As you might know, on the dreadful date of October 2026 we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Glenn's death.
The lovely bastard took off with half of my heart and, ten years later, I'm still not over it.
One decade without Glenn is one too many decades. To fix this, I've decided to create what I call 💫The Glenn-verse💫 which will consist of four stories (for now) that serve the purpose of exploring Glenn's character from angles that were never taken or properly exploited in the main series.
The four AUs I've created for this tribute are:
1-> In the midst of early apocalypse chaos, Glenn finds himself completely alone with no idea of where to go or what to do. He finds someone even more helpless than him and soon they become everything the other needs. In a nutshell: accidentally acquired child becomes Glenn's reason to keep going.
2->Glenn joins the Vatos gang after Rick and co. decide not to risk it coming back for him. It only lasts for a day before an unexpected someone finds him, and now the most unlikely duo in the entire series must learn how to survive the new world's system without killing each other. In a nutshell: both Glenn and Merle are left behind in Atlanta. They do what they must to survive, even if that means helping each other, even if they hate it.
3->Based on the video game. Glenn told Lee he wanted to help his friends, who were trapped in Atlanta. He never found his friends but made some new ones. After he and Noah manage to escape the Grady Memorial Hospital, Glenn decides to go back to Macon, to the place where he belonged. In a nutshell: a merge of the show's and videogame's stories through Glenn.
4->The end of the world is not easy for anybody, especially not for young girls. Especially not for young girls who run themselves ragged trying to keep an entire group fed and alive while not being acknowledged at all. In a nutshel: what would've have happened if Glenn had been born a girl.
MAIN GOAL OF THESE STORIES:
1-> To explore Glenn’s capability for platonic love, taking the found-family trope to new heights within twd. Having a helpless person depend on him forces Glenn to mature faster, and reshapes his worldview and some of his actions due to higher responsibility.
2-> To explore how much the people around us can get to us, and the formation of bonds under dire circumstances with people we never believed possible. It also delves into Glenn’s “cyberpunk” side (using videogame analogies to dissociate and excuse cruelty).
3-> To explore Glenn’s influence as an active cohesion mechanism for a different survivor group with a different journey than Rick’s. He's just one person but his precense or absence completely changes the fate of these two communities.
4-> To explore how gender shapes the way we act and the way we’re perceived. Lenna takes on the same role as Glenn but with a different perspective.
BACKSTORIES:
1-> Same as show Glenn. Family in Michigan, sisters, pizza delivery boy, no car stealing mentioned.
2-> Comic book Glenn. Rocky relationship with parents, estranged with his sisters, pizza delivery boy for a while, then car stealer for money and for fun, drowning in debt.
3-> Videogame Glenn. Family from Macon, no mention of his relationship with siblings or parents. Knows tricks to steal cars. Has friends in Atlanta, important enough to him to go looking for them into the deadly city.
4-> Still to be determined. Probably a mix of 1 and 2.
If anyone would like to share their take on Glenn or give any feedback to my ideas (which, even if I have a clear idea of what I want for each of them, are still half-baked), I'll gladly read you in the comments!
Alright folks. This project wasn't born for shipping. But Glenn is Glenn, and he deserves love. So shipping time it is. Just to be clear, this is concerning AU4 fem!Glenn, not the others.
I try to get as little help from AI as possible, but I caved, and this is what I got:
Hi, chat. I need help with a twd project. It basically studies how Glenn would react to the environment of twd if he'd been a woman. One aspect to take into account when analysing the way people act around other people are preferences. For young people specially. Someone who's open to love, or is even actively looking for it, might show slight behavioral shifts when they're around someone considered "romanceable" or with someone who's "not an option" from the get go. Glenn is straight (or so I believe since he never said otherwise), so it makes sense for his female counterpart to be straight too, right? It wouldn't count as altering his preferences since those are his preferences, just inverted, no? And since we're here, who would become "romanceable" from a young girl's point of view? Basically, I want to give her a crush like the cute-awkward thing he had with Maggie right at the beginning, but I'm struggling to find a target.
Tbh, I kinda agree with the damn machine that Daryl is the best option, but I wanted to hear your opinion.
Third excerpt for AU 1's fifth chapter. I had lots of ideas for this part since the show never showed us Glenn's pov while being kidnapped with the vatos. Hope you like it.
The man, G, made a gesture towards Glenn. “Get this one to the roof.”
“Wait.” Glenn pleaded as the Latino goons closed in on him. “We can talk about this.”
He got immobilized, got a piece of duct tape slapped over his mouth, a bag put over his head, and was pushed about through hallways and stairs. When the bag was pulled off, Glenn found himself staring at a thirty-feet drop. Down there, he could see Daryl, crossbow at the ready, and Rick, with his shotgun trained on some boy’s back.
