History VideoGame / SundyStairway

** [[spoiler:The same thing happens in Act 2, except Sunday and Winter get sudden lightheadedness, dizziness, and an uncontrollable urge to vomit immediately before the jump scare.]]

** In Act 2, Anghela's memories show that her mom wants her to become a model and [[FollowInMyFootsteps follow in her footsteps]] despite her occasional objections. Unfortunately, this means that Anghela is a victim of {{Hollywood Beauty Standards}} and a strict regimen imposed upon her by her mother that starts off as just limiting her from eating certain foods to outright teaching her toxic habits like [[spoiler:the "purification ritual".]]

**In Act 2, Sunday and Winter find Abril bleeding profusely in her room, a short while after her {{Self-Surgery}}.

*{{Murder The Hypotenuse}}: If [[spoiler:Anghela's mother's backstory as it's told in the flashbacks is accurate, in her youth, a fellow model that became envious of her fame and success attempted to do this to her. Subverted in that Anghela's mother survived, but was left so horrifically injured that she had to quit modeling.]]

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*{{Absurdly High Level Cap}}: The party members' levels cap at around level 40 as of Act 2.
* {{Abusive Parents}}:

** Melanie's (or [[spoiler:Monday's)]] mom, who mistreats Melanie due to the fact that she sees her as the source of all her misfortunes. She regularly physically abuses her, doesn't give her enough to eat, and favors her older brother, Marin, over her. After [[spoiler:Marin's death during military service, Melanie's mom [[DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff beats her]] for absolutely ''no reason'' other than to let out her frustrations, forces her to dig a makeshift grave to bury whatever the family has left of him and abandons her on a busy street afterward.]] Soon after, when Melanie [[spoiler:catches her mom with a stranger, her mom then proceeds to ''[[ImprovisedWeapon throw porcelain plates at her]]'' and leaves her to die of blood loss.]]
** Anghela's (or Abril's) mother counts as this too. She used to be a beautiful model, but after an incident [[spoiler:burned her face off]], she decided to [[FollowInMyFootsteps make her daughter follow in her footsteps.]] Unfortunately, this means that Anghela gets a ton of [[HollywoodBeautyStandards impossible beauty standards]] placed on her from a young age, gets [[ClosetPunishment locked in her room for days at a time]] for even the simplest misdemeanors, is berated for wanting to become a chef and not a supermodel like her mother, and isn't allowed to have friends. The worst thing that Anghela's mother does is [[spoiler:teach her daughter a "purification ritual"--which is, in simple terms, ''inducing vomiting.'']]

* {{Adults Are Useless}}: Sadly, almost every mentioned adult in the game is a terrible person. The only genuinely decent adult that's explicitly mentioned in-game is Monday, Sunday's mother, and even ''she'' isn't in the best mental state, which isn't surprising considering [[spoiler:the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother.]]

*** The good ending of the first Stairway involves [[spoiler:defeating the mysterious shapeshifting monster that represents Monday's trauma]], after which Melanie and Monday [[spoiler:reconcile and become the same person.]] Sunday and his mother then return to the world of the living...with Monday [[spoiler:falling into a coma]] soon after.
*** The ''bad'' ending, meanwhile, has Sunday [[spoiler:[[ChangedMyMindKid chickening out and refusing to fight the monster]] while Melanie begs him to reconsider.]] It's unclear what happened to Monday after.

*** An earlier ending to Act 2 can be unlocked if the player chooses not to visit Abril's house, in which the game stops and displays a photo of [[spoiler:Abril lying on a bed with flowers strewn all around her, with the caption "The Sleeping Beauty".]]

*** Played straight with Melanie's mother, who is Act 1's {{Big Bad}} and is the reason why [[spoiler:she's so traumatized.]]
*** Somewhat {{subverted}} with [[spoiler:the monster,]] as even though it actively tries to stop Sunday from rescuing his mom, it doesn't mean any actual harm towards either of them and is more of an {{Anti Villain}}.

