Richonneaholic

Y’all, I cannot express how incredibly thrilling it was to see the love for @lamorenareina in my previous recommendation. Please continue to send her your love, prayers, uplifting vibes, and much‑deserved flowers.

I must confess, I want to keep y’all guessing with who’s next in these posts. It’s been a minute since I’ve enjoyed interacting and engaging in fandom in this way—writing something that didn’t strictly involve curriculum.

I’m having so much fun!

Now.

DRUM ROLL

Wait—can’t forget the obligatory PSA: As before, minor spoilers, major feelings, and language that is absolutely NSFW abound in the proceeding.

Okay.

Brace yourselves, y’all.

We’re going down the emotionally unhinged rabbit hole that is @foxissofoxy

Oh yeah—I bit off WAY more than I could chew with this one. Suffice it to say, after my initial draft of this post, I had to take a meclizine and lie down like a Southern Belle with a case of the vapors or a Yankee with a severe case of ageda.

Shit, I had a straight‑up patatú. (It’s one of those essential Puerto Rican words—and quite apt. For reals.)

Okay, so back to Foxissofoxy.

For those unfamiliar with her writing, you’re in for a hell of a trip (and I don’t just mean that figuratively).

I came upon her stories under another author’s favorites, and, like all previous authors, I started at the beginning. As I went from one story to the next, it was like stepping into a David Lynch production (Twin Peaks) colliding with a Tyler Perry Madea movie. Surreal yet visceral; outlandish and still… familiar. And most of all—addictive.

Oh, just wait.

Her themes run the gamut from daytime‑soap melodrama to Southern Gothic thriller—imagine a script with the best elements of your favorite soap opera (mine growing up was Days of Our Lives, later General Hospital), the V.C. Andrews sagas (mine was the Dawn series), and the most iconic episodes of The Twilight Zone. I can picture Rod Serling taking a cool, matter‑of‑fact drag of a cigarette as he begins the preface to one of Foxy’s stories.

If @lamorenareina is the poet‑philosopher, Foxy is the unmedicated screenwriter who escaped the writer’s room with a Bible, a bottle of tequila, and a stack of case files.

Her stories are messy, bold, culturally rich, trauma‑aware, and absolutely unforgettable.

Hauntingly so.

And with an extensive bibliography (35 stories deep in the FF.Net vault), there was no way I could structure this post the same way I did my previous one.

Remember the patatú?

Yeah—I’d be writing a 100,000‑word dissertation, and I have a whole list of writers I want to get to.

So instead, I’ve narrowed my focus to two of Foxy’s stories (and two of my personal favorites) that showcase her signature style and her penchant for writing Rick and Michonne with a level of psychological depth that should honestly count as continuing education credits.

Her use of dissociation in the forthcoming examples isn’t just a theme—it’s a narrative engine, a structural device, and a psychological metaphor.

So let’s take a deep dive into the first story: “Til the Casket Drops: REDRUM.”

Imagine Rod Serling and Homicide Hunter Lt. Joe Kenda introducing the opening of this story with their signature delivery as you read the opening lines:

“I murdered my husband. I stabbed him 34 times.”

“Hi. My name is Rick Grimes… I murdered my wife.”

Lt. Joe Kenda: Well, my, my, my.

No shit, Joe! Right?!

That’s how this beast begins. It’s the kind of opening that slaps you across the face and dares you to keep reading. From that moment on, Foxy drags you into a world where Michonne is a former lawyer turned mortuary hairstylist, Rick is a former cop turned grave digger, and both are haunted—literally and figuratively—by the ghosts of their pasts.

Granny Mabel (a Foxyland original who appears throughout her works in one incarnation or another) presides over the chaos like a Southern Gothic guardian angel. And the sexual tension between Rick and Michonne is so feral, so palpable, I could feel the heated breath between them on my face.

