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{{quote|''[[Patrick Stewart Speech|Against an alien mind,]] [[The Power of Love|we wield the human heart.]]''<br />
''[[Level Up At Intimacy 5|Love is our weapon.]]'' ''[[You Lose At Zero Trust|Trust is our armor.]]''<br />
''[[Eldritch Abomination|Against these nightmares,]] [[Badass Boast|we will not sleep.]]''|Motto, Treasure Island [[Empathic Weapon|ANIMa]] Corps}}
|''Motto'', '''Treasure Island [[Empathic Weapon|ANIMa]] Corps'''}}
 
'''''Bliss Stage: ''Love Is Your Weapon''''' is the official [[Visual Novel]] adaptation of the [[TableTabletop Top Role Playing GameRPG]] ''[[Bliss Stage]]'', by [http://www.tao-games.com Ben Lehman's imprint, These Are Our Games.] The game is being produced by [[Tropers/Tsundere Lightning|Perpetual Motion Games.]] The prerelease demo for the Kickstarter backers is now available [httphttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1041711353/bliss-stage-visual-novel/posts/272887 here,] and the main discussion thread on Lemmasoft is [http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=13681&p=180152#p180152 here.]
 
The story expands on the events and characters from the one-shot, Final Act, published in the first edition of [[Bliss Stage]]. It follows the adventures of [[Hot-Blooded|Josh Preston,]] the newest pilot of [[La Résistance|The Treasure Island Resistance]] and son of it's [[Magnificent Bastard]] Commander, Jim Preston. They are fighting a losing battle again an [[Alien Invasion]] by the Nightmares, a race of [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]] from a dimension adjacent to our dreams.
 
His weapon? The [[Humongous Mecha|ANIMa]], a [[Applied Phlebotinum|reverse-engineered alien device]] that creates a psychic manifestation of his [[Level Up At Intimacy 5|intimate relationships]]. But time is running out for him... Bliss happens, and if he drags his feet too long, or [[You Lose At Zero Trust|acts like a]] [[Jerkass]], he is going to either [[Your Head Asplode|die messily]] or [[Heroic BSOD|fall to the Bliss]].
 
The visual novel had no significant updates since 2014, to the point of the person responsible for the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170423083139/http://blissstagevn.tumblr.com/ official] [[Tumblr]] not working with them anymore. Some backers have accused the project of being [[Vaporware]].
In addition to the tropes from the main [[Bliss Stage]] page, this game and its characters provide examples of:
 
{{tropelist}}
== Dev Team ==
* [[Author Appeal]]: If a certain writer is in charge of a given character's dialog, this is probably part of the reason.
** Not to mention the character designer openly admits to a fetish for scars.
 
== Gameplay ==
* [[Discretion Shot]]: This game is probably going to be [[Rated "M" for Money|the equivalent of an ESRB M rating]]. Including [[Hentai|explicit]] [[Optional Sexual Encounter|Optional Sexual Encounters]] is probably, [[Only Fatal to Adults|given the age of the survivors of the Bliss,]] a very good way to wind up in a hostile court.
* [[Dating Sim]]: The [[Breather Level|Interludes.]]
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** Anna Lin demonstrates this with the [[Sniper Duel|Sunshooter]] and the [[Power of the Void|Singular Void]] in a cutscene before the first mission. And yes, the [[Broken Bird|Void]] is from a relationship manifesting as a [[Black Hole]] [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|where her ANIMa's heart should be.]]
* [[Level Up At Intimacy 5]]: Based as it is on the [[Trope Namer]].
 