*{{Beyond Redemption}}: Melanie believes that due to the fact that [[spoiler:she's made her mom unhappy, her dad abandon the family, and her brother work hard to keep her happy,]] her very existence is a crime so great that she cannot be pardoned for it.

** Act 1 has Melanie's mother, who abuses and neglects Melanie due to her belief that she caused all the misfortunes occuring in the family and favors her older brother, Marin, over her. After [[spoiler:Marin's demise during military service,]] she goes from just simply beating Melanie for her mistakes and neglecting her to outright abusing her for no reason, culminating in [[spoiler:Melanie getting kicked out of the house.]]
** Act 2 has Anghela's mother, who forces her child to fit into {{Hollywood Beauty Standards}}, deprives her of a social life, and [[spoiler:teaches her how to induce vomiting in order to "be more beautiful".]] Due to this, Anghela ends up with virtually no friends, an obsession with looking perfect in her mother's eyes, and is heavily implied to have an eating disorder or two.

** Subverted with [[spoiler:Marin's death.]] Even though he [[spoiler:most likely died of drowning,]] thereby playing the trope straight, his sprite during his boss fight has his eyes hollowed out and replaced with black ink, and his body torn into two.
** Fully averted with [[spoiler:Abril's death.]] There is clearly blood and torn-off skin strewn around her, even in her sprite.

** The battle against [[spoiler:Marin]] is already a terrifying surprise, but his sprite makes it even worse. His eye sockets are hollowed, with black ink spilling out of them, and his body is brutally torn into two.
** [spoiler:Abril's death] also counts. Once Sunday and Winter [[spoiler:sneak into her home,]] concerned due to the fact that she reportedly passed out in the middle of class, they discover that she [[spoiler:sliced pieces of her skin off in some sort of horrifying DIY {{Self Surgery}} (supposedly in a failed attempt to look slimmer) and is literally on the brink of death.]]

*** Interestingly enough, there is a hand enemy in the second Stairway, with one specific attack called "Cut Hand", implying that Anghela is either regularly practicing {{Self Harm}} or, more likely, as a reference to the [[spoiler:terrifying failed {{Self Surgery}} she attempts as a desperate way to lose weight, with the hands being one of the places where she removed her skin.]]

** At the very beginning of the game, Sunday listens to the radio of his dad's car and hears about the abnormally high number of mysterious deaths and disappearances in the game. Later on, it becomes clear that this odd statistic is due to the fact that [[spoiler:some people who commit suicide can't return to the land of the living because [[TrappedInAnotherWorld their soul can't pass through the Stairway.]]]]
** In Act 2, a few days after Sunday and Winter befriend Abril, they share empanadas together during recess. The scene then cuts to Abril in the bathroom, leaning over the toilet and feeling happy that "the slim, beautiful Abril is back". During one of the flashbacks seen in the second Stairway, it's revealed that Anghela was [[spoiler:taught a secret "purification ritual" as a little girl--which is, in simple terms, inducing vomiting to lose weight,]] implying that this "ritual" was what Abril was doing in the bathroom.

*{{Changed My Mind Kid}}: [[spoiler:Sunday does this in the bad ending for Act 1, walking away from Melanie and his mother at the last second.]]

** Sunday serves as this for the majority of the plot. In Act 1, when he [[spoiler:finds Monday near-dead,]] he decides to interact with the mirror placed next to her, which transports him to the liminal world. In Act 2, he gets a bad feeling about Abril's situation, and convinces Winter to go to her house and say hi, which leads them to discover that [[spoiler:Abril's bleeding out and in urgent need of help.]]

** Act 1 has [[spoiler:Marin,]] who Sunday fights once he realizes that [[spoiler:he'd captured Melanie after the {{Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure}},]] and the monster of the first Stairway, who Sunday and Melanie fight together in order to save Monday [[spoiler:in the good ending.]]
** Act 2 has the monster of the second Stairway, who the party fights after reaching the top of the Stairway. However, the monster is more of a {{Bait and Switch Boss}} if anything, as immediately after defeating it, the party realizes that to truly save Abril, they must fight the ''real'' {{Final Boss}}: ''[[spoiler:Anghela's mother.]]''