In the end, there was no trade made, and Rick left the factory exactly as he’d gotten there.
They took Glenn to another room where G was already waiting for them.
“Sorry about that.” The man said without losing his swagger. “Your cop, you said he was a good man. How well can you attest to that?”
“I—I dunno, I met him yesterday and—” The moment he said that, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
G’s face fell. The others started looking at each other, anxious, and Felipe started pacing.
“Ay Dios…” He turned to G. “We should’ve taken Miguel when we had the chance!”
“Wait. What are you saying?” Glenn jumped up. “You think they’re not coming back?”
“We’ll prepare a rescue for Miguel.” G said, trying to look confident. “Take este to the back.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” G looked Glenn up and down. “He doesn’t seem like the type to stab an old man.”
That sentence only started making sense once Glenn found out what “the back” was.
The factory had a path that somehow connected with the backyard of a nursery home, which still had residents. Glenn couldn’t believe what he was seeing, it was too surreal, with everything that was happening, so he just sat himself in a corner to wait.
Then, one of the old men started doing weird gestures. It took a moment for Glenn to realize that the man couldn’t breathe. He ran over there, but he had no idea what to do. “Nurse!”
More people started approaching, offering advice that the gasping man was in no state to understand. Finally, Doña Carmen was back with Felipe and, thank God, he had an inhaler.
“What is this?”
“An asthma attack.” It took a moment for Glenn to realize the one to ask was actually Rick.
T-Dog looked especially offended. “We thought you were being eaten by dogs, man!”
Glenn chanced a look at the dogs. Even though it was three vs one, Glenn was fairly sure he would demolish those chihuahuas.
Once the situation with the grandpa was under control, Glenn followed the others to have a “talk” with G. After an explanation, Rick took pity on them and ceded half the guns in his bag to the vatos. And just like that, they were on their way back with no casualties to report.
Second excerpt for AU 1 fifth chapter. The scene in which Rick meets Daryl, but with AU 1's context.
There was a small clear a little ways into the woods. There, a geek was feasting on deer throat. The poor thing also had three arrows sticking out of its flank. The geek realized there was a crowd forming around it, but before it could target any of them, the men at camp took turns beating it with whatever weapon they had found: bats, crowbars, the butt of a shotgun… Finally, Dale hit it in the neck with an axe, and its head came off.
“It’s the first one we’ve had up here. They never come this far up the mountain.” Dale observed the corpse.
Behind them, some rustling among the trees announced another presence. Luckily, it was just Daryl, and he wasn’t too happy that his hunt had been stolen. He then noticed the severed walker head was still gnawing on air. “Come on people, don’t y’all know nuthin’?” He shot an arrow right through the geek’s eye without flinching. “It’s gotta be the brain.”
The first time Rick saw Daryl, he made the same conflicted face he’d made when he first saw Merle, and turned to Glenn for any clues on what to expect. This time though, Glenn was more preoccupied watching Polly happily skip around the severed and speared walker head in her way to the brawny man.
“Daryl! Daryl! How many squirrels this time?”
“Dunno, count ‘hem.”
Daryl dropped his string of roadkill on the girl, and Glenn watched in resignation as she dragged their would-be dinner along the ground, dutifully trailing after the hunter.
I just hope this guy doesn’t try to kill us all once he hears about Merle.
Daryl strode up to camp confidently, like he always did, already calling for his brother. But, this time, no one came to meet him.
“Daryl.” Shane called. “Slow down a bit. I need to talk to you.”
“Abou’ wha’?”
“I think it’s about Merle not coming back from Atlanta.”
The moment Polly opened her mouth, everyone froze. Then, Daryl pointed at her while staring hard at Shane, and asked before his face was flooded with anger.
“What did she say?”
Glenn watched with growing anxiety as Daryl unsheathed his knife and threw himself at Rick. There went their hopes for a non-violent discussion.
Thankfully, the police academy trained its boys well and soon Shane had Daryl in a chokehold.
Polly clung to Glenn, which meant she wasn’t running over there to kick Shane in the shins, but she still looked like she wanted to protest. “Are they hurting him!?”
“Uh…” Unlike Merle getting his shit rocked, this was honestly a bit painful to watch.
Finally, the fight seemed to drain out of Daryl and he decided to go down to Atlanta alone to get Merle. And then came the revelation: Rick was going back too. Only a day after finding the family he’d thought he’d lost, one day after finding a group and shelter, and barely knowing anything about Merle Dixon—only bad things he knew, by the way—, Rick was going back. And what was Glenn supposed to do, when Rick turned to him and asked he came along? Not help? Send both Rick and Daryl to Hell without a guide and stay at camp taking a nap? It was very tempting, but in the end, he ended up in the van with Rick, Daryl and T-Dog—who decided to join them too—on their way to Atlanta.
