In this Lacuna Tangent, Remy Renard and E. Donohue explore Obsession (2026), a psychological horror film that asks a simple question: who is the real monster?

Using the film as a jumping-off point, we explore how horror can challenge our assumptions about violence, control, and the "nice guy" archetype. We unpack the symbolism behind the film's protagonist, Bear, discuss obsession disguised as love, and examine why the most visibly frightening character isn't necessarily the story's true monster.

Along the way, the conversation connects modern horror to folklore, the "man versus bear" debate, selkie mythology, and the unsettling ways stories reveal that monstrosity is often rooted not in appearance, but in the desire to control another person's autonomy.

• Obsession (2026)
• Horror and psychological horror
• The "nice guy" archetype
• Obsession versus love
• Consent and autonomy in horror
• The "man versus bear" conversation
• Visual versus moral monstrosity
• Selkie folklore
• Symbolism in horror films
• Performance analysis of Inde Navarrette

• Obsession (2026), directed by Curry Barker
• Selkie folklore of Ireland, Scotland, and Isle of Man
• "Man versus Bear" online discussion

Hosted by author and humanities omnivore Remy Renard and author and professional horticulturist E. Donohue, What Lives in the Lacuna explores folklore, horror, fantasy, literature, mythology, and the stories that shape how we understand humanity and ourselves. Through full-length episodes and shorter Lacuna Tangents, we blend literary analysis, folklore, science, and pop culture to uncover what lives beneath the surface.

Remy Renard is the author of The Florilegium Cycle, an Appalachian dark fantasy romance series set in Lorewood, a town where monsters are ordinary, folklore is real, and every story leaves its mark. Drawing on a background in the humanities, education, and storytelling, she explores the intersections of literature, philosophy, folklore, and pop culture.

E. Donohue is a professional horticulturist and author of many works of creative non-fiction about ecology and our connection to the natural world. She is also the aspiring author of The Raun Cycle, a historic grounded fantasy trilogy set on the Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland and England at the time of the Roman invasion. Drawing on a background of ecology, anthropology, and creative writing, as well as a lifetime study of folklore, she explores the science and archeology behind the magic of folklore.

Podcast IG: @whatlivesinthelacuna

Podcast TikTok: @whatlivesinthelacuna

Remy Renard
www.remyrenard.com
IG: @remy.in.the.wild
TikTok: @remy.in.the.wild

E. Donohue
www.edonohueauthor.com/
IG: @e.donohuewriter
TikTok: @edonohuestoryteller

What does it really mean to be morally gray?

In this episode of What Lives in the Lacuna, Remy Renard and E. Donohue explore one of fiction's most enduring character archetypes: the morally gray character.

Beginning with trickster figures from folklore, including Coyote, Loki, and the Sídhe, we examine how stories across cultures have used morally complex characters to navigate survival, change, and uncertainty. From there, the conversation moves into philosophy, comics, dark romance, and modern storytelling, asking whether morality can ever be separated from context.

Along the way, we discuss moral philosophy, reader interpretation, Batman, Deadpool, Dexter, John Wick, Legion, and the uneasy line between hero, antihero, and villain. Rather than offering a single definition, this episode embraces the complexity of morality itself and asks why morally gray characters continue to resonate so deeply with modern audiences.

• What makes a character morally gray?
• Trickster figures in folklore
• Coyote, Loki, and the Sídhe
• Moral philosophy and ethics
• Consequentialism, virtue ethics, and deontology
• Reader response and morality
• Heroes, antiheroes, and villains
• Batman, Deadpool, Dexter, John Wick, and Legion
• Dark romance and comics
• Why morally gray characters remain so compelling

• Coyote America by Dan Flores
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
• The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
• Over Nine Waves by Marie Heaney
• Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
• Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
• John Stuart Mill
• Jeremy Bentham
• Simon Stern, "From Clapham to Selena"
• Valentin Jeutner, The Reasonable Person: A Legal Biography

Remy Renard is the author of The Florilegium Cycle, an Appalachian dark fantasy romance series set in Lorewood, a town where monsters are ordinary, folklore is real, and every story leaves its mark. Drawing on a background in the humanities, education, and storytelling, she explores the intersections of literature, philosophy, folklore, and pop culture.

E. Donohue is a professional horticulturist and author of many works of creative non-fiction about ecology and our connection to the natural world. She is also the aspiring author of The Raun Cycle, a historic grounded fantasy trilogy set on the Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland and England at the time of the Roman invasion. Drawing on a background of ecology, anthropology, and creative writing, as well as a lifetime study of folklore, she explores the science and archeology behind the magic of folklore.

