Welcome to the Obsidian Coast, where the past lurks in the shadows of skyscrapers and mystery steeps the cities like rain.
∘₊✧───Description───✧₊∘
"Paper Trails" is a mystery visual novel set in a fictional, urban-fantasy world in the 90s, where you step into the shoes of a private investigator on a quest to reconnect with your childhood best friend... whom you believed to be deceased for the past decade.
As you follow a trail of cryptic hints left by your undemised friend, you begin to uncover a greater conspiracy, including the thefts of precious artifacts and a string of strange disappearances, all seemingly tied to her.
∘₊✧───Features───✧₊∘
Three full chapters and two short chapters to play through 📖
Around 30,000 words per play through and more than 50,000 words overall 🖊️
6 unique love interests across various archetypes and identities ❤️
Notes, galleries, and maps to keep track of lore as you play 🗺️
Meaningful choices to uncover the story the way you want 💭
∘₊✧───Link───✧₊∘
Will you uncover the ultimate truth and find closure, or will the shadows of the past continue to haunt you in "Paper Trails"?
Click here to begin your journey.
╰┈➤ ❝ [I think of you at 2a.m when I can't sleep and I wish you were there to hold me] ❞
The cafeteria buzzed with the familiar sounds of clinking trays, laughter, and overlapping conversations. You'd sat at a table with Mina, Kirishima, Denki, and Bakugo. Mina was recounting some story from the morning, her hands gesturing wildly as Denki leaned forward, invested. Kirishima chiming in now and then.
You were mostly quiet, swirling your straw around in your drink, the hum of their voices more background noise than anything.
“Hey, isn’t that Midoriya?” Mina’s voice suddenly pierced through the noise, snapping you out of your thoughts.
Your head shot up as she nudged your arm. Sure enough, across the cafeteria, Midoriya stood clutching his tray, eyes darting around nervously like a deer in headlights. His shoulders hunched slightly, and he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the crowded tables for a spot to sit.
“Mina, don’t,” you muttered, but it was too late.
“MIDORIYA!” Mina shouted with absolutely no regard for subtlety, her voice cutting through the cafeteria noise.
Midoriya froze, his tray wobbling slightly in his grip as he blinked, wide-eyed. He turned his head slowly, almost cautiously, in your direction. When Mina waved enthusiastically, he glanced over his shoulder, clearly wondering if she was talking to someone behind him.
“Yes, you!” Mina called again, laughing. “Get over here!”
You buried your face in your hands, groaning softly. “Why are you like this?”
“Relax, I’m helping!” Mina said with a grin, leaning closer to whisper conspiratorially. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
By the time you peeked through your fingers, Midoriya was already making his way toward your table, his expression shifting between confusion and nerves. His steps faltered slightly when he reached the group, and Mina pointed at the empty spot beside you.
“Sit there!” she chirped.
Midoriya hesitated, glancing at you for a moment, his tray wobbling again. His cheeks were dusted pink as he slowly lowered himself onto the bench, settling uncomfortably close. “Uh… thanks for letting me join,” he said softly, his voice nearly drowned out by the cafeteria noise.
“No problem!” Mina said, already leaning forward with a sly grin. “So, Deku, y/n was just saying how much they—”
“Mina!” you snapped, your voice sharp enough to cut her off.
She held her hands up in mock innocence, laughing. “Okay, okay, I won’t embarrass you… much.”
You didn’t dare look at Midoriya, but you could practically feel the heat radiating off of him. He sat stiffly, his hands gripping the edges of his tray like it might fly away if he let go.
Across the table, Bakugo snorted loudly, dragging everyone’s attention. “Tch. What’s this loser doing here?” he muttered, his tone venomous.
“C’mon, Bakugo,” Kirishima said quickly, frowning. “Don’t start.”
Midoriya flinched slightly but didn’t respond, his head bowing as if he were trying to make himself smaller. You frowned, anger bubbling up in your chest as you watched him shrink under Bakugo’s glare.
“Relax, man,” Denki added, attempting to lighten the mood. “He’s just sitting here. No big deal.”
Bakugo sneered, stabbing his fork into his food. “It’s pathetic,” he muttered, his voice dripping with disdain. “Walking around like he’s special just because he finally got a damn quirk.”
“That’s enough,” you said, your voice sharper than you intended.
Bakugo raised an eyebrow at you but didn’t say anything else, instead focusing on his tray with a scowl.
Mina tried to steer the conversation back to something lighthearted, but the tension lingered. Midoriya sat silently beside you, eating slowly, his eyes fixed on his tray.
You wanted to say something, anything, to make him feel less uncomfortable, but the words stuck in your throat.
The bell finally rang, breaking the tension, and you stood up quickly, eager to escape the awkward atmosphere.
As you slung your bag over your shoulder, you glanced back at Midoriya. He gave you a small, almost hesitant smile, and for a moment, you considered staying behind to say something reassuring. But before you could, Mina grabbed your arm, dragging you toward the exit with a teasing grin.
“See? That wasn’t so bad,” she said, her tone smug.
You rolled your eyes following her back to the classroom.
➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶
The final bell of the day was still a ways off, and you found your attention drifting again. Aizawa was speaking, but you couldn’t quite focus on the lesson. Your mind kept circling back to lunch. Midoriya seemed off, especially with Bakugo acting the way he did. You didn’t know him well enough to ask outright, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was bothering him.
You grabbed a piece of scrap paper, quickly scribbling a short note.
"Hey, are you okay? Bakugo seemed kinda harsh at lunch. You looked uncomfortable."
You folded it up and slid it across the desk to him, heart beating a little faster than usual, scared you might be overstepping a boundary.
