Sorry for the delayed reply! I thought I got back to you here sooner. I had an exchange with Liberty a few comments up twhere we were getting into some of this, too.

I completely agree that AI has its merits, and my perspective here is one that's evolving quickly. I use it plenty in my own writing, but I can comfortably say that it doesn't do anything in the way of real heavy lifting. It's hard to draw the line exactly of where it stops being a tool and where it becomes a means of cheating.

A lot of the time I've used AI imagery, it's been in cases like you mention where I the images at hand are dull and bland. Sometimes a simple prompt has gotten me something far more usable than the generic options of unsplash. But I can still see the moral concern there. I think it's crucial that I don't credit myself.

That's funny you bring up She-Hulk. I wouldn't be quite so quick to judge the franchise off of that one. They did a famously awful job of putting that one together. Marvel is certainly formulaic and repetitive, but it's actually grown on me over time. The stronger movies and shows are still worth watching as long as you're not hoping for something life-changingly deep and philosophical lol.

Thanks so much for reading and for the comment, Bren!