* {{Cool Big Bro}}: Marin was the closest thing Melanie had to a proper parental figure. He took care of her, brought her food and even gifts when their mother wasn't looking, influenced her love of origami, and was the light in her life. At least, [[spoiler:before he died.]]

* {{Cruel And Unusual Death}}: Mercifully averted. In Act 2, when Sunday and Winter sneak into Abril's home, it's revealed that Abril [[spoiler:is bleeding out after attempting a horrific {{Self-Surgery}} by ''slicing pieces of her skin off of her arms, legs, and stomach'' because she saw herself as ugly in the mirror.]]

* {{Dead Hand Shot}}: In Act 2, an early ending can occur if Sunday chooses not to visit Abril. This ending includes [[spoiler:a shot of a limp Abril lying down with flowers strewn over her face and body.]]

* {{Developers Foresight}}: Sometimes, decisions that the player makes can lead to early endings. If Sunday chooses to jump off the wall in Act 1, he'll fall into an endless void. If he chooses not to visit Abril's home, the player is [[spoiler:treated to a {{Dead Hand Shot}} of someone who is implied to be Abril.]]

** Played straight with [[spoiler:Marin,]] whose eye sockets spew out black ink in his boss sprite.
** Averted with both [[spoiler:Abril and Monday.]] Both of them have closed eyes in both their sprites and artwork.
* {{Disc One Final Boss}}: [[spoiler:In Act 2, the gang defeats the monster of the second Stairway and is just about ready to save Abril and bring her back to the world of the living...until ''another'' boss appears--this time, it's the very person who's been causing Anghela so much pain: '''her mom.''']]

** After suffering from abuse during her formative years, having the only person who could save her get taken away from her, and dealing with the repercussions and trauma completely alone, [[spoiler:Melanie]] gets a fresh start and feels true, genuine happiness and peace for the first time in ''decades.''

** [[spoiler:Marin's]] boss sprite ''has no eyes,'' with his eye sockets getting hollowed out and replaced with an ink-like substance.

*** Melanie's by a plate [[spoiler:as a form of {{Foreshadowing}};]]

*** Story-wise, it's actually [[spoiler:Anghela's mom.]] She may only have one phase, but has lots of HP and uses attacks that inflict the Afraid state onto the party.
*{{Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse}}: Anghela's mom, Angeline, deprives her daughter of social interaction for fear that she'll get betrayed. This is because one of Angeline's friends in the modeling industry [[TheResenter grew jealous of her fame, beauty, and youth]], and [[spoiler:splashed chemicals on her face in a ploy to dethrone her.]] However, Winter later notes that even though she feels sorry for Anghela's mother, it's still no excuse for her mom gaslighting her into not having friends.

* {{Go Mad From The Isolation}}: Melanie suffers from this in shades, since it's heavily implied that [[spoiler:Monday's been dissociating from her past for ''decades,'']] which means Melanie, [[spoiler:the incarnation of her soul,]] was stuck in the tiny room you first find her in for that same amount of time. Unsurprisingly, she's not only become a {{Shrinking Violet}}, but she's also [[NervousWreck paranoid and unwilling to pass through the fogs at times.]]
*{{Go Mad From The Revelation}}: In Act 1, [[spoiler:Melanie is so horrified over remembering that Marin's dead that she suffers a {{Heroic BSoD}}, running away from and cursing Sunday for forcing her to remember.]] Eventually, when the party reunites, she apologizes to Sunday for her actions, with Sunday understanding that she was just doing it because of her resurfaced grief.
*{{Gone Horribly Right}}: In Act 2, [[spoiler:it's revealed that Anghela was taught how to perform a "purification ritual" by her mother. At first, she doesn't need to perform it unless she consumes lots of food, but eventually she performs it ''on a near-daily basis,'' and after that, she doesn't even need to perform it anymore, because her body just rejects ''almost everything she eats'' by itself.]]

