Puro // A different, gentler beast.

Puro is a dark latex male, different from his peers in that he can speak english and loves to seek knowledge. He is soft-spoken, a little clumsy yet well-meaning, and easily flustered.

Like all other dark latexes, Puro's mask is part of his face, and removing it would cause him to lose form and perish. Don't worry, smooches are still on the table...

Puro is pretty lonely, as he has no one to talk to other than hypothetically K, or the Dragon King (whom he taught a little rudimentary English to). Most other latex beasts don't know English or don't have any desire to learn things. His handwriting is a bit sloppy and he makes spelling mistakes, but his speech is very fluent.

Puro started learning English through an experimental educational interactive video device (edutainment...) aimed at preschoolers. An award-winning device, 'Mr. Orange', features a citrus mascot and teaches all the things you'd expect for children 1 to 5. Stationed in one of the library's smaller side-rooms, it gave him a solid-enough grasp on language, logic, and arithmetic that he was able to teach himself further with the library's wide selection of books.

Alongside his penchant for learning, Puro also likes drawing, often drawing self-portraits to express his emotions, drawing other latex beasts he sees, or sketching out maps for easier navigation of the facility. They often come out crude, drawn in shades of ballpoint pen, but he has the fundamentals down at least. He regularly pins up his best work on the walls to decorate places he frequents. Also has a habit of pinning up signage and warnings for hypothetical human survivors or urban explorers, though no humans have come by in years.

Subsists off of oranges that grow on the orange tree in the library and rainwater that drips in from cracks in the ceiling. He doesn't need much water, so he uses most of it to water the orange tree. He read in a book that dried orange slices last longer, so he keeps a big bag of them in his den. He calls them 'Puro Snacks'. adorable

Puro doesn't wear clothes (the fluff keeps him warm enough), nor does any other latex beast in the facility. Presumably, Dr. K only does it as a habit carried over from their days as a human.

Puro identifies himself as a transgender man. As the only sapient dark latex, he's the only one with a sense of gender identity among his kind. He became discontent with his body around the time he became more able to put his thoughts together, being able to grasp his dysphoria. Due to the fluid nature of his species, though, this was an easier fix than it would be for a human. He could simply reabsorb his breasts and form himself a penis through careful observation of the genitals of his peers.

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In regards to latex creatures, none are particularly 'goopy' per se, other than the light latexes and black latexes, which are relegated to the Thunder Science building, as they were early prototypes and constant dripping everywhere is not regarded as a desirable trait in outside society. Latex creatures aren't actually made of literal latex, they were just nicknamed that due to dark & light latexes' goop having similar physical properties. More recent iterations mostly transfur humans through blood contact with their fur, achieved with teeth or claws.

About five years ago, a virus was unearthed by researchers from the antarctic permafrost. Nicknamed the 'Pale Virus', it quickly spread through most of the population. It's called the pale virus because it causes a form of sickle-cell anemia, preventing red blood cells from transporting oxygen correctly, giving the victim pale skin, and eventually leading to death.

Thunder Science, a bioengineering startup on the east coast, was given tens of millions in government funding in order to devise a solution to the virus quickly wiping out the world's population. Their first semi-successful attempt at a solution involved a mutogenic substance nicknamed 'dark latex', made from organic ingredients and a sample of a crystal infused with ancient canid DNA. This resulted in the creation of the first dark latex creatures, initially very wolf-like. all have a crystalline, light skull-like mask over their face and small white eyes. They quickly mimicked the researchers and took on a more humanoid form, though they were feral and violent, attempting to transfur or assimilate any test subjects. Transfurred individuals became similarly feral and aggressive, and could not differentiate colors very well Scientists did note that these transfurred individuals were immune to the Pale Virus, so they kept iterating...

Through trial and error, and mutation of dark latex DNA, eventually the light latex was created, shedding the mask and adopting a more traditional anthro wolf appearance with normal vision. This iteration was more intelligent, though still animalistic and goopy. They also don't like dark latexes very much...

This kept going until they had many different kinds of latex beasts, from dragon, to tiger shark to squid-dog... lots of colorful canines felines and vulpines, you name it, there's probably a latex anthro like it.

Human society outside is fractured, with those who could afford to retreat into bunkers only just coming out a few months ago. The global population is maybe in the tens of millions. The pale virus is all but eradicated, not having any human hosts to kill for nearly five years. Transfurmation technology was still iterated upon by a dedicated few in one bunker, and theoretically could synthesize an agent to transform a person into a latex beast of their choosing, and after a few days' quarantine, they could be released, non-contagious and with minimal mental changes. However, there were few willing participants in that apocalypse bunker, mileage may vary. And no one knows how fertile a latex beast would be, or if they would be compatible with a base human, so concerns have arisen due to the urgent need of the success of human repopulation efforts.

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Latex beasts are hard to kill with conventional means. They heal from lacerations and punctures fast due to their more fluidic biology. The two best methods to kill a latex are fire, and high, destabilizing electric shock combined with physical impacts.

Other dark latexes aren't self-aware like Puro is, and act more through pack instincts than anything. They also have no desire to learn new things, like speaking or reading. Puro tried to introduce his peers to books, in response they tried to eat said books... After realizing he's the only one of his kind that has any desire to learn, Puro grew disheartened that nobody could understand his desires. He eventually separated himself from the dark latex creatures and becoming persona non-grata to them, citing that even if he lost his sentience they would not welcome him back.

Note - Dark latexes, and most latex beasts, develop gender dysphoria at a similar rate to other animals. However, lacking in the self-awareness or complex language needed to address such topics, the unlucky 1% just live their lives moderately more uncomfortable than their peers.

Despite their general non-sentience, dark latexes still do feel emotions, pain and whathaveyou. When dark latexes die, their bodies harden into statue-like masses. The living dark latexes move these to a designated part in a certain corridor, and decorate them with flowers and whatnot, evidencing that they feel grief for their fallen.

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Dr. K is a light latex wolf with a PHD in biology. 5 years ago, during the riots that caused Thunder Science's systems to fail and all the latexes to breach containment, K was injured and had to inject themself with a custom strain of transfurmation agent in order to survive. They have red eyes and white fur. They're usually seen wearing a lab coat, as well as a respirator, as they found their amplified sense of smell unpleasant. K usually acts as a groundskeeper, browsing the security cameras for problems and using the building's automated systems to assist with cleanup, and whatnot. Can also broadcast a video feed to various monitors peppered throughout the facility. Hates Puro, calling him a bastard and failed sample, but has decided he's too much effort to go after. Curiously, K doesn't have a gender listed in their file, nor do they show their face. Puro could never really get a handle on them, either. K's voice airs on the side of androgyny, so it is hard to be certain.