Hello there,
Testing is ongoing, and the beta-testers team have been super helpful and a pure joy to have around!
Chapter 04 is officially done, and Chapter 05 is well on course.
There's still plenty to do, but we're almost on schedule.
We might end up pushing past our initial goal of releasing the first batch of chapters in May with a June launch, but honestly, that might be for the best.
We should be able to share a release schedule with you very soon!
Once again, we're endlessly grateful for your continued support: more than 900 of you have downloaded the demo, that's just unbelievable!
The next survey goes up Friday. Thank you so much for all your replies on the outfit one 🩵
✨Top 5!✨ Words can't even fully capture how much I adore this scene right here. 😭 But I'll try. - I am so grateful for it and for Danai for being a big reason why we got this moment. This is such a significant scene, especially because it’s Rick and Michonne’s final exchange of dialogue before Rick’s departure. And what a perfectly fitting, stunningly beautiful way to land their love story until they’re reunited again. The family and true love Rick and Michonne know they found within each other will always move me. And I know this scene is a hallucination, but listen, Michonne said it’s real, so it’s real to me too 😌...
(now if I went all out for my last 25 posts, then for my Top 5...🎵you know that I'm gon' be extra🎵 as we get into the big guns of this countdown. thanks for reading ♡)
I'll always love that Michonne is Rick’s final hallucination in his final full episode. It’s such a confirmation that she truly is home to him.
As I noted in my Reveling in Richonne post on this scene, the final stretch of a journey is often the most draining and challenging to get through, and it’s there when you need to tap into the most powerful source of strength and reflect on what most fuels you to keep going, so, of course, Rick's mind went to the ever-so-important love of his life - Michonne.
And I love how any time we’ve seen Michonne in Rick’s mind, she's always this glowing, calming, goddess-like presence. No wonder Rick looks at her like she hung the moon and the stars all the time. 😊
It’s sweet seeing that while Rick's mind conjured up all the living people he loves on this bridge, it’s Michonne whom he envisions having a personal moment with. He needs her. And she’s so reassuring when she tells him it’s gonna be okay.
The real Michonne is going to be understandably distraught when she sees Rick bleeding out on this bridge, but here Rick imagined her as the calm, comforting, and life-giving presence she’s always been to him.
And then it’s powerful for Rick to tell Michonne to take care of tf because he’s again passing the torch. Similar to him telling her she’d have to be the one to lead the others forward in Say Yes, Rick clearly believes so strongly that his people will be in good hands with Michonne as the leader. He knows this because he’s been in good hands with her as his leader. 🥲
And what a testament to Rick's trust and belief in her that he could know that this thing he’s dedicated his life to - protecting his people - is something that Michonne can continue. And as he thinks he's dying, it's like this moment is Rick personally finding solace in that Michonne will continue to hold things together if he doesn't make it.😭
Michonne encourages him, instilling faith that he'll get through this, and I always love the moment where Rick vulnerably says, "I can’t" because he’s always been allowed to be so human with her. I love that she says confidently, "You will, it’s not over," and it's just so believable when she says it.
And then, I have many favorite parts in this one scene, but the following part is particularly special because it is my favorite visual of Rick and Michonne of all time.
Like if you told me I could only ever look at one visual of Richonne again it would be this one right here where Rick and Michonne stare right into each other's souls as her eyes instill this blazing strength in him.
BREATHTAKING. 🤩😍🤗 It’s just beyond powerful and beautiful to me and perfectly illustrates the relationship and depth and strength of these soulmates so well. What this gorgeous power couple gives to each other is one of a kind. And as always, this moment is literally and figuratively magnetic. 🧲
I love that Michonne tells Rick adamantly, "We don’t die" as a motivating rendition of "We’re the ones who live" and a graphic novel nod. And again, when Michonne speaks, you just believe it.
I remember watching this live, unsure if Rick would survive or not, but when she said this I was like alright it is written, my baby Rick doesn’t die, cuz Michonne is always right...
But I also love her saying "we don't die" for its figurative meaning, as truly the love Richonne found with each other is endless and will never die.
And I adore that Rick looks her right in the eyes and nods, hearing and believing her even despite the odds and the pain. All versions of Rick can hear Michonne and allow her words to reach him.