But REDRUM is more than trauma, humor, and heat. It’s a psychological mystery that immediately made me think of the ensemble slasher‑noir film Identity (2003). If you haven’t seen this film, reading REDRUM will give you the same sensation; the ground beneath your feet is never stable, and every revelation forces you to question what you think you know. Foxy constructs a narrative where Rick and Michonne may not be the Rick and Michonne we assume. Their world feels slightly off‑axis, as if time, memory, and identity have been rearranged by trauma.

The fic invites the reader to wonder whether we’re witnessing a parallel universe, a shared delusion, a dissociative break, or simply the world as it appears through the fractured lens of two deeply damaged people.

Foxy never answers outright—and that ambiguity is the point.

REDRUM becomes a Southern Gothic psychological horror wrapped in a Richonne romance: dark, hilarious, unsettling, and profoundly human. Rick and Michonne are mirrors here—two killers, two survivors, two people who see the worst in themselves and still choose each other.

HUFFS.

And of course it’s un‑fucking‑finished.

Screams and then takes a drag from Rod Serling’s cigarette.

Oh, and never you mind, REDRUM is a mere ficlet compared to the next one.

Takes another drag.

Let’s continue the proverbial plunge toward Foxy’s next story.

If REDRUM is her chaotic masterpiece, then “All I Need” is her magnum opus of trauma and mental illness. This story is long (60 chapters, y’all). It’s layered, deeply character‑driven, and opens with a deceptively simple exchange:

“Eight bags of potato chips and three two‑liter bottles of soda pop… ‘All I need.’”

Beneath that deceptively mundane encounter between Rick and Hershel (Note: both REDRUM and All I Need are AUs) lies a psychological portrait of an individual carrying the weight of a deeply traumatic experience. Likewise, Michonne in this fic is a revelation—her dissociative manifestations, the result of her own horrendous trauma, further shaped by generational superstition, are a case study to behold.

Her family—Granny, Uncle Charlie, and the entire Foxyland clan—feel like they stepped out of a Zora Neale Hurston novel. They carry the same folkloric weight and cultural specificity rooted in oral tradition, shaped by community memory, full of humor, superstition, and the kind of lived‑in Southern wisdom that feels both ancient and familiar. They are not caricatures; they are cultural architecture, grounding the story in a Black Southern lineage that feels authentic, textured, and deeply human.

Rick, by contrast, is quiet, avoidant, hypervigilant, emotionally suppressed, and lonely in a way that aches. He is seemingly drawn to Michonne not by choice but by something that feels like fate. Their “first meeting” on the airplane is one of the strongest and most compelling opening sequences between Rick and Michonne in Foxy’s entire bibliography; awkward, hilarious, tense, intimate, and charged with the kind of chemistry that feels predestined.

“All I Need” is a story about trauma, yes, but it is also about healing, choice, and the slow, tender work of becoming someone who can be loved.

Seriously, I haven’t done All I Need enough justice. It is ambitious and substantive. Not only are Rick and Michonne incredibly layered and developed, but so is every single supporting character in this epic ensemble. Y’all don’t understand how difficult it is for me to keep things vague while not revealing any more specifics of the plot and cast of characters in this epic.

It’s

SO.

DAMN.

GOOD.

These two fics are representative of one of Foxy’s signature trademarks: nonlinear, psychologically disorienting storytelling.

“All I Need,” a story in which identity itself becomes a puzzle, is maybe “less” non‑linear (less Foxy non‑linear, not normal less‑non‑linear);

…feels another patatú coming on…

Yet grounded in dissociation, generational trauma, Southern Gothic realism, and richly drawn characters who feel like they’ve lived entire lives before stepping onto the page.

One story presents Richonne as mirrors in madness; the other presents them as two souls pulled together by fate. Both are masterclasses in trauma representation, mental illness depiction, cultural specificity, nonlinear storytelling, and character‑driven romance. Foxy writes like someone who understands that love is not always soft—sometimes it’s the thang that drags you back from the edge.