Finally reached the part where AU1 properly mixes with canon.
I can't believe I managed to fit 3 episodes of twd in under 6k words.
Excerpt under the cut.
For context, this is a canon piece of episode two, while they're trapped inside the department store, but retold from Glenn's perspective (which, in my opinion, is very funny)
Glenn really didn’t like the subbasement—the place was poorly lit and the air felt stale—but there was actually a drainage tunnel they might be able to escape through. Although they’d have to check it first.
All heads turned to Glenn.
“You won’t be alone.” Andrea tried to be reassuring. “We’ll be right behind you—”
“No.” Glenn cut her off, more sharply than intended, and forced himself to explain. “If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine. But only if we do it my way. If I have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed.”
The others seemed to agree that it would be very unfortunate, and nodded for him to keep explaining the plan. Plan that Glenn had to make up as he spoke, since he didn’t have any experience in sewer-exploring.
“I’ll take only one person.” His eyes met Rick’s for a fraction of a second and Glenn knew he was about to offer. But that wouldn’t do. “I’ve seen you shoot. I’d feel better if you were in the store watching those doors” Then he looked at Andrea. “You’ve got the only other gun, so you should go with him.” He decided to take Morales and have Jacqui stand watch in case something happened. Rick patted his back in approval and everyone got ready.
Come on, Glenn. This is like the levels in Portal. Next test chamber is “Gnarly Hole”. Just solve the puzzle and find the exit. You’ve done it a thousand times.
The moment he stepped away from the ladder, he heard squeaking. On top of being tight, dark, and wet, the place also had rats. This is officially the worst run ever. Flashlight in hand, Morales and Glenn advanced until they came across a barred screen.
Glenn pointed his flashlight towards where he’d heard a wet, squelching sound and promptly recoiled in disgust. There was a geek knelt down gorging on a rat. It tried to grab them. Luckily, it was on the other side of the bar screen.
That was the end of the Gnarly Hole expedition, another dead end. The walkers had managed to push their way through, and now the group was down to one set of glass doors between them and a terrible death. Fortunately, Rick was full of ideas. Unfortunately, Glenn couldn’t say he liked them.
They went out into the alley and dragged one of the dead geeks inside.
They all stood in a circle around the rotten body, dressed in plain coats and those big cleaning gloves. They could have passed for a cringeworthy cult, or a group of stupid kids about to do a lab experiment that was—very clearly—going to go wrong.
Rick, clearly feeling guilty for the atrocity he was about to commit, searched the man’s pockets and took out his wallet.
He read the man’s name aloud, where he was from, the year he was born, counted the dollars in his wallet and showed them a picture he kept of a girl, Rachel.
“One more thing.” Glenn interrupted. “He is an organ donor.” Is and not Was because the guy may not have been so before turning, but he sure was gonna be now.
Next thing they knew, they were chopping up Dead Guy. Not only was it the goriest thing Glenn had seen in his entire life, the sound the bones and tendons made when they broke was absolutely chilling, and the smell of putrid meat being torn open hit him like a truck.
He needed to lean against something. “Oh, I’m so gonna hurl.”
Glenn managed to keep his composure until the others started covering him and Rick in someone’s guts. Worst part was, Glenn couldn’t remember volunteering to any of this, or being asked even.
“This is so bad.” He cried.
“Think about something else, like puppies and kittens.” Rick attempted to console him.
T-Dog followed up with “Dead puppies and kittens.”
Glenn hurled. He just had to. And he was wishing very bad things on T-Dog now.
Now that they smelt like the dead (and looked a little dead too—Glenn was white as a ghost), they were good to go.
Final scene for AU 1 fourth chapter, The Good The Bad And The Dumbass. The dumbass is introduced.
Excerpt under the cut:
There was an abandoned tank by the intersection, right next to where the geeks enjoyed what looked like a horse. Some guy stuck his head out from inside the tank and shut the hatch close when geeks started climbing the vehicle.
He just got himself stuck. Glenn recognized. His mind went back to standing on top of a dumpster surrounded by walkers or being alone on that roof as it poured.
It’s only a matter of time. But there’s nothing I can do for him.
His attention went back to the radio, and then, without being able to stop it, back to the tank.
There’s gotta be one in that tank. He fiddled with the dial, trying to remember the frequency it was set on when he’d found it. He most likely wouldn’t be able to connect, but it could hurt nobody to try.
