Paprika

Paprika is one of the main characters of the indie fighting game Them's Fightin' Herds. As a member of the Alpake Tribe that resides in the Huacaya Mountains, she is much more outgoing and affectionate compared to her gloomy peers, often unknowingly endangering them with her acts of kindness. For this, her tribemates fear her and her destructive capabilities, sending her as the Champion of the Highlands both to defeat the Predators with and just to be rid of her.
She is voiced by Marieve Herington, and unlike the rest of the cast communicates with odd trilling and humming instead of words.
== Biography ==
=== The Book of Lore ===
The Alpake tribe is introduced by their leader Adobo, who describes the group as rugged and dreary due to their harsh lifestyle of constantly battling against the elements. He then introduces Paprika, who is the exact opposite of her peers, and claims that her antics are going to kill the entire tribe. 
He then details two events in which she's accidentally endangered the tribe while trying to be affectionate: The first of which has the Alpakes travelling up a steep mountain while tied to each other with rope to prevent any of them from falling. Paprika, the only one who was not tethered to the rest of the group, bounced up the mountainside with ease, stopping in front of each of her tribemates to give them a crushing hug, causing them to lose their footing and dangle from the ropes. When she at last got to Abodo, who was leading the rest and had to carry his hanging peers alone, she gave him a kiss on the snout instead, sparing him and the rest of the Alpakes from plummeting to their deaths.
The second event is when the Alpake's tents are damaged and they task Paprika with taking their wool and knitting patches into their shelter so that they may be protected from an oncoming sandstorm, as she is the fastest knitter in the tribe. She instead knits them all into sweaters reading "I love Paprika" (with the "love" being replaced with a heart), yet despite this the tribe is miraculously able to survive. Adobo then recounts the time the tribe camp flooded and they needed to hang on to a fallen tree, noting that Paprika was enjoying the experience the entire time.
The Alpakes resign themselves to extinction at the hooves of their peppy tribemate, until one day Adobo's son returns from the city to tell them of the Predator's return and the Council of Ungulate's decree that each faction of Foenum is to send their strongest warrior to seek The Prophet's Key to re-contain the Predators in The Hold they had been sealed in long ago. The tribe ties up Paprika and carries her to the city, where they drop her off onto the steps of the arena and quickly flee, grateful to be rid of her at last. Adobo notes that it would be a miracle for the Predators if they survive her.
=== Story Mode ===
==== Chapter 1 ====
Arizona visits the Alpake tribe in hopes of getting a clue on where to find The Prophet's Key, finding out that there are ancient runes about it all over a nearby temple, though Adobo warns her of a monster that lurks near it. As she passes through the Foggy Mountaintops to get to the temple, Paprika stalks her the whole time just out of sight. Right before Arizona reaches the temple, Paprika pops out and greets her. The cow's attempts at communicating with her are unsuccessful, and she begins to respond with aggression when the alpaca starts to invade her personal space, starting a fight between the two. Arizona is successful and Paprika is knocked out as the latter proceeds with her mission.
== Appearance ==
Paprika is an alpaca with peach skin and yellow wool. She has thin, dark brown hooves and purple eyes, and wears a pink blanket with magenta edges and light blue tassels on her back.
== Personality ==
Paprika is endlessly loving and optimistic, constantly trying to shower anyone she comes across with love. She doesn't know her own strength, and is naïve to people's irritation and fear towards her as well as the constant danger she and her tribe face. She is shown to get upset sometimes however, most notably during her level 3 super move in which she suddenly becomes grouchy and forcefully grabs her opponent, giving them a crushing hug to make herself feel better.
== Trivia ==
* Like the other initial main characters, she was designed by Lauren Faust as a replacement for the Mane 6 from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic after the fangame Fighting is Magic was taken down by Hasbro for copyright infringement. Paprika herself is based off of Pinkie Pie.
* She didn't have a blanket in early concept art.
* Paprika smiles at almost all times, the only exceptions being during her and Velvet's level 3 super moves, when Velvet denies letting her snuggle during a battle intro, and when Oleander threatens her during a battle intro.
* Her unvoiced dialog in the overworld is written in a language similar to wingdings, dubbed "Papdings" by the fandom.
* Multiple of her color pallets are references to characters in other media: her Emperor pallet is based off of Emperor Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove, her Crossing and Merchant pallets are based off of Reese and Cyrus respectively from the Animal Crossing series, her Meanie pallet is based off of Chief Blue Meanie from Yellow Submarine, her Who? pallet is based off of the 4th Doctor from Doctor Who, her Smash pallet is based off of the Hulk from Marvel, and her Ten-Ton Magical Paca pallet is based off of Appa from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
== External Links ==
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Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Indie/Doujin Heroes
Category:Animals
Category:Anthropomorphic
Category:Female
Category:Mute
Category:Optimists
Category:Unwanted
Category:Fighters
Category:The Chosen One
Category:Dreaded
Category:Bond Creators
Category:Stalkers
Category:Good Vs. Good
Category:Rivals
Category:Chaotic Good
Category:Parody/Homage
Category:Brutes
Category:Mischievous
Category:Obsessed
Category:Reality-Warpers
Category:Self-Aware
Category:Determinators
Category:Thrill-Seekers