What I love most about Foxy’s stories: The endgame is always 100% Richonne.

If you want Richonne fics that are bold, messy, brilliant, culturally rich, psychologically complex, and absolutely unforgettable, then Foxissofoxy is your girl. “Til the Casket Drops: REDRUM” and “All I Need” are not just mere works of fanfiction—they’re experiences. They’re the kind of stories that stay with you long after you close the tab.

And before I close, I would be remiss not to mention two additional hallmarks of Foxy’s signature storytelling that truly set her apart in this fandom. Beyond her meandering narrative, psychological labyrinths, and Southern Gothic atmospheres, Foxy is one of the few Richonne writers who consistently centers characters who are neurodivergent, disabled, or otherwise “other‑abled” without ever reducing them to tropes. From canon characters—Eugene, Carl, Andre—to her Foxyland OCs, these characters are written with realistic depth. They exist not as side notes, but as fully realized people whose lives shape the emotional landscape of the story.

And then there’s her treatment of infidelity—a theme present in 99% of her works. Most Richonne writers keep infidelity locked safely inside the Lori/Shane box, filtered through Rick’s betrayal and grief.

Not Foxy.

She does something far more intriguing, compelling, and frankly brave: she explores infidelity through Rick and Michonne themselves. She refuses to sanitize them. She refuses to flatten them into moral absolutes. Instead, she leans into the messy, uncomfortable truth that desire, trauma, loneliness, and human frailty don’t always align neatly with fandom expectations.

And I

LAP.

IT.

UP.

In Foxy’s hands, infidelity isn’t just a plot device or a simple means to an end; it’s a psychological fault line, a mirror held up to two people who are trying (and often failing) to outrun the versions of themselves they fear most.

It’s bold.

It’s controversial.

And it’s one of the many reasons her work lingers in your psyche.

I love reading author notes and getting insight into their process, mindsets, and motivation. Foxy often self‑deprecatingly refers to her works as “nonsense.”

Gurl, please.

Your ideas are GOLD.

¡QUIERO MÁS, COÑO! Stomps foot.

In all seriousness though: I know all you wonderful writers have priorities and commitments outside of fandom. Thank you, @foxissofoxy, for sharing your distinctive brilliance. Thank you for triggering me with your themes—they made me laugh, cry, and most of all, made me feel seen.

What is Michonne's preferred way of showing love? How does Rick express love? I know they always engage in physical touch, express love with words, give gifts, do nice deeds, and spend time together, but what truly makes their love connection strong?

I recall Rick was not very expressive verbally when he was around Lori. But, with Michonne, he is always open to showing and sharing his feelings, emotions, and vulnerability.

I love this question, especially because I was just thinking about how Rick and Michonne are both very good at all five love languages.

Gifts

Quality Time

Words of Affirmation

Physical Touch

Acts of Service

There’s oh so much that makes Rick and Michonne Grimes' love connection uniquely strong. And I’d say at the root of what makes their love connection so special and enduring is their “I’m yours” mentality.

This is Michonne Grimes

She is everything to Rick Grimes. His partner, his lover, his confidant, his best friend, his saviour, the mother of his children, his sun, moon and stars, she is his wife, his soulmate and the love of his life. She is his entire universe, his reason for everything and he would choose her in any life and any universe.

Contrary to what I've seen some people say, Rick would not walk away from Michonne if Lori miraculously returned from the dead, he would not do so if Jessie came back either. Had Lori or Jessie lived, Rick and Michonne still would have found their way to each other because they are meant to be, in any lifetime and in any and all versions of reality.

Rick is the man who didn't think of moving on even after 8 years, who wrote love letters and dreamt about her to keep himself going, and lets not forget what he had to do just to be able to go on without her. And for Michonne, she couldn't truly believe he was gone despite the fact she saw the bridge he was stood on literally explode, she kept believing and searching for years, never moved on and went through hell to find him again.