Midoriya blinked in surprise as the note landed on his desk, and his eyes flicked up to yours. For a moment, he hesitated, looking at the note as if unsure whether to open it right away. But he did.
He scribbled something quickly, then pushed the note back to you.
"I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Kacchan is just like that sometimes. But I’ll be okay."
You chewed on your lip, glancing over at him. He was definitely hiding something. But you didn’t want to push him too much, especially since you were still getting to know each other.
You raised an eyebrow in Confusion, not thinking they would be close enough for nicknames considering how Bakugos had acted at lunch.
you wrote back, "kacchan? Do you two know eachother?"
It only took a second for the note to come back.
"Yeah, we went to school together before coming here. Kacchan... well, he’s Bakugo, and I have known each other since we were little kids."
"That must have been interesting, he seems like he has a big character. You and him friends?"
"Not really. Also, I forgot to ask the other day, Who's your favourite pro hero?"
You noticed how quicky he changed the conversation but you had no right to press him any further considering you hadn't even known him for longer than two weeks.
"Definitely Miriko."
You tossed the note back to him, watching out of the corner of your eye as he read your answer. His brows shot up in surprise, and he immediately started writing. A moment later, the paper was back on your desk.
"Mirko? That’s a really interesting choice! Why her?"
You smiled, leaning over your notebook as you wrote your explanation.
"She’s fearless, strong, and super confident. I love how she just throws herself into battle without hesitation. Plus, her instincts are incredible. She’s not afraid of anything. And let's be honest, she's so sexy."
You watched as Midoriya unfolded your note, his eyes scanning the words quickly. At first, he nodded along, clearly agreeing with your first points. But when he got to the last line his face instantly flushed a bright red.
He blinked, looking down at the note again as if to confirm he had read it right. His eyes darted to you, and he found you watching him expectantly. His pencil hovered over his notebook for a second before he hastily scribbled something and passed the note back to you.
"yeah, I mean, she’s definitely really impressive. And, yeah, I guess you’re not wrong. For me, it’s All Might. He’s been my favorite for as long as I can remember."
You read his reply and couldn’t help but grin at how awkward he was. When you looked over at him, his face was buried in his notebook, ears burning red as he avoided meeting your gaze. You chuckled softly, biting your lip to hold back a laugh.
Midoriya stole a glance your way and saw your amused expression, which only made him turn redder.
"I so could have guessed that, bet you're one of those super obsessed All Might fans. Why him?"
Midoriya flushed as he read your reply, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. He scribbled back quickly, his handwriting still a little frantic from the nerves.
"Haha, guilty as charged. I am one of those super-obsessed All Might fans, I won’t even deny it. But why him? That’s easy."
He paused, thinking carefully before continuing, wanting his words to convey just how much it meant to him.
"All Might is more than just strong. He saves people with a smile, even in the worst situations. It’s like he’s telling them, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this.’ He’s not just a hero—he’s a symbol of hope. He makes people believe that things will get better, even if they’re at their lowest point. That’s something I’ve always admired… and something I want to be able to do too."
He hesitated for a moment, tapping the pen to his chin before adding one last line.
"Also, he signed one of my notebooks once! Best day ever."
He folded the note and passed it back, his cheeks pink as he waited for your reaction. When you glanced at him with an amused smile, he ducked his head, grinning at his desk.
"That’s really sweet, actually. So he's like your inspiration. That’s awesome."
You paused for a moment, debating whether to tease him or not, deciding to.
"But I can’t believe you got his autograph! You must’ve been so excited—did you cry? Be honest."
You added a small doodle of a smiley face next to your question before folding the note and sliding it back to him.
When Midoriya unfolded it and read your reply, the tips of his ears began glowing red. You could already tell this was going to be fun.
I had a UT-ish dream where I was watching you dubbing a new Undertale au made by artist of Dogs of a Past Future. It was a medieval au where Papyrus was a silly exorcist(??)(and detective+plague doctor (??) too). It was split into a slice of life style comics and it was way more light-hearted than what you would expect. In ones of these Paps adopted a demon griffin creature and named it "Rosebelle"(?)(this apparently happened like other 4 times). Gaster was there too and was the Skelebros' dad. The dream ended with the end of the video (there was even an outro too) and it was supposed to start a more serious arc where Papyrus has to save the King's child (Asriel). It looked so real that I checked both your yt and the artist's Tumblr 😂. Sorry for bothering you, but I needed to make you know that in all the Undertale related dreams I have are AUs who you voiced😅
Haha, wow, that's a pretty epic dream! How cool that my voice was such a part of it. I really loved the Dogs of Future Past comic from @lynxgriffin, always thought about dubbing it and the Deltarune comic Paper Trails, but I never got around to it. (Tagging just in case Lynx wants to get any more ideas for Undertale AUs, lol).
A desperate attempt at a final propaganda for the @original-character-championship - an ask blog for me to talk about the world, the characters, the story, and maybe show some progress as a gather motivation during college.
Here's a summary:
The world
Inspired by many cartoons and stories I grew up on from the 2000's to the 2010's, this world has people like you and me, only they have abilities we don't. Those abilities are nature to them, evolved with humanity and changed the way society ran. From the spiritual nomads in the North to the rooted empires of the east; from enchanting voices of the South, to the colors of the west. There are many cultures to be explored, but our story is set in the united lands of the farmers, in what could be the 90's of our world, where 3 teens have decided to embark on a journey together to help their parents.
I'll make another post about the heros, the people they meet along the way, the places they're exploring, and the environment they're surrounded by. I'll also give some details about the history, religion and cultures of the different continents.
You can ask anything from "what's the deal with this guy?" To "how did this event come to be?" And even "do they double tie their shoes?"
