What Lives in the Lacuna

What makes a fictional love interest a red flag or a green flag, and why are readers drawn to both?In this episode of What Lives in the Lacuna, we take opposite sides of the red flag/green flag debate. E. Donohue makes the case for Team Green Flag, exploring characters who respect autonomy, communicate honestly, understand their own emotions, and treat the people around them as equals. From contemporary fiction to Irish mythology, Fionn mac Cumhaill, and the Fianna, she looks at the ways stories can create models for what we value in our heroes and even help define the standards a culture holds itself to.Remy takes up the banner for Team Red Flag and asks why fictional danger, obsession, intensity, and power can be so compelling when those same behaviors would send us running in real life. Drawing on research into fiction as a kind of social simulation, we explore the distance between fantasy and endorsement, the agency readers have inside fictional worlds, and how stories can give us a controlled space to experience, question, and think critically about things we might never choose for ourselves.Along the way, we tackle Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey, dark romance, consent, content warnings, and the difference between a story that openly invites readers into dangerous fantasy and one that disguises unhealthy behavior as an ideal. Neither red nor green turns out to be quite as simple as the debate suggests, and we eventually arrive at the eternal question: what happens when the bear tells you up front that it’s a bear?The conversation then comes back to where the episode began: the very different love interests we write. Remy turns the questions on E. Donohue to talk about Nine Waves, the first book in her historical fantasy trilogy, and Liam the extremely green-flag hero who may have convinced Remy that fictional men do not, in fact, need to be walking warning labels to be interesting. By the end, Team Red Flag versus Team Green Flag becomes something bigger: a conversation about what fiction allows us to explore, what stories can model for us, and the freedom readers and writers have to choose the stories that speak to them.Resources & Works MentionedOver Nine Waves by Marie HeaneyThe Fionn Folklore DatabaseEncyclopaedia Britannica: Fenians“The Cognitive Science of Fiction” by Keith OatleyThe Knight and the Moth by Rachel GilligThe Once and Future Queen by Paula LaffertyOne Dark Window by Rachel GilligThe Ritual and The Sinner by Shantel TessierWorks by Elle ThorpeTwilight by Stephenie MeyerFifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James“Down by the Glenside” / “The Bold Fenian Men”

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.Topics DiscussedObsession (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 NavarretteResources & ReferencesObsession (2026), directed by Curry Barker Selkie folklore of Ireland, Scotland, and Isle of Man"Man versus Bear" online discussionAbout What Lives in the LacunaHosted 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.About the HostsRemy 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.Connect with UsPodcast IG: @whatlivesinthelacunaPodcast TikTok: @whatlivesinthelacunaRemy Renardwww.remyrenard.comIG: @remy.in.the.wildTikTok: @remy.in.the.wildE. Donohuewww.edonohueauthor.com/IG: @e.donohuewriterTikTok: @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.Topics DiscussedWhat 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 compellingResources & ReferencesCoyote 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 BiographyAbout the HostsRemy 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.Connect with UsPodcast IG: @whatlivesinthelacunaPodcast TikTok: @whatlivesinthelacunaRemy Renardwww.remyrenard.comIG: @remy.in.the.wildTikTok: @remy.in.the.wildE. Donohuewww.edonohueauthor.com/IG: @e.donohuewriterTikTok: @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.Topics DiscussedThe 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 readingResources & ReferencesRose 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 CollinsAbout the HostsRemy 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.Connect with UsPodcast IG: @whatlivesinthelacunaPodcast TikTok: @whatlivesinthelacunaRemy Renardwww.remyrenard.comIG: @remy.in.the.wildTikTok: @remy.in.the.wildE. Donohuewww.edonohueauthor.com/IG: @e.donohuewriterTikTok: @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.ResourcesWhat Manner of Man Is This Hound by Finn LongmanCiarán Carson, The Táin, Penguin Classics, 2007Cecile O’Rahilly, Táin Bó Cuailnge from the Book of Leinster, 1967 Roland Barthes - MythologiesIrish Mythology - Golems, Werewolves, Deer Woman POINT OF CLARIFICATIONIn 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.