The Walking Dead and especially The Ones Who Live have made it exceptionally clear what their relationship is, how important they are to each other, how deep and unbreakable their love is and how they would go to the ends of the earth for each other. Not everyone is going to feel a connection to Richonne, I get that and I'm not trying to say otherwise (despite the fact I don't think I'll ever understand how anyone can watch their love story and not fall completely in love with their love!) but canon is canon, you can not feel a connection to them and still respect their story and acknowledge that they are 'it' for each other. To disregard that is to ignore their whole story.

Michonne Grimes is Rick Grimes one true love, she is his whole world, she and their children are his priority, he will put them before anyone else, and yes, even above Daryl. So, while we are all entitled to an opinion no one can really deny that Rick and Michonne are completely and utterly head over heels in love, someone's personal view of them as a couple does not change that fact.

This is THE couple of The Walking Dead and IMO the best couple to have ever graced the screen. They are everything to me and they are everything to each other

I 100% think so. Of all the terms of endearment, this is the one I can most hear Rick calling Michonne. I already was so elated to hear Michonne call Rick 'baby' in TOWL ep 4. If we had also gotten a scene of Rick calling Michonne baby, I know good, and well, I’d have that scene on a loop for days (years) lol. Like I can hear his voice calling her “baby” so clearly, and I love thinking that’s a go-to term of endearment for them both, because they really are each other's baby. 🥰

Before I begin, a quick PSA: There will be minor spoilers, major feelings, and language that is absolutely NSFW. Proceed accordingly.

I chose @lamorenareina to kick off this rec series because her stories were the first Richonne fics I devoured back in the of fall 2025 after my summer rewatch binge of TWD and TOWL. The timing was divine. The very moment I decided to prowl the internet to feed my Richonne withdrawal (let’s keep it real—addiction), she had just updated several works on AO3.

As I waded through AO3’s chaotic “Rick Grimes x Michonne” tag (seriously, what is that filter even doing), one author name jumped out at me:

La. Morena. Reina.

A Spanish username meaning “Black Queen”? Oh, I knew I was in the right damn place. I was expecting Richonne love and Michonne love and she delivered both in abundance.

This author spoiled me rotten and set a bar so high that every fic I read afterward had to limbo under it. Her writing is just that damn good.

I’m the kind of psycho who must read an author’s works chronologically—I know. Is it Autism? OCD? Both? Who knows. Who cares. It’s my process.

So I started with her earliest Richonne offerings:

“This New Thing” A smutty one‑shot. Delicious. But I was craving something longer, something I could sink my teeth into.

“Untitled x Rockets” Another short, spicy morsel that absolutely lived up to its name. Let’s just say I may or may not have instigated an incident with my husband after reading it several times. Anyway…

Both pieces were scrumptious amuse‑bouches, but I was still feeling a main course not an entrée.

“And If I Cry Again”, the fic that ruined me.

Where do I even start.

This story is three chapters of lush, poetic, emotionally surgical, profoundly intimate writing that had me in tears. Actual tears. The ugly kind.

It’s a slow, aching meditation on grief, love, and the quiet, devastating ways Rick and Michonne hold each other together after Carl’s death.

As I read and re‑read, I could feel how much this author loves these characters. The prose lingers on gestures, textures, breath, silence—it’s not plot‑driven; it’s emotion‑driven.

And it’s

SO.

DAMN.

GOOD.

Read it. Immediately. NOW!

This woman wrecked me. I mean WRECKED. It took divine intervention to pull me out of the Richonne stupor she put me in. And then she had the audacity—the unmitigated gall—to destroy me again with the next one.

Let me gather myself.

“Because I’m Okay Too”, la hermana (sister) story.

I consider BIOT the sister to IICA. Same author, same emotional intelligence, same devotion to Rick and Michonne, but doing different narrative work.

