Paula (ポーラ, Pōra) is a character in the video game Shadows of the DAMNED. She is protagonist Garcia Hotspur's girlfriend. After her death, Paula is transported to the City of the Damned, and Hotspur enlists the help of Johnson, a shape-shifting demon, to free her from her Hellish captors.
Story[]
Paula was discovered by her boyfriend Garcia Hotspur in a dumpster behind a supermarket. Her life before this encounter is unclear, but there is some implication that she escaped the City of the Damned, where she lived as the Unbreakable Huntress, the first female hunter of demons and became a demoness after being repeatedly killed by Fleming. Posters in the city refer to this mistress.
While recollecting how his relationship with Paula began, Hotspur tells Johnson how despite not speaking to him for weeks after he found her, Paula's first words to him came with a phone call. Paula frenziedly cautioned Hotspur not to answer the phone, and he "had been hers ever since." This event later repeats itself after Hotspur rescues Paula from the City of the Damned. While the two are at their apartment planning a vacation to Mexico, the phone rings. This time Paula, in something of a trance, allows Hotspur to answer the phone, only to find that the caller is Fleming. This could imply Paula expected Fleming to call when she was originally taken in by Hotspur, and would explain why she demanded him not to pick up the phone.
When Hotspur picks up this second call, Fleming threatens not to back down, leaving Hotspur and Johnson to prepare for another legion of demons. Paula's trance worsens to the point where she turns limp and takes on a Hellish appearance as she reverts into her demon form, and Hotspur admits that "fate has led me to fall in love with the Lord of the Underworld's mistress."
Fleming also hints that Paula is the Unbreakable Huntress when he mentions that she looks good in red, Johnson having previously explained the Unbreakable Huntress once challenged Fleming while dressed in red. Johnson also notes that after Fleming spared the Unbreakable Huntress' life, he made her his queen, only to kill her repeatedly. This echoes the many deaths of Paula as Hotspur tries to rescue her.
Appearance[]
Paula is a young and beautiful woman with puffy blonde hair which she keeps in curls. She has a slim, toned body which she openly shows off. She is seen wear a white corset, leggings, and a white thong. Paula is also shown to have heterochromia; one eye is notably bright blue, which is covered by her hair, while the other is gray. As a demon, she acquires six red wings reminiscent of a seraphim. Despite being a powerful, immortal demon, Paula has no control over her transformations or her berserk state.
Paula is also known for having an extremely short temper, according to Garcia. Some examples were when, after Garcia ignored her warnings not to answer the phone, she ripped the phone out from the wall and another incident where Garcia jokingly said he was married, which led Paula to attack Garcia with a knife in a fit of rage. This however, could be a side effect of her demonic nature.
Trivia[]
- Paula bears several similarities to the Devil May Cry character Trish. Both are beautiful women who suddenly appear to their respective protagonist (Dante in Devil May Cry and Hotspur in Shadows of the DAMNED), try to kill the protagonist on several occasions, are revealed to be powerful demons serving the main antagonist (Mundus in Devil May Cry and Fleming in Shadows of the DAMNED) and have origins that are left largely ambiguous.
- In contrast to Trish, Paula shares some qualities with Devil May Cry 3's Lady, as both characters possess similar hairstyles and heterochromia. Coincidentally, Lady also tried to kill the protagonist at the start of Devil May Cry 3 and later became a boss character whom Dante defeated.
- The six wings of Paula's demonic form are a reference to the Seraphim, a race of angels who were said to appear as six-winged humans and were considered to be the angels closest to Yahweh. Coincidentally, Lucifer and several other demons were said to be Seraphim prior to their falls from grace.
- Paula appears to be heavily based on Sid Vicious' deceased girlfriend Nancy Spungen in terms of appearance and temperament. Nancy was known for her violent temper tantrums and self-destructive behavior, a trait Paula shares with Nancy Spungen.