Richonne is Life ❤️‍🔥

My personal Richonne guilty pleasure crack-fiend addiction trope (for lack of a better word) is that delicious little subgenre where Lori and Michonne are in the same space, breathing the same air, loving the same man, and trying not to claw each other’s eyes out while maintaining some semblance of civility.

The pièce de résistance of this trope—the crown jewel, the undefeated champion, the Beyoncé of “Rick has two women in the room and one of them is his ex-wife” fic—is @twriter12’s 7 Days a master class on Richonne emotional chaos.

Where do I even start? Oh yeah: per usual, mild spoilers and unhinged feels abound. Proceed with caution.

Here’s the setup: Zombie Apocalypse. Alexandria. Lori is still alive (and so are some other TF members—I won’t spoil too much). Lori and Rick are finally DONE. Rick and Michonne are officially ALL IN.

And then—because this is The Walking Dead universe—shit happens.

Shit in the form of Rick forgetting he and Michonne are ALL IN and he and Lori are DONE.

And Lori? Oh, she capitalizes on the circumstances.

Ooo-wee, y’all.

Now, I recognize there are SEVERAL other noteworthy fics in this category (and I’ll get to those in another post, possibly…my summer holiday is wrapping up… tries not to fall into another moment of stress paralysis), but let me disseminate why 7 Days is my Número Uno, Top of the Heap, Master Class of its kind.

One: Rick finally grows a pair where Lori’s concerned.

Let me preface: this isn’t a criticism of other fics—but my heart can only take so many stories where Lori cuts Rick down and he just… takes it. Like a sad little Victorian orphan boy clutching his suspenders.

Oy vey.

In 7 Days, Rick is nuanced. He is emotive. He is gentlemanly, yes, but he is also DONE.

There are scenes where Rick looks at Lori’s machinations and basically says: “I don’t give a shit anymore.”

And he SPEAKS HIS FEELS.

He is ALLOWED to.

And it is GLORIOUS.

Two: Michonne is depicted as a fully nuanced woman.

Yes, we know Michonne is ALL THAT.

Queen. Icon. Legend.

But she is also a human being with needs, desires, vulnerabilities, and a breaking point.

In 7 Days, she gets to be:

frustrated

hurt

confused

angry

hopeful

and gloriously, painfully HUMAN.

There are moments where you want to reach through the screen and strangle a bitch (cough Lori).

Moments where you want to Gibbs head-thwap Michonne.

Moments where you want to shake Rick like a snow globe.

But the payoff? THE PAYOFF. When everything comes to a head? When the resolution finally arrives? It’s worth every chapter of emotional cardio.

Three: The attention to the simplicities of their day-to-day.

Look. I love Richonne smut. And 7 Days does NOT disappoint in that area either—more on that later. But one of the highlights of this story (and many of her shorter pieces in the Richonne Collection) is how beautifully she writes the ordinary moments.

Rick and Michonne making breakfast.

Rick and Michonne reading the same book together.

Rick and Michonne snogging on a lazy rainy day.

Honestly? I could read thirty more chapters of them doing absolutely nothing.

Domestic Richonne is my kink. There. I said it. And what?

My husband and I were like this pre-parenthood—playing Boggle or Scrabble on a lazy weekend or talking smack at one another during an Xbox marathon and then engaging in giddy make-up sex after—now we just stare at each other across the room like exhausted raccoons—but I digress.

Four: Father Gabriel gives Rick the talk he should’ve gotten in Season 2.

I won’t spoil it, but Gabe drops some REAL TALK that made me want to stand up and clap like I was in church waving my MLK fan about.

7 Days is in my top 5 Richonne fics of all time. I don’t give a f—

I reread it often.

I desire MORE. (You hear me @twriter12 ???!!! MORE!)

I crave a sequel where Rick navigates Lori’s nonsense while Michonne is pregnant with RJ.

There are NOT enough RJ pregnancy fics in the world, and I know @Twriter12 would eat that concept UP.

Wistfully sighs.

This is going to be my longest post yet… I need wine and ice cream. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. I recommend a sweet red or Moscato paired with Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean or strawberry. Grape juice works in a pinch if you’re out of wine or prefer non-alcoholic.

On to The Richonne Collection.

Oh. Mah. Gawd.

Pure. Gold.

Each one of these is a precious nugget of Richonne/Grimes 2.0 excellence and brilliant storytelling. There are 27 of these gems—I’m going to highlight a few:

“Respite”—the one that should’ve been canon

This story is everything we were CHEATED out of on screen. Rick and Michonne musing about whether they would’ve crossed paths without the ZA?

Her portrayal of Rick AND Michonne—not just Richonne—it’s perfection. Balanced. Nuanced. Never exaggerated. Never out of character.

The “Penny” Saga—Rick, stop being clueless challenge

Penny is an OC with sights on Rick despite knowing he’s with Michonne. And @Twriter12 tackles one of my biggest Richonne fic peeves: Rick being too passive or too oblivious when other women flirt.

Michonne calls him OUT. Not out of petty jealousy—but out of R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

This theme continues in “Party”, and at this point I’m a broken record, but these stories are a treasure trove.

Look. The small moments between Rick and Michonne are my personal catnip. I love being a fly on the wall. I love the everyday moments. I love the quiet intimacy.

Michonne caring for a bedridden Rick in “Changes.” Rick and Abraham having a heart-to-heart in “Her.” Sweet moments with Carl and Judith in “Talk” and “Babies.”

¡QUIERO MÁS NO JODA!

I want Rick and Michonne sharing their pre-ZA interests. I want them talking about music, books, childhood memories, embarrassing stories.

Brace yourself, @twriter12—I’m coming at you with a list of requests. Whether you use them or not is irrelevant. I’m still sending them.