Then there’s this wonderful moment where Rick is about to exhaustedly hang his head and Michonne lovingly takes his face in her hands to both physically and emotionally lift him up. The movement just feels so symbolic of how she will not let him stay defeated and low. She always lifts him up like only she can.
I get teary over this whole scene, especially because of how powerful it is to see Rick have someone who can hold him up like this even in his toughest moments.
And because Michonne always knows what to say, she then brings the focus back to one of the most motivating, important, and inspiring things in their life - their love.
When Michonne asks Rick, "You wanna know why I fell in love with you?" in that lovely tender tone, I was gagged then and I'm still gagged now. Like you would think one of us pitched this moment. 😋 It’s just so romantic, and I am forever elated that Rick and Michonne got to directly discuss their incredible love in their final conversation.
(Also, again, you really can't watch this scene and then be surprised that TOWL is being called an epic love story. I repeat - Richonne's story has always been an epic love story. 😌)
At this moment on this bridge, where Rick needs the ultimate fuel to keep fighting, this is his own mind focusing specifically on the love supreme he found with Michonne - his guiding light, who has kept him going so many times before. Eternally here for it. 🙌🏾🥹
One of the many things that chokes me up about this gorgeous moment is when I stop to think about the start of Rick's TWD journey.
When we were first introduced to Rick he had a wife who wasn't sure if she was still in love with him and caught legitimate feelings for his best friend. And that very best friend ultimately plotted to kill Rick and told him his own family would move on from him because "they've done it before." Like that's so painful.
But then, in the wildest of circumstances - an apocalypse - Rick found a wife and a best friend all in one. He found the ultimate love of his life. He found Michonne - whose love for him runs so deep, so visible, and so certain always.
And where his hallucinations of Lori were more tormenting, here Rick is hallucinating his wife Michonne and envisioning her enveloping him in her consistent and unwavering love that has always meant the world to him.
And as Rick's mind imagines Michonne bringing up their love on this bridge, it's him in the potential final moments of his life also thinking about how honored he is to have loved her and been loved by her. 🥹
So after Michonne asks if he wants to know why she fell in love with him, it is so extremely moving the way Rick intently looks at her with a tear, eager for the answer.
And Michonne stays holding his face up as she tells him with conviction that she fell in love with him, "Because you're a fighter and you never give up." 😭 Exquisite. To see Rick be showered with this love and praise from his true love is just everything and more.
You can really tell that for Rick in this exact moment the only thing he's thinking about is her. Not the pain, not the turmoil, not the past or the future - just his wife's love.
And it's cool because in one of my Reveling in Richonne posts from years ago, I was analyzing that season 4 finale scene with Michonne in the car with Carl while she listened to Rick talk to Daryl outside. And I felt like that scene in the car and their special "Cuz I'm Okay Too' scene were signs that Michonne was falling in love with Rick, especially after Rick showed how far he'd go to protect his son in contrast to her previous partner. This is what I wrote way back then:
"Like she needs someone who won’t give up and she saw firsthand that Rick doesn’t give up, especially when his son is involved. And so I think this is when she starts really thinking of Rick differently."
The fact that years after that post, Michonne straight-up tells Rick she fell in love with him because he’s a fighter who doesn’t give up made me even more confident that my love timeline theory is pretty accurate and that I was on track with my studies in getting a Ph.D. in Richonne. 😂
She fell in love with him way back then. I mean, Danai has even said Michonne has been in love with Rick for a long time. (And I bet if Rick were to tell Michonne when he fell in love with her, it would suggest it was around season 4 as well.)
In this s9 hallucination, I love that Rick gets this uplifting encouragement from the woman he loves and has long been in awe of and that her words so clearly breathe life into him. Michonne has always breathed life into Rick, so it's only fitting that she did it one more time in this series.
And then I really love that she tells Rick, "Fight for me." 🥹 Oh it's perfect. It’s just touching knowing this is Rick’s mind telling him to fight for her. Fight for his wife. Fight for Michonne, the most important person in his life apart from his kids. 💯
I'm willing to bet that during the years that Rick's been taken away from Michonne and Judith, the words "fight for her" likely played in his head often and helped keep him going.
(Side note: This moment and "fight for me" line right here should tell everyone watching that Michonne is in a category of her own to Rick. It shouldn't need to be clarified cuz it's so obvious. But for anyone that still needed clarification, I love that TWD & TOWL promo has set the record straight (time & time again, amen) that Rick's wife and kid(s) are his ultimate choice.