== Joshua Castellano Preston ==
* [[Ace Pilot]]: A mix of Steamroller and Bushwhacker on most paths. He rolls over your blind spots, especially when he manifests Anna Lin as the [[Gun Kata|Sun-Tzu]] [[Improbable Aiming Skills|Tactical Matrix.]]
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: this is his general response to adversity, especially on Practical paths.
* [[Expy]]: Sort of; it depends on the path. He's based on [[Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime)|Shinji]] on Sensitive paths, [[Gurren Lagann|Simon]] on Idealist paths, and [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Anime)|Setsuna]] on Practical paths.
* [[Hot-Blooded]]: On Idealistic paths.
* [[Momma's Boy]]: which helps to explain his [[Uke|submissive tendencies.]]
* [[Military Brat]]: Considering that the Colonel is [[A Father to His Men]] - literally in his case...
* [[Race Lift]]: Joshua Preston from the Bliss Stage Canon main rules was of unspecified race. Josh Castellano Preston specifies it as Irish and Colombian.
* [[Translation Convention]]: Everything Joshua understands is 'printed' in English, but the voice actors will actually speak it in the language it's intended to be. Joshua knows Spanish at the start of the game and picks up some other languages.
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Averted on the paths where he actually talks with Colonel James Paul Preston, but on the others, his [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Shinji]] [[Expy|is showing.]]
* [[Uke]]: For all his bluster, he's pretty goddamn submissive in relationships to begin with. And then you just had to go on the [[Seme|Derek]] [[Mr. Fixit|Smith]] path...
 
== Anna Lin ==
* [[Ace Pilot]]: Bushwhacker type.
* [[Arc Words]]: [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|Pure White]].
** "Love ain't romance, kid."
* [[Bi the Way]]
* [[Broken Bird]]: "I have seen better than you shattered by worse than you can imagine, boy. Don't presume you're a hero. And don't think you're my friend."
* [[Hot Mom]]: Invoked. The REASON she's filled out considerably is because of her earlier pregnancy...
* [[Sergeant Rock]]: While she's rather colorful in her descriptions of your fuckups, she's equally appreciative of well-executed hotshotting and good tactics.
* [[Sugar and Ice Personality]]: Originally she was going to be more tsundere, but she mellowed out considerably in writing.
* [[Transforming Mecha]]: Her ANIMa switches forms from a [[Shout-Out|jet plane]], a [[Macross|chicken-walker VTOL with arms]], and a [[Journey to The West|monkey-like mecha with a staff]]. Like all ANIMa, that's also a symbol of her relationship with her Anchor, Meredith.
 
== Meredith Odetta Baker ==
* [[Arc Words]]: [[False Reassurance|"I never want to have to lie to you again."]]
* [[Black and Nerdy]]
* [[Discriminate and Switch]]: Early in the Meredith path, Josh delivers a [[Compliment Backfire|compliment about her intelligence]] using the phrase "someone like you." It isn't obvious to Meredith that he meant [[Only Fatal to Adults|a teenager]] by 'someone like you.' [[Hilarity Ensues]].
* [[Failure Knight]]: "Have you ever seen someone as close as a sister die in fire and darkness because you didn't love them enough? No? Then you don't know what Anchoring is like."
* [[Genre Savvy]]: Seeing as she explains the [[Relationship Values]] of the game to you in a tutorial, she'd have to be.
* Metagaming: See [["Shut Up" Kiss]]. Somewhat subverted if you've had a so-far perfect Meredith run...
* [[Mission Control]]: She's Joshua's Anchor for most of the game.
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: Only kind of swearing she does, to the point that Anna comments on it.
* [[Shout-Out]]: "Why do I wear this scarf? ...It reminds me that [[Harry Potter (Literature)|wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure]]."
** And her Halloween costume, which consists of a wand and [[My Little Pony|a pink and blue streak of hair dye.]]
* [["Shut Up" Kiss]]: One of the ways she gets Josh to Pilot on his first mission.
* [[Stepford Smiler]]: Played with. She is genuinely kind and cheerful, but there are times when she's faking it.
* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: Kissing Josh purely for the [[Level Up At Intimacy 5]] is only the first and most obvious one of these she pulls.
* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: Sure, the tea is Southern Sweet Tea. Sure, her long flowing dress is patched and her hair is kinkier than [[Image Boards|The Imageboard That Must Not Be Named]]. She's freaking [[Ah! My Goddess (Manga)|Belldandy]] to Josh... [[You Lose At Zero Trust|if you don't have high Stress]].
 
