourself the time to actually enjoy what you currently have. None of these things were issues she'd even considered before, she thought she had it all figured out before, not knowing the pleasures of life she'd been missing out on. She could almost laugh at how naive she'd been. How could she declare herself above things she'd never even tried.

Speaking of tried, there was a certain event coming up which Rachael was roaring to attend. A party. Rebecca's party. Some might say it's a bit egotistical to host her own birthday party, but that's how she did things. Any excuse to host a party was a valid one, especially when her parents were out of town. It was no coincidence either, she'd pressured them to go on a "much deserved vacation" for the longest time, wanting the place to herself when her birthday came around. And now it was right around the corner. The list of people she'd invited was long. Some people from school, but most importantly: she'd also invited Mark, Sam Hugh and Fred. How exciting! A night full of new experiences for Rachael.

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Hello!

Pardon my lack of updates as of late. Making the PDF's, plotting out the next Chicken out branch, tending to my studies and generating the images for CtPMCP left little time for actual writing lately.

Making the revised images for CtPMCP opened my eyes to an issue which would impact the next iteration of Chicken out much more than anticipated. As some of you already know, I've been using Novel AI for about a year now for all my images, cept' for the Chekhov's gun story. My Opus subscription tier gives me 10000 "anlas" (The currency used to generate images on their site) to play with every month, which until now has been sufficient due to the nature of my scheduling.
But when revising CtPMCP images, it became painfully obvious how little 10000 actually is when trying to make better quality images in bulk. I spent basically two months worth of Anlas on those images, hence the long wait for the PDF itself.

This brings me to today. While Novel AI is "easy" to use and available, it doesn't give me the quantity of images that I need for a longer story like Chicken out, especially when I want to have all the images ready when I begin writing. This is why I've downloaded A1111. A much more hands-on experience with the stable-diffusion AI which allows me to generate images with more control, speed and realism. I'm fortunate enough to have a PC which can generate images at greater speeds than the servers of any online AI generator.
You might notice the change in quality (Hopefully for the better). I might also be leaving the anime style of images behind over time as the full stable-diffusion experience allows for some eerily realistic images without boundaries. I will of course remain well within any ethical and legal limits as always.