As I've noted before, one thing I've long known and long-loved about that man Rick Grimes is he gon' make it about Michonne every time and make sure everybody else knows what we've known for years - His wife and his kids are his everything.
I'm not against a reunion with some of team family eventually, especially a reunion with Daryl after he watched over Richonne's kids - but I also just know viewers demanding to see all these different friends (and even enemies 😪) on screen with Rick again does not automatically mean Rick needs it.
Within the actual story that we've been watching of Rick Grimes since the pilot episode of TWD, we can be confident that reuniting with his immediate family - Michonne, Judith, and RJ to be clear - will take precedence. As TWD has said, reuniting with each other is the only goal - as it should be when a man's been taken from his wife and kid(s). 👌🏽
While I haven't seen TOWL yet {which ahhh we're so close 🤗}, I've been quite positive for literal years that while Rick's been away, he's felt like all he is anymore is a man looking for his wife and child...And anyone who has got in the way of that is gonna lose.)
Rick knows that despite the pain and exhaustion on this bridge he has to keep fighting for the love of his life. And it makes so much sense why Michonne would fall in love with the fighter within him.
And then Michonne says, "Fight for all of us," because team family is of course important to them too. It's just Rick is a whipped man, see, and so even here there's this subtle aspect where Rick is staring straight at Michonne and really only looks to the side once Michonne turns to face the others. 😋
But then, as Rick does best, he puts his attention right back on Michonne and just warms my heart completely when he looks at her and says, “You’re my family. I found you.” Gospel truth and Utter Perfection. 😭
I adore how s9 Rick was just so vocal about his reverence and love for Michonne every chance he got, even in hallucinations. 🤩 And it is so sweet that in his final exchange with Michonne, and really his final dialogue with anyone, Rick gets to look at her and cherish finding family through her.
And with what a family man Rick is and has been since season 1, it is truly the greatest treasure in the world that, even after losing all his family from before the apocalypse, he still found a genuine family that became his life's fuel.
I love the way Rick places a hand on Michonne's shoulder to really emphasize that he found family in her.
It is so great that in this 9.05 episode where Rick is repeatedly talking about needing to find his family, his mission since s1, we get this lovely declaration that Michonne is so much of who he was always looking for. 🥹
And what a beautiful way he found her both in their actual life journey and in his mind’s mental journey this ep.
Michonne’s tear as she smiles and again affirms him and says, "You did." Just beautiful and melts my heart.
Andy and Danai did a masterful job depicting the immense love Rick and Michonne have for each other in this scene. They always have, and of course, their final scene delivered on another level. 👏🏽👑
Truly this has been a stunning love story from the moment they laid eyes on each other in season 3 all the way to this s9 moment here (+ their s11 finale moment) - and now beyond as we look forward to Richonne's story continuing. 🤩🙌🏾
It’s heartbreaking that after a moment of such love and warmth, Rick then has to acknowledge that this exchange isn't actually happening in real life. He says, "But this isn't real", and then I will forever love that Michonne assuredly says, "Yes it is." 👏🏽
It is real. What they found with each other is real. The abundant love emitted between them in this scene is real. I feel like had Michonne actually been able to get to him on this bridge, the exchange could have gone similar to this (but like a lil more frantic probably cuz she'd be anxious to get him some medical help) But in many ways how Rick is picturing their love playing out here is so real and accurate.
So I love that Michonne got to confirm that the love and family she and Rick found in each other is real in any dimension. Since this is all in Rick's mind, it's like this is his mind also deciding that everything in this moment is real and something he has to fight for when he wakes up.
Then Rick and Michonne seal the moment with their precious final kiss within the TWD series and it's another perfect example of true love's kiss. Y'all this really is a love story for the ages and I’ll never stop shouting that from the rooftops. It’s beautiful. 🥰
It's fitting for Rick to imagine her kissing him and breathing life into him one more time because 🎵these are a few of his favorite things🎵. And if he's dying then Michonne's love is what his mind wants to remember before he goes.
(Also I wish the real Michonne got to know that on this bridge Rick was imagining her empowering him and kissing him one last time. 😭)
Finally, Michonne tells Rick to wake up, and the resilient king does as she wishes, notably without knocking out like he did the other times he hallucinated people, which to me is a nice subtle way to suggest there was something more real about Richonne's exchange than his previous hallucinations.