== Keenan Caine ==
* [[Ace Pilot]]: Sniper-type.
* [[Chivalrous Pervert]]: And ''how.''
* [[Glass Cannon]]: He has a lot of low-Trust, high Intimacy relationships at the beginning of the game.
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: His [[Humongous Mecha|ANIMa]] is named the Chevalier Du'Samedi. <ref>Yukiko asks if that would make it the "Saturday Knight."</ref>
* [[The Lancer]]: He's like this on most playthroughs; on the other hand, [[The Rival|it is possible to piss him off or get pissed off by him.]]
* [[The Big Easy]]: He's from New Orleans, a lifetime ago: his childhood reminicinces have that kind of flavor.
* [[Handsome Lech]]: What Josh starts out thinking of him as: the fact that Anna agrees, having been on the receiving end of his charm, doesn't help.
* [[Hollywood Voodoo]]: His [[Humongous Mecha|ANIMa]] ''is'' named the Chevalier Du'Samedi, and a lot of its attacks have a cinematic Voodoo style. [[Did the Research|Keenan himself actually knows better.]]
* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: The first time you see him, he comes off as a - well, as a [[Handsome Lech|carefree hedonist.]] On missions, though, he becomes deadly focused and laconic.
* [[Polyamory]]: [[More Friends More Benefits|It's why he's such a scary combatant in his ANIMa.]] [[Glass Cannon|Provided that he's sniping:]] [[Clingy Jealous Girl|Yukiko occasionally needs a reminder that Keenan loves her first and foremost.]]
* [[Scary Black Man]]: Played with. Josh doesn't like to admit that this is most of the reason his relationship to Sara gets under his skin, [[You Know I'm Black, Right?|and both Keenan and Meredith will call Josh out on that.]]
* [[Rebel Relaxation]]
 
== Sara Smith ==
* [[A Cup Angst]]: Well, she is only 13. This doesn't usually bother her, but there are times...
* [[Arc Words]]:
{{quote| "Innocence isn't cowardice. Innocence isn't naivete. [[Ambiguous Innocence|Innocence isn't purity, either."]] Alternately, "I may be innocent, but I'm not..."}}
* [[Berserk Button]]: You get to call her "cute" once for free. After that, she'll assume it's an insult.
* [[Children Are Innocent]]: Played with. Sara is very much an innocent - her character template is Innocent Sweetheart! - but see her [[Arc Words]].
* [[Covert Pervert]]: "Josh? What's 'making love?' ...Wait, it's just fucking then?"
* [[Entendre Failure]]: Ahahahahah so subverted.
{{quote| "Josh? It's flattering, but don't do that in front of Hurf Durk again - pretending I don't know what it means bothers me."}}
* [[Hair of Gold]]: In [[Twin Tails]], no less. Though those are French braids, rather than tails.
* [[The Ingenue]]: This explains a LOT of her romantic ideals, sadly.
* [[Little Miss Badass]]: "Yoo~hoo~! Mr. Nightmare! I'm packing '''plasma grenades~!'''"
* [[Shout-Out]]: The design of her Genki Lilith mecha is a shout-out to [[Fate Stay Night|Saber.]] The name is a shoutout to [[WALL-E]].
* [[Tsundere]]: She really, REALLY doesn't like being treated as a child, and would rather have friends than lovers. [[Blatant Lies|Really.]]
* [[Tyke Bomb]]: She's the youngest pilot on the team, and truly terrifying in battle.
 