Podcast IG: @whatlivesinthelacuna

Podcast TikTok: @whatlivesinthelacuna

Remy Renard
www.remyrenard.com
IG: @remy.in.the.wild
TikTok: @remy.in.the.wild

E. Donohue
www.edonohueauthor.com/
IG: @e.donohuewriter
TikTok: @edonohuestoryteller

In this Lacuna Tangent, Remy Renard and E. Donohue use The Atlantic article The End of Reading Is Here by Rose Horowitch (July 8, 2026) as a jumping-off point to ask a different question entirely: if we truly care about the future of reading, are we focusing on the right problem?

Rather than blaming readers, we explore the pressures that make reading harder in modern life, from economic realities and education to accessibility and digital technology. Along the way, we discuss oral storytelling traditions, genre fiction, children's literature, disability access, and why creativity itself can become an act of resistance during difficult times.

Whether you love classics, fantasy romance, graphic novels, audiobooks, or folklore, this conversation argues for creating more readers, not policing what "counts" as reading.

• The Atlantic article "The End of Reading Is Here"
• Reading statistics and literacy
• Education and creating lifelong readers
• Classics versus contemporary literature
• Dark fantasy, romance, and genre fiction
• Oral storytelling traditions
• Accessibility and digital reading
• Graphic novels and Dog Man
• Creativity as resistance
• Why joy matters in reading

• Rose Horowitch, The End of Reading Is Here (The Atlantic) (July 8, 2026)
• Shooting the Shit podcast (CeCe Lyra & Carly Watters)
• Walter J. Ong and oral storytelling
• Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
• Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Works by Toni Morrison
• Greek mythology and Rick Riordan
• Norse mythology
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Remy Renard is the author of The Florilegium Cycle, an Appalachian dark fantasy romance series set in Lorewood, a town where monsters are ordinary, folklore is real, and every story leaves its mark. Drawing on a background in the humanities, education, and storytelling, she explores the intersections of literature, philosophy, folklore, and pop culture.

E. Donohue is a professional horticulturist and author of many works of creative non-fiction about ecology and our connection to the natural world. She is also the aspiring author of The Raun Cycle, a historic grounded fantasy trilogy set on the Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland and England at the time of the Roman invasion. Drawing on a background of ecology, anthropology, and creative writing, as well as a lifetime study of folklore, she explores the science and archeology behind the magic of folklore.

Podcast IG: @whatlivesinthelacuna
Podcast TikTok: @whatlivesinthelacuna

Remy Renard
www.remyrenard.com
IG: @remy.in.the.wild
TikTok: @remy.in.the.wild

E. Donohue
www.edonohueauthor.com/
IG: @e.donohuewriter
TikTok: @edonohuestoryteller

In this episode, we explore the multifaceted concept of monstrosity in folklore, literature, and pop culture, focusing on Irish mythology and modern interpretations in romance and fantasy genres. We discuss how cultural context shapes our understanding of monsters and the importance of acceptance and empathy.

Resources

What Manner of Man Is This Hound by Finn Longman

Ciarán Carson, The Táin, Penguin Classics, 2007

Cecile O’Rahilly, Táin Bó Cuailnge from the Book of Leinster, 1967

Roland Barthes - Mythologies

Irish Mythology - Golems, Werewolves, Deer Woman

POINT OF CLARIFICATION

In the Tain, CuChulainn and Ferida are also foster brothers, a relationship that does not indicate blood relation but rather a relationship of connection and obligation between families. Ferida is parted from Cu because Ferida fights for Connacht rather than Ulster and CuChulainn ultimately kills Ferida at a ford using a very monstrous weapon called the Gáe Bolga which you should definitely look up. The death of Ferida may be a later addition to the text, appearing possibly in the 11th century.

Welcome to What Lives in the Lacuna. We're Remy Renard, author of Lupines Bloom Where Blood Falls, and E. Donohue, author of The Raun Cycle. In this introductory episode, we discuss the books that shaped us, our different reading and writing backgrounds, and why we wanted to create a space for thoughtful, curious conversations about storytelling and the indie book community. Whether we're talking literary fiction, fantasy romance, folklore, publishing, fandom, or the people working behind the scenes to bring stories into the world, we're interested in what happens in the gaps between categories, expectations, and genres.