Richonne Fanfiction Rec #1:LaMorenaReina
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:
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.
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.
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.
“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 am still screaming.
“A Rare Sameness”, the prestige blockbuster.
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. >_<
LaMorenaReina works @ AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaMorenaReina/pseuds/LaMorenaReina/works?fandom_id=205859
