Rick Grimes/Michonne

Rick Grimes/Michonne, also known as Richonne, is a popular het pairing of Rick Grimes and Michonne in The Walking Dead fandom. They have a canon relationship in the television series, that begins in Season 6, Episode 10.
==Canon==
Rick and Michonne meet in Season 3, when Michonne, wounded and in need of help, arrives at the prison. Rick is initially suspicious of Michonne, but she soon becomes a contributing member of the group. At the end of the season Rick has to decide whether or not to hand Michonne over to the Governor in order to broker a deal, he ultimately decides against it. Rick and Michonne are separated after the fall of the prison, but Michonne is able find and reunite with Rick and Carl. Michonne and Rick become good friends and she takes on a parental role with Carl. Their romantic relationship begins in Season 6, Episode 10 when they kiss and make love for the first time, from that point forward they are shown to be in a committed relationship. After Negan and the Saviors take over their group, Rick and Michonne disagree on the best course of action. Michonne tries to go it alone, but decides "I had to go my way. But when I found it ... I realized that ... I didn't want it to be my way. I wanted it to be ours -- me and you."The 21 Most Important Quotes from 'The Walking Dead' Winter Finale 'Hearts Still Beating'
==Importance==
The show was lauded as modern and unconventional for having a dark skinned black woman in a relationship with the leading white male character, "it’s an even bigger deal to see that sort of progressive coupling on a massively popular show like The Walking Dead. In this day and age it might not seem like a big deal that the white male hero might pick the strong black woman as his partner, but that choice matters to someone, and, best of all, it makes perfect sense."The Walking Dead Just Cemented Its Reputation as One of the Most Progressive Shows on Television It was also praised for letting the relationship slowly build over time, "What’s great here is that Richonne doesn’t feel like a strategic move by Walking Dead writers to give fans what they want — the reason it took so long was because they actually invested time into letting the bond between Rick and Michonne emerge."Let’s Talk About Rick and Michonne’s Very Big Night on The Walking Dead
==Controversies==
*Despite being a popular pairing in fandom since Season 3, when Rick/Michonne went canon in Season 6 there was some backlash. These responses were classified by some as blatant or systemic racism. "There are people who didn’t want these ships to happen because they want the show to reflect their (racist) world view. How people react to fictional things can say an awful lot about how they think things should look in the world they actually do live in."What Shipping Richonne Taught Me About Racism
*There were also some fans who thought that Michonne was too dark skinned and/or too masculine to be a worthy partner for Rick.When you search Michonne & Richonne on Twitter….. Some observers felt this was an example of the desexualization of dark skinned black women in popular culture.,3 Reasons Why #Richonne is a Black History Month Gift
==Fandom==
===Statistics===
*In 2017 Rick Grimes/Michonne was the 5th most popular Walking Dead pairing on Archive of Our Own.The Walking Dead A03 Statistics
===Common Tropes in Fanworks===
*No Zombie Apocalypse AU: Set in the modern world where no Zombie Apocalypse takes place, often featuring Rick as a single or divorced father.
*Prison or Alexandria Safe Zone: Set within either the Prison or the Alexandria Safe Zone, providing a calm environment during the Zombie Apocalypse to develop Rick and Michonne's relationship.
*Futurefic: Usually where Rick and Michonne are married or have a child together.
===Challenges===
*Richonne Appreciation Week
==Example Fanworks==
===Fan Art===
* by Mortimer Sparrow
* by chisketches
* by María Quintero
* by okikutone
* by mdgart
*After Lucille... by msdoomandgloom
===Fanfiction===
*50 Reasons to Tell Him It's Love by love.devil.movies.baby
*BLURRED LINES by Rosepddle010
*Grimes Family 2.0 Meeting + Jesus by Jhmc
*We'll Find a Way (Together) by calikitten
===Fan Vids===
*Unsteady by walkingcarol
*Rick and Michonne (Richonne)/Fools Rush in by haveyourmints
===Meta===
*Why Rick told Michonne he could lose her by mamagrimes6
*#36: The Protection (7x4) by whateverisbeautiful
*What Shipping Richonne Taught Me About Racism by Sharon
===Metavid===
*Richonne Discussion: Foreshadowing, & Why It Makes Sense! by Digital Britt
=== Cosplay ===
*Rick and Michonne Season 9 Cosplay Upgrades by Jill Robi (The Living Richonne)
*Our Rick and Michonne cosplay. (And we are actually native to Atlanta just like the characters) [self] by Benjamin5431
==Resources==
*Rick Grimes/Michonne tag at Archive of Our Own
*Rick + Michonne at FanFiction.Net
*Richonne tag at Wattpad
*richonnejustdesserts on Tumblr, a Richonne Fanfiction Resource
*Tumblr Tags:Rick x Michonne, Michonne x Rick, Richonne
==References==
Category:Het Pairings
Category:Walking Dead Relationships
Category:Interracial Pairings