And let me say this clearly: Her “Rick learns about Andre” take is my official canon.

Finally—Haunted.

Gurl.

Seriously.

UPDATE.

NOW.

Feel free to see this as harassment, cos, I’m harassing. I want a Haunted update YESTERDAY!

This unfinished masterpiece is a brilliant take on Rick and Michonne having had an established relationship before the ZA, becoming estranged, and reuniting in Alexandria.

This story rivals any episode of Divorce, Tell Me You Love Me, or any whitewashed HBO couples therapy production.

Every chapter teases the seeds of their estrangement.  Every chapter had me on tenterhooks waiting for Michonne to drop the bomb Rick NEEDED to hear. And just when you think we’re reaching a resolution? She leaves me in the lurch.

Seriously, what the fuck?

I WANT THE NEXT CHAPTER NOW. THROWS SHIT AROUND

Haunted is everything:

navigating spaces previously occupied by a former spouse

toxic friendships

racial dynamics

emotional avoidance

sexual compatibility as both glue and poison

therapy sessions that feel REAL

Rick confronting his blind spots

Michonne confronting her self-erasure

both of them confronting the truth

I could read Rick and Michonne in couples therapy ALL DAY.

And yes, the sex is passionate and consuming—but never gratuitous. It’s part of the conflict. Part of the avoidance. Part of the ache.

I love the line in 7 Days where Michonne muses: “You always hear of bad sex in a good marriage, but what about the opposite? How do you handle great sex in a bad marriage?”

PREACH.

In Haunted, their sexual compatibility is sublime—but it becomes a distraction from the elephant in the room.

And let me take a moment—a reverent pause—to talk about Carol in Haunted, because LAWD. One of the unexpected joys of this story is how we get to see an unhinged Carol slowly unravel. Haunted gives us one hell of a close up of Carol who is one passive‑aggressive comment away from snapping a neck and then alphabetizing the pantry afterward.

This woman is feral.

She is studying Michonne like she’s a threat assessment chart. She is lurking on porches. She is delivering cryptic one‑liners like she’s auditioning for the role of “Southern Gothic Oracle #3.” She is smiling that Stepford smile that never reaches her eyes. She is playing psychological chess while everyone else thinks they’re playing checkers.

And the best part? Michonne sees ALL of it.

Haunted gives us the Michonne who is DONE with Carol’s games. The Michonne who clocks every manipulative tilt of Carol’s head. The Michonne who refuses to be played, refuses to be gaslit, refuses to be pulled into Carol’s little “I know Rick better than you” fantasy. Their dynamic is tense, layered, and absolutely delicious—two apex predators circling each other in a suburban cul‑de‑sac.

It’s one of the most compelling portrayals of Carol I’ve ever seen in Richonne fic: not villainous, not heroic, but deeply unwell in a way that makes perfect sense for a woman who survived the world by becoming whatever people needed her to be. Haunted lets her be messy, manipulative, territorial, and unsettling—and it works.

Honestly? I could read an entire spin‑off of Michonne and Carol having polite, razor‑sharp conversations while pretending they’re not two seconds away from violence.

GAWD. @Twriter12’s storytelling is just too damn scrumptious.

I can’t stand it.

Look. These are just my favorites in @Twriter12’s bibliography. The woman has RANGE. In addition to the aforementioned treasures, she’s also gifted us a couple of sharp, character‑driven profile pieces centered on Sasha and Rosita—both of which feel like intimate psychological snapshots pulled straight out of the ZA. And if that weren’t enough, she’s got a modern‑day AU with delicious shades of Scandal and several other Richonne/Grimes 2.0 one-shots. The depth, the versatility, the emotional intelligence across her entire catalog? Ridiculous.

Y’all. GO. READ. NOW.

Show her love and shower her with ALL the flowers whilst poking a bit with the pitch fork.

Grins

@twriter12, you’re not done. I refuse to accept that! I don’t care that I am more than a decade late to the Richonne fanfiction party. I have requests too, dangit!

TastefulNood42’s Requests (aka my formal petition to the Queen @Twriter12):

(PLEASE) FINISH Haunted. I am on my knees in the rain like a telenovela protagonist. I need this. My spirit needs this. My crops need this. My skin needs this. My blood pressure needs this.

Consider a sequel to 7 Days where Richonne are expecting, Lori has to suck it up/come to terms, and we get more general 7 Days-verse one‑shots that delve deeper into those Richonne moments prior to Rick’s accident. I want the domestic chaos. I want the emotional growth. I want Lori’s face when she realizes the universe is not taking her side. Yes, I'm that petty.

More one‑shots where Rick and Michonne discuss the Big Trauma—Rick getting shot/waking up from the coma, and Michonne sharing her account of what happened with Mike/Andre/Terry. I want the emotional excavation. I want the honesty. I want the catharsis. I want the “we survived all this and still found each other” energy.

More Richonne romantic heat—the tension, the closeness, the chemistry, the “we can’t keep our hands off each other even when the world is ending” energy. Because listen… the way you write their connection? The way you write the gravity between them? The way they orbit each other like two celestial bodies who refuse to obey physics? I need MORE of that. I want the intensity, the passion, the breath‑stealing closeness, the “we’re finally alone and the door is locked” vibe. Feed me! Bats my pretty lashes like a pathetic Victorian orphan asking for more.

7 Days @ FF.NET

Haunted @ FF.NET

2 years of The Ones Who Live

This spin-off is the living proof that Andy and Danai love Richonne as much as we do. Truly the best and happiest 6 weeks of 2024.

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Rick & Michonne - L.O.V.E

four letters, one story.

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My first Richonne gifset, with help from tutorials & inspiration across the community.

THE ONES WHO LIVE SEASON 1

↳ Rick protecting Michonne