== Gabriel Veramor Winter ==
* [[Ascended Fanon]]: The only Pilot not from the original book. She's from the first game [[Tropers/Tsundere Lightning|the creative designer ever ran.]]
* [[Aztec Mythology]]: She considers herself a Mexica, which may or may not be true:she is Latina. She syncretizes Quezacoutl with [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Christ.]] She expresses an affinity for the Lady of Guadualupe. She's really, really weird.
* [[Catgirl]]: Played with. She doesn't have any obviously cat-like features, but her behavior is feline. [[Did the Research|This should frighten you.]]
** Though she does have [[media:air_intakes.jpg|air intakes]] and [[Femme Fatalons]].
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Played with. Her 'tangents' are always relavant to the conversation, but...
{{quote| Josh: "Sometimes you just can't see the trees for the forest, Gabby."<br />
Gabriel: "I would say that's accurate, yes." }}
* [[Innocent Fanservice Girl]]: She's a LITTLE better about this in front of her neighbors in the mission, but her natural tendency is towards wearing skintight clothes and very little of it.
* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: She's very affectionate and [[Obfuscating Stupidity|affects being ditzy]], and plays with her foes - until they threaten bystanders. Then you run.
* [[One-Man Army|One Pilot Resistance]]: Literally as well as figuratively, at the beginning of the game; she's the protector of a community built on the ruins of the Mission District of San Francisco.
* [[Spicy Latina]]: Gabby is [[The Glomp|rather affectionate]]. The [[Unfortunate Implications]] of this are lampshaded by Joshua's father, [[Jerkass|but then again he's Joshua's father.]]
* [[Raised By Wolves]]: She didn't know her parents since even before [[Teenage Wasteland|the Bliss hit.]] Lampshaded:
{{quote| Josh: "Were you raised by wolves or something?"<br />
Gabriel: [[Emphasis Ellipsis|"...]]No. [[Panthera Awesome|Ocelotl.]]" }}
 
== Laura "Mulan" Porter ==
* [[Anything That Moves]]: Lampshaded.
{{quote| Joshua: Do you flirt with ''all'' the guys you meet?<br />
Mulan: Well, not just the guys... }}
* [[Handsome Lech|Beautiful Lech]]
* [[Berserk Button]]: Don't call her Laura.
* [[Broken Bird]]
* [[N-Word Privileges]]: She mentions having them with Keenan, and grants them to Joshua in return for being able to call 'him' by a slur.
* [[Polyamory]]: She, Keenan and Yukiko [[Tenchi Solution|have an understanding.]]
* [[Pretty Fly for A White Guy|Pretty Fly For An Asian Chick]]: The inevitable result of her time in a gang.
{{quote| Keenan: What, is there anyone here who you think 'acts black?'<br />
Yukiko: ...Mulan? }}
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: Does this in-universe. She has the most... colorful... language of the entire Resistance.
* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: Affects this when making fun of Keenan or Anna Lin.
* [[Unrequited Love]]: Heavily implied this is the reason she joined [[La Résistance|the Resistance]] with Anna Lin.
 
== Derek Smith ==
* [[Child Prodigy]]: He reverse-engineered the [[Humongous Mecha|ANIMa]] from [[Black Box|poorly understood]] [[Eldritch Abomination|alien]] [[Black Box|technology.]]
* [[Failure Knight]]: Really, just expect this to be true for any Anchor.
* [[First Church of Mecha]]: Derek never stopped calling the [[Humongous Mecha|ANIMa]] "Anima Weapons" because he believes them to literally draw on a Pilot's soul.
* [[God Is Good]] and [[God Is Flawed]]: Derek believes both to be true.
* [[Mission Control]]: As Sara's Anchor.
* [[Mr. Fixit]]
* [[My Sister Is Off-Limits]]: Much to Sara's annoyance, Derek is deeply suspicious of anyone taking an interest in her.
* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]: Normally a 16-year-old wouldn't count for this, but in the world [[Only Fatal to Adults|post-Bliss]] that makes him positively ancient...
* [[Straight Gay]]: His path provides Joshua with some [[Gayngst]], but he's perfectly comfortable with his own sexuality.
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Visual Novel]]
[[Category:Bliss Stage: Love Is Your Weapon]]
[[Category:Troper Works]]
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