This scene is just gorgeous and touching and emotional and a lovely ode to what makes Richonne so special. We really are spoiled cuz we’re fed with gourmet content in each and every scene. And this scene was a feast and the perfect exchange to close out Richonne on the show. #I'mGrateful
Had this moment legitimately been their last exchange ever it would have done Richonne justice. Fortunately, though, we've finally arrived at a point where this won't be the last exchange between them. 🥳🙌🏽 Soon, this 9.05 scene will have to be referred to as Rick and Michonne's 'final convo in TWD,' because more Richonne content is coming. And this is why...
In this Top 5 moment from Rick's last full TWD ep (where Andy and Danai gave a masterclass in each scene they had both together and apart 👏🏽) I adore that this final intimate exchange between them served as a reminder that Rick and Michonne fell in love, that they don’t die, and that what they found in each other is a beautiful family that is forever real and everlasting. The ultimate win.
I will always celebrate that Rick and Michonne found the truest family in each other and that they will soon find each other again. 😌
I Wanna Know - Where Would This Scene Land On Your Top 30 Richonne List?
Track I: Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde (welcome to your life / there’s no turning back)
Track II: I Will Never Die by Delta Rae (in the dead of night / I’m gonna loose these chains)
Track III: Go by Meg Myers (I’m sick of being your altar / leave me alone)
Track IV: One Foot in Front of the Other by Emilie Autumn (I’ve been in chains since I was nothing but a kid / we don’t know freedom, not quite sure that we ever did)
Track V: Grot by St. Vincent (and power doesn’t care how you feel / as long as you learn how to kneel)
Track VI: A Poison Tree by Unwoman (and it grew both day and night / ’til it bore an apple bright)
Track VII: Sweet Revenge by Rainee Blake (every scar you left on me, I’m gonna make a match / cut you with the dagger that you left in my back / honey, I ain’t even gotten even, so it ain’t the end)
Track VIII: This Ain't No Hymn by Saint Saviour (I’ll follow someone I can see / I’ll worship someone I can be)
Track IX: Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine (holy water / cannot help you now / a thousand armies / couldn’t keep me out / I don’t want your money / I don’t want your crown / see, I’ve come to burn / your kingdom down)
Excerpt:
She steps forward. “Did she flinch?” she asks. “When you touched her?”
Seth freezes, remembering that moment in the labyrinth when Elena had shied away from his touch like a wounded animal backed into a corner. Slowly his eyes slide over to her, wondering how she could possibly know.
She smiles bitterly – knowingly.
“A girl like that doesn’t flinch for just anybody,” she assures him.
He thinks of her steady gun hand in their standoff in the RV, her cool, unemotional voice as she asked him if she seemed like a girl who bluffed. To tell the truth, she seemed like the kind of girl who didn’t shy away from much of anything.
Read Chapter Nine
Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight
Companion Playlists: It's A Long Road to Hell | Move Like You Stole Something
I've just finishing processing/sending another round of Dracula Daily Artbooks to their new homes!
Now to hunt down the six replacement books my printer supposedly gave to my neighbour on the 20th April and have not yet materialised. And then they will all be sent off.
If you've ordered from the UK/Europe or outside the US and have not yet received your book, please do let me know. They should all have arrived at their destinations by now!
Y'all this is crazy, so many of you here over the last few months and I genuinely love each and every one of you. To that end, I want to know what YOU want to see for 200! Do you want more fluff? More smut? Should I branch out and write for a new character?
Jump into my asks and tell me what you'd like to see! Or just stop by and say hi, I love talking with you. 💖
CONGRATS YOU WERE HAND SELECTED FOR YOUR CHILDHOOD TORMENT YOU WIN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
Fucking LOVE Rue’s hair falling out of of Ballet Mode when she says that last line. Love love love it.
(I’m completely unspoiled for Princess Tutu and watching it for the first time. Please don’t confirm or deny anything in this post, give me hints or cautions or suggestions about future episodes, or try to explain anything going on. That includes if I should’ve been able to figure it out from previous episodes, or if it’s cultural, or if there’s no answer at all. Spoiling the experience only ruins things for everyone!)