“Hey, you, dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank. Cozy in there?” He got amused at his own joke, but his smile faded the longer he didn’t get an answer. “Are you alive in there?”
Glenn caught himself sighing in relief when he heard the desperate “Hello?”
“There you are. Had me wondering.”
“Where are you? Outside? Can you see me?”
“I can see you. You’re surrounded by walkers, that’s the bad news.”
“There’s good news?”
“Could be dinosaurs.” The answer came as much out of left turn for Glenn as it did for Tank Guy, who paused before sending a very confused “what?”
“If you were surrounded by dinos, you’d stand no chance. As bad as it sounds, they’re only stiff bodies without half a neuron. You’re a person in full capacity which means, if you do it right, you have a shot. Your shot is an alley up the street, I’ll meet you there.”
“That’s it? Thought I was surrounded.”
“Oh, and you are. It’s really bad on the horse’s side, but the other street’s less crowded.” Less crowded in comparison, it wasn’t clear by any means. “Got ammo?”
“In a duffel bag I dropped. And guns. Could I get to it?”
Glenn checked quickly. “Forget the bag, it’s not an option. What do you have on you?”
“Hang on.”
The radio crackled and the voice was back. “I’ve got a Beretta with one clip. Fifteen rounds.”
“Make them count. There’s one on top of the tank. Jump to the right side and keep going that direction. The alley is only 50 yards away.”
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Have you been listening? You’re running outta time.”
Shortly after cutting the comm, Glenn saw the guy climb out of the tank’s hatch and strike a walker in the jaw with an entrenching shovel. Glenn had to get going too. He rushed to the fire escape and gulped —he didn’t remember the drop to be so far down. He steeled himself and got down as fast as humanly possible, in part because the metal was burning his hands. Once on the ground, he rushed to the alley entrance only to be met with a gun barrel on his face.
“Whoa! Not dead!” The man lowered his gun. “Come on!”
Glenn sprinted back towards the stairs. He had to make sure Tank Guy was following since he wouldn’t stop turning around to shoot. He wouldn’t stop the herd like that, and Glenn was already dizzy with adrenaline. He’d never had so many geeks after him.
“What are you doing!? Come on!” He could taste the desperation in his voice and, this time, he didn’t care for the scorching metal as he climbed up the ladder. Finally, they reached the half-way landing and stopped, panting. Out of danger for now, Glenn took a good look at Tank Guy. The first thing to get his attention was that he was dressed head to toe like a policeman.
“Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood. You the new sheriff? Come riding in to clean up the town?”
“It wasn’t my intention.”
“Whatever, yeehaw.” Maybe Glenn was being a little mean, but he had just stuck his neck out for this stranger, so he could take it. “You’re still a dumbass.”
Second part of The Good The Bad And The Dumbass, fourth chapter of AU 1. "The Bad" is introduced.
Excerpt under the cut:
If there was something kids liked more than toys, that was good stories.
“ —and then it tried to grab me, but I ducked out of the way. He got offended and called his friends, and I had to run in between their arms like this!” The kids gasped as Glenn demonstrated how he twisted himself out of the walkers’ reach. As he performed, he noticed the mothers on the other shore of the pond, looking unimpressed. “B–but, you should never try this yourselves! Stay always at least five feet away from the infected, and don’t go anywhere without supervision!”
The boys groaned. “You just made it boring!”
As the kids scampered away, Glenn heard a booming laugh behind him. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself.
“And you call ‘at a story? If the dead haven’t got yer ass yet ‘s only ‘cause yellow meat tastes like shit. Anyone with a pair ‘a eyes ‘n legs can do whatcha do.” Merle commented as if it were the weather, lounging on the rocks with his bag of substances propped nearby.
Glenn rolled his eyes. He was used to this by now. “You should go, then. Don’t let “yellow meat” touch your precious beer, even if that’s the only reason you have any.” He muttered under his breath. When he chanced a look at Merle, the man was already staring him down without an ounce of his typical messed up amusement.
Shit.
Merle got up and walked up to Glenn, all gait and aggressive confidence. Glenn tried to stay firm, but stumbled back the moment Merle put a hand on his shoulder and pushed.
“Whatcha say, huh? Think I can’t go in there ‘n come back with a haul better than yers?”
They had a couple of spectators now.
“Listen here, city boy.” Merle lowered himself to Glenn’s level and slowed his voice down, as if talking to a kid. “Anything yer scrawny ass can do, I can do better.”
“What’s goin’ on here?”
Glenn got his personal space back as Merle straightened up and turned towards Shane.