IICA is a lyrical, intimate novel about two people learning to breathe again after losing their son. BIOT is a rich, expanded, emotionally intelligent retelling of TWD canon; filling in gaps, deepening motivations, and tracing the slow, inevitable gravitational pull between Rick and Michonne.

And yes, it’s unfinished.

And yes, I screamed.

And yes, I am still screaming.

FUCK!

“A Rare Sameness”, the prestige blockbuster.

Shiiiiit.

If IICA and BIOT are emotional ballads, “A Rare Sameness” is the prestige summer blockbuster akin to Michael “My Movies Go Boom” Bey; however, much more elevated, atmospheric, gritty, and character‑driven. Plus, Richonne.

This fic introduces Rick and Michonne at the Atlanta camp, giving us a deeper, more emotionally loaded foundation for their compatibility than the show ever did. It’s cinematic, immersive, sensory‑rich (which I ate up like a plate of mofongo) and it was the spark that ignited my obsession with all things pre‑season 3 Richonne re-imaginings.

Like BIOT, it’s an ensemble piece. But ARS goes further—it gives Rick and Michonne a depth and dimensionality that makes even the best written episodes of the show (and certainly the comics) feel… well… mediocre.

Apart from TOWL Episode 4, of course. Looks sheepishly at Queen Danai.

“A Cowboy, Sheriff, and Lawyer Walk Into A Bar”, the canon divergent wild card.

This one is quite the departure; adult in theme, canon‑divergent, and as the title suggests, a Richonne + 1 situation. It’s not my personal favorite only because I am a Richonne monogamy purist, but if this flavor of romp is your jam, it’s a whole dish.

Final Thoughts (and a Plea)

If you haven’t read this author’s Richonne works, fix that immediately. And while I encourage you to shower her with love, please be gentle—she’s a doctoral student and deserves peace, hydration, and a full 10 hours of sleep.

@lamorenareina, wherever you are, I wish you success, blessings, and health. Your stories—está cabrón. Truly. Thank you for sharing your talent with us while juggling life and a PhD. I am humbled.

And now, allow me one moment of childish petulance:

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE UPDATE “A Rare Sameness” AND “Because I’m Okay Too” SOON stomps foot, I WANT MORE of your "Horny Fandom Shit and Writing" flops dramatically onto fainting couch

DAMN IT. I almost posted this before midnight. >_<

Passes out.

When Michonne confronts Rick about his hallucinations, he puts his head down, almost like he’s embarrassed of the way he’s been falling apart. It’s a vulnerable moment for him. Michonne counters that by showing him empathy, explaining that she’s been in the same situation. And just like that…the tension between them is gone. Any doubt in Rick’s mind about the kind of person Michonne is, is gone. Carl likes her. He likes her.

What develops next is (aside from Rick’s low-key elation at having her around) Rick’s concern for her safety. And it’s not a one-time thing. At this point, he is driven to exasperation over her stubborn determination to continue searching for The Governor. But he doesn’t say anything. It’s not his place to. 

In 4B, Michonne gets to Rick’s heart through Carl. Rick tells Michonne that Carl needs her, and yet seems surprised at her immediate willingness to be…whatever Carl needs her to be. This jars and awes him, because it is a reflection of his own feelings about Carl. 

It is also during this time that Michonne becomes Rick’s true right hand (as space previously occupied by Daryl). She, too, can fight by his side. She will have his back. She will save his life. But they connect on a different level because of one shared priority: Carl. He can trust her to prioritize Carl’s safety (and now Judith’s, of course) in any and all situations because she loves him as much as Rick does.

Up until this point in their journey, Rick has built his relationship with Michonne mainly as a slightly unhinged widower, and Old McDonald. Now, she has seen the side of him that will brutally murder a group of men who are threatening his son’s life. When Rick tells her, “I’m okay”, I perceive that to mean, I’m still here. The man you know is still here. In this moment (another vulnerable one for Rick), Michonne gives him reassurance, without falter, that she knows who he is. Nothing has changed. She has always seen him, just as he has seen her.  

