so we all know that richie wouldn’t have ever touched lgbt subjects before the events of IT CH2 but what abt after? not immediately, but over time. he tries to work to become more comfortable with that as well as himself. he gets to the point where he can make jokes about it

he’d still be iffy at first with talking about being gay or the bullshit he went through and how repressed he was, but he gets through it over time and with the help of his friends, probably therapy too

he eventually decides to get back into standup and he writes his own content this time around. he probably checks it with one or two of the losers, seeing what works and what doesn’t. if he can make his friends laugh, he’s doing a pretty good fucking job

so he goes to perform and he’s nervous beyond fucking belief. he’s already taken time to accept himself, and his friends clearly accept him, but it’s pretty difficult to stand in front of an audience and bare your soul as a form of comedy

he for sure doesn’t get a positive reaction from the entire audience. it’s different content, and he knew that there’d be people who wouldn’t like it or him. it messes him up a little, honestly. he doesn’t want to admit it, but it does

there’s nothing he can do about it now though, other than keep going. he’s publicly out whether the world likes it or not. he doesn’t feel as good as he thought he would, but he feels a little better. no more hiding who he is. no more ‘shameful’ secrets

what he wasn’t expecting, though, was the influx of new fans. sure, he lost a couple of gross dudes who had nothing better to do than make rude comments about women & generally everybody else, but he gains a new, more openminded following. he has no clue how to respond to that

he’s checking his twitter nonstop, reading new fans’ reactions to him and his coming out. he spent his entire life ashamed of the way that he felt and he never knew how to reach out. now he’s seeing so many people laughing alongside his shitty jokes and actually understanding him

he’s losing his fucking mind, he swears he is. it’s 2 in the morning and he calls bev because he NEEDS to talk about it. he’s been crying for the past couple of hours and it’s been exhausting, but he’s happy. he’s genuinely feeling happy

the other losers have to deal with him being sappy and emotional for a good while. he always hated being that emotional, and he promises that he’ll get back to being his obnoxious self soon enough, but in the meantime, he’s letting himself have this. he feels seen.