Hello Outlast Nation

Hello outlast nation

That one piece of dialogue where you do something really stupid but he still has to be nice

The reason I relate so much to Dale Gribble isn’t because he’s a hilarious little gremlin they keep around for comic relief.  There are a lot of hilarious gremlins out there.

I like that there is so much TRUTH in his character.  He isn’t a complete paranoid headcase character who doesn’t trust anyone ever no matter what.  He fiercely and intensely trusts the people he loves to the point that when that trust is broken he is broken.  He loves and trusts his wife and his friends so deeply that he simply cannot acknowledge it when they betray him.  Cognitively, this man is fully capable and KNOWS that his wife is having an affair that Joseph isn’t his, that his friends are lying to him about his wife.  But emotionally, he can’t handle that.  So he tucks it in the vault and does what he does best: He builds an elaborate conspiracy theory alternate reality that explains everything so he can continue living in a world where his wife and friends would never betray him.

And yeah, he can’t trust anyone else and lives and breathes conspiracy theories.  But he has good reasons to be untrusting!  He lives in a country which has committed many, many genocides against its own citizens from the gay genocide of the 80s to the Native American genocide from the 1600s to today, to slavery and Jim Crow.  He is NOT crazy to believe that his government is shady and evil because they ARE.  They really, truly are.  And Chuck Mangione really IS living in the Mega Lo Mart!

But he doesn’t let that make him a bad person too.  He doesn’t let the horrible world he lives in twist him into a monster.  Sure, he has some episodes - the rabies incident comes to mind - but on several occasions he uses his special interests and skills to help the people in his life.  He helps John Redcorn fight the government to get land from them.  He helps Hank (eventually) when he is misgendered at the DMV.  When they volunteer as firefighters, Dale switches Hank’s oxygen tank and his own so Hank gets the full one.  He transfers a swarm of fire ants onto his own body to save Bobby Hill.  He saves the entire Arlen Gun Club from a violent maniac with a clever ruse.  His knowledge of military equipment saves Bill from being court martialed when he helps return a stolen tank back to the military base!

Coward though he is by nature, he always changes his mind in the end and comes to his friends’ rescue.  He would do anything for his friends.  He goes against his very nature as a paranoid coward to help the people he loves time and time again.

Everywhere Dale goes is hostile to him.  Of course it is!  He is a neurodivergent little freak!  This man farms gerbils for meat and raises show turtles and has a special interest in conspiracy theories and guns.  He’s a weirdo.  Even in his social clubs he is engaged in constant power struggles.  The ONLY friends who stick by him, who he doesn’t have to be suspicious of are Hank, Boomhauer, and Bill.  He would be completely lonely and isolated if those three fucking messy ass dudes didn’t hang out with him.  The four of them are all deeply broken, and they need each other.  And despite the boys many many flaws, their friendship is beautiful.

sure what's the worst that could happen

idk why i didn't do this earlier! might make more!