“Hey, Cop Guy!” Merle grinned. “Kid says the city’s actually easy, ‘n tha’ we a bunch’a pussies who need their shit brought for them.”
Glenn gawped, then quickly stuttered. “Tha—that’s not—”
“If it’s so easy, how come we’ve only been getting one bag’a stuff and not more?” Merle continued. “Tell ya wha’! Next time I’ll go with ‘im, t’see if he’s been sleepin’ on t’job.”
Glenn’s stomach dropped. He and Merle alone in Atlanta?
He’s planning to kill me, isn’t he?
“Actually,” Andrea appeared from behind the clothes rack. “I’ve been meaning to go into Atlanta myself to look for more specific stuff.”
“And Glenn’s been complaining it’s getting harder to find stores with good stuff.” Jacqui added. “I worked for the zoning department in the city. Maybe I can help?”
“If y’all going, then I’m going too.” T-Dog joined the circle that was starting to form around Glenn. “That way we can carry more things and won’t need to be sending people down there every two days.”
“It would be dangerous to have so many people in Atlanta at the same time.” Morales commented. “The more eyes watching your back, the better. Count me in.”
In the end, Shane conceded to the operation, warning them to not take any unnecessary risks since the group couldn't put any more people on the line if things went sideways. Glenn understood that as “If you fuck it up, no one’s coming.”
Some part of him wanted to be bitter and question how come he hadn’t seen any of this enthusiasm for helping him in his runs before. The other part accepted that this was the best moment possible — if Merle tried anything funny now, Glenn would have witnesses.
And that’s how it was decided that the supply party would make its first incursion into Atlanta in two days time.
In the end, I couldn't stick to my 5-chapter structure for the first part of AU 1, so I decided to add another chapter.
The Good, The Bad and The Dumbass
Excerpt under the cut, featuring part of Glenn's first official run into town after joining the quarry camp:
Glenn peeked through a knothole in the fence. He smelt the decomposing body before he saw it, even though he knew exactly where it was. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath into the elbow of his clothes to calm his stomach.
He scanned the rest of the street. It appeared as if no other geeks had wandered into the area. Luck was on Glenn’s side this far.
Then, he got a bit of a running start and hauled himself over the fence. The jump put some strain on his abdomen, and he used the fact that he was alone to stop and breathe.
You just got here. There’s no rush yet.
He walked himself back to the apartment calmly —as much as one can be in such an environment— and silently. The streets were uncannily empty, making Glenn overthink every step. Not seeing any geeks, Glenn realized, was just as creepy as seeing a bunch of them. It might be worse. Because he knew there were geeks in the neighborhood, and they must be somewhere, he just didn’t know where. And it was making his skin crawl.
Somehow, he managed to reach the old metal door without using his distraction technique. Glenn pushed himself inside, not wanting to open the door fully, and scanned his surroundings. The hall was as dark and as empty as he remembered it, and his labored breathing started to ease out.
“That was…easy?”
He entered the apartment using the keys he still had in his pocket and filled his backpack with the food he left behind last time. Then, he took himself to the roof and scanned the area. Everything was eerily still and silent, like time itself had frozen. In a way, Glenn supposes, it did.
He’d had the opportunity to properly check his bruises in the bathroom. They had already taken the yellow, greenish coloring of the final stages of healing. But that improvement ended up being a poison apple. Getting his strength back made Glenn confident. And then greedy.
I did tell the girls I’d grab things for them. And T-Dog’s neck hurts. And we need more medicine.
Before he could think harder about it, he took his small map out and added the streets he believed he’d taken after leaving the refugee center. If he wasn’t wrong, the panel he’d thrown Polly’s little pink ball against had been a Walgreens. If he could find it again, he could get the things they needed.
With a destination already in mind, Glenn went back to the streets and got moving.
It didn’t take too long before a certain white van came into view, the one he’d tried unlocking the night of the bombing with no luck. Further down the street was the liquor store. He could picture the Honda CB parked on the side-walk; screwdriver, rucksack, tent and radio still strewn around where Glenn had struggled against the Dixons. He couldn’t believe he was living with those guys now.
He picked up the bag and checked its contents. Almost-full water bottle, clothes for two people, saved MREs, and a shake-to-charge flashlight.
A pang of pity hit Glenn in the chest. That man had everything to take his kid away from this place and take care of her. If only he’d had better luck…
As he picked up the radio, Glenn got an idea. He bet it would surprise the group if he could connect with the CB at camp. As he moved the dial, some frequency sounds came through, but no one answered when Glenn spoke.
Disappointed, he turned it off. The static sounds went away, but there was a hum in the air, one that Glenn had thought belonged to the radio.
His blood went cold the moment he lifted his gaze.