“He had a mission in his mind to take care of her need.” - Danai Gurira (about 6x10)

The above is a quote about the mints (obviously) but it applies to this moment as well. Rick could not go for one more minute, knowing he had the power to give Michonne something she needed..and not do it. “We should go to Washington.” When he says this, something passes between him and Michonne. She looks at Rick in a little bit of disbelief, and he gives her a slight nod and the barest hint of a smile…because to do this for her makes him so happy. And just like with the mints, this moment warms her heart. And she offers him a look of gratitude and relief that is so powerful, he has to look away. 

I compiled this for @onedayyoujustchange; it contains some of my work as well as a few of my favourite fics, as requested. Enjoy!

Find My Way Back by Midnights-AM-Child: After being separated for over two years, Rick reunites with Michonne and his children. Fiercely determined to keep the family together, Rick doesn’t register a major problem in this desire. Michonne is not his! Open to that changing, the two learn that picking up from where they left off isn’t as simple as it sounds. Rated M.

Her by @cake-by-thepound: Alexandria is becoming a viable home for the group, but things aren’t perfect, and Rick still finds himself in over his head. He’s questioning everything, and slowly but surely, he’s learning that Michonne is the answer. Post S5. Rated M.

Re-Verse: Odes to Michonne by @ricks-tight-n-right-brown-shirt: Series of ficlets inspired by songs dedicated to Michonne. May contain doses of Richonne and The Grimes Family members. Rated M.

Love in the Time of Decay by @blacklitchick: Rick is at the dawn of realizing what Michonne means to him, but will this new world allow them to find happiness together. Rated T.

Tales in the Dark by @lyraverse: A series of one-shots for Richonne lovers. Rated M.

Little Talks by birdnmouse: A series of short scenes between Rick and Michonne starting at the beginning of Season 5 and following along with the series. Rated K.

No Way Out by @misscaina: 6B speculation of how Richonne will become canon. Rated K.

Latch On by @shipnation​: Amidst tragedy best friends latch on to each other. Hurt/comfort. Rated M. 

First Kisses by @lobsterlobster1990: This is a collection of the many different ways Rick and Michonne might share their first kiss. Fluff. Rated K.

What Makes a Family? by @jedi-master-aurora:“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family.” -Jim Butcher. Richonne focus on future arc with a little bit of Caryl. Timejumps. Rated T.

Here are a few of my stories mostly rated M for language and adult situations:

1. This Ain’t Georgia: AU ZA where Rick and Michonne were married before the Turn; Michonne is the one who is in hospital when things start to fall apart and she has to find her family.

2. The Dusk of My Memory: Set in the ASZ after the Wolves attack; Rick suffers from amnesia due to an injury. Will he remember anything of his life before? Will he recall what certain people mean to him?

3. Worth the Wait: A mixture of a prompt/confession about Michonne and Rick going on a double date with Andrea and Shane. I mixed it up a little to include what would happen if Richonne didn’t really like each other at first. AU no zombies.

4. Song for the Life: Richonne tale based on lyrics of songs. Hurt/comfort; angst.

5. Fragments: Series of Richonne drabbles and ficlets based on prompts. Mainly one-shots. Fluff and Smut.

6. Fifteen Years Ago: Rick recalling his relationship with Michonne. AU; no zombies. COMPLETED. 

7. A Home: Rick and Michonne had a chance to be happy together and build a home, but is it too late now? ASZ. Angst. COMPLETED.

8. There’s Something Wrong with All of Us: Comic Book Richonne. Ezekiel has just died and Michonne is at a very low point. Hurt/comfort; angst. Smut.

9. Rough: One-shot ficlets based on the prompt ‘Rough’. Smut. 

10. Comic Book Club: AU, silly, fluffy fun. Jealous Rick. COMPLETED.