I'm getting stronger urges to step out of my comfort zone and introduce myself to an online furry community, most likely on Discord. I'm legitimately gaining a higher interest in it and want to make new friends, even if I can't necessarily meet with any in person. Of course, there's that social initiation barrier I continue to have difficulty facing due to my ASD, but I tackled that head-on several times, most notably when I first joined TBT. I know it's possible that I can do this again.
I've always been upset about seeing certain people make fun of the furry community for no good reason other than for them being different. These community members are decent people for the most part who don't follow traditional interests and trends, and I consider myself to be in that boat to a degree. The thing is, I've really been able to explore my own non-traditional interests more often and without feelings of shame ever since I broke up with my high school friend group and moved into my own place without my parents nosing around all the time. Animal Crossing is indeed a large interest I held back from the public for a long time, in which I was able to get into it more thanks to graduating high school and New Horizons being my therapy tool in 2020. I believe this sudden spike of interest in the furry community has a lot to do with that.
If there's anyone reading this thread who also has such an interest or considers themselves a furry, let me know. I've been on TBT long enough to feel comfortable talking about such things without fear of some random user calling me names and being an overall killjoy.