Before you scroll away, this is NOT a downer post. It isn't really about my overall mood right at this moment, but I don't know where else to post what's on my mind without bumping an old thread, given this is a bit more than a random thought and I feel comfortable sharing it here.
I'm feeling that I'm embracing more of the furry culture. Before someone out there starts making fun of me, I want to make it very clear that I'm not into any of the suggestive stuff whatsoever. In fact, I try not to pay attention to such things if they happen to appear randomly on my screen while scrolling through fan art. Anyway, I think Animal Crossing has a large part in why I personally feel this way, and the thought of being able to interact with cute talking animals as a human character brings out some emotions in me that I rarely seem to share elsewhere. For instance, I nearly teared up when my favorite villagers at the time celebrated my birthday in 2020. Yes, a grown man who just turned 21 actually wanted to cry happy tears because of the actions of some fictional characters. When I lost the remainder of my high school friends for whatever reason, this forum officially became the place I turned to in order to have some semblance of a social life. After joining, I began to browse more fan art of Animal Crossing characters, and even commissioned some users to draw some for me. They all turned out very well. In terms of content outside TBT, I'm personally a fan of the art that's put out by sp-art-gallery on Tumblr and Twitter (look them up if you're curious), and their style is awesome. I personally love their depiction of some of the villagers, which makes me want to learn how to draw myself. I wonder if maybe one day I could make my own Animal Crossing OC that combines elements of existing villagers, but I think that's far down the line.
I later learned that revisiting nostaligic stuff from my childhood was also one of the few things that kept me happy throughout my free time. This included watching cartoons featuring mostly anthropomorphic animals. I've always had a soft spot for cutesy animals in general (which is partly why I've grown to like AC a lot), and there have even been several times where I've considered watching My Little Pony. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy coming from me, but there's an explanation. During my failed semester at a specific nearby university, I took a class that involved learning the history of media communication. One day, we spent around two or three days watching a documentary about bronies and how this "stereotypical group" was much more than grown men watching a show targeted at girls. Some people who watched it began to develop better overall friendship skills and were able to apply the concepts of some of the lessons learned in the show to the real world, regardless of their gender or age. Some have even made lifelong friends with others just by attending conventions. While it would sort of feel awkward to attend such events by myself, I'm willing to bet that my future friend group might just be going to these things. Now that I'm more of an independent person these days, I may feel less judged if I do decide to see what this craze is/was all about.
Do I want to make a fursona? Not really. I will mention, however, that fursuits have never bothered me in the slightest. I actually find some of them pretty cool. I highly respect those who like to participate if it makes them happy, and they definintely do not deserve any hate if they aren't hurting anyone. But really, I'm glad that I'm able to come to this forum, share some of my "hidden" interests that would normally cause me to get bullied in school, and have several amazing users support and back me almost every time. I love being my true self here.
. Both are equally important; I feel like I have a long way to go before I can say I’m confidant or comfortable socializing, but I feel like I’m getting somewhere. Also, I realize the importance of taking a step back when things are bothering me or stressing me out, and also looking after myself and say when something hurts me. I probably will keep on making mistakes with not communicating since I get scared and anxious about being up front a lot, but I know I really need to do this for my health and to save my friendships too.