* {{Here We Go Again}}: Act 2 has a similar beginning to Act 1, to the point where ''even Sunday himself'' is already aware of what's going to happen at the start--he remembers that mirrors are a {{Portal Door}} to the liminal world, and correctly predicts that Anghela is [[spoiler:Abril's soul]] and that there's going to be a fog on the first floor that they have to brave together.

** Occurs in Act 1 [[spoiler:when Sunday discovers his mother's body. He just stands there, frozen and unmoving, for a good few seconds. Even his ''sprite'' is frozen.]]
** Also in Act 1, [[spoiler:after Melanie remembers her brother's death. And it's not pretty, either: Melanie screams and cries hysterically, cusses Sunday out for making her remember, and runs away.]]
** Downplayed in Act 2, [[spoiler:in which Anghela gets a minor one after remembering her mom's abuse and getting convinced that she isn't beautiful.]]
* {{He Was Right There All Along}}: In Act 2, [[spoiler:the {{Final Boss}} is Anghela's mother, who you can only fight after fighting the monster.]]

** In one of Melanie's memories, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Marin had planned to take her to live with him after his military training, where they could finally be away from their mother. The night before their planned escape, Melanie packed her bags secretly and even ''made an origami gift for her brother,'' only to arrive at the military base the next day and learn that ''[[HeDidntMakeIt Marin had died the night before.]]"]]
** In Act 1, [[spoiler:when Sunday's mom is ''barely'' out of reach from him while he climbs a staircase in the liminal world in an attempt to save her, the monster of the first Stairway [[JumpScare appears in front of the screen, alongside a sudden sound effect]], scaring Sunday so much that he suffers a {{Staircase Tumble}} and blacks out.]]
*** Something similar happens [[spoiler:to Sunday and Winter in Act 2, when they're about to reach Abril climbing up the staircase. They suddenly get an unexpected urge to vomit, lightheadedness, and dizziness...right before a {{Jump Scare}} from the monster of the second Stairway.]]

* {{Hospital Epilogue}}: If you received the good ending for Act 1, it ends with [[spoiler:Sunday and his dad in the hospital with his comatose mother.]]

** In Act 1, [[spoiler:after Sunday climbs up the staircase to save his mom, and is just ''barely'' about to reach her, the monster of the first Stairway shows up on the screen out of nowhere, terrifying Sunday so much he [[StaircaseTumble falls down the stairs and blacks out]].]]

** In Act 1, Melanie's memories show that her mom dislikes her due to the fact that her birth caused some problems in the family. As a result, her mother doesn't give her enough to eat, [[DontMakeMeTakeMyBeltOff regularly beats her for even the slightest misdemeanors]] (and later for no particular reason), forces her to do all the household work, and only really keeps her in the house because [[ParentalFavoritism Marin doesn't want her to kick Melanie out]]. After [[spoiler:Marin's death,]] though, Melanie's mother begins to treat her much, ''much'' worse.

*{{Kill The Cutie}}: [[spoiler:Both Monday and Abril commit suicide in Acts 1 and 2 respectively.]] Subverted in that they both survive in the {{Golden Ending}}.

**In Act 1, [[spoiler:Sunday finds his mother bleeding out just after she committed suicide.]]
**In Act 2, Sunday and Winter [[spoiler:find Abril bleeding profusely in her room, a short while after her {{Self-Surgery}}.]]
**In Act 3, Sunday, Winter, and Abril go to meet Spring and Summer after learning that they decided to visit Spring's family's home to ask for help. Once they arrive, [[spoiler:they find both of them bleeding on the asphalt.]]

** The good endings for both acts involve saving the central characters, [[spoiler:Monday for Act 1 and Abril for Act 2.]] These endings are the only ones that affect the storyline.
** The bad ending for Act 1 is achieved if the player clicks on the "..." option when Melanie asks if Sunday wants to fight the monster and save his mother, leading to [[spoiler:Sunday [[ChangedMyMindKid]] walking away while Melanie begs him to reconsider.]]

** The bad ending for Act 2 is achieved if Sunday decides not to check up on Abril, [[spoiler:leading to her dying of blood loss without anyone knowing.]]
*** An additional ending is achievable if Sunday and Winter decide to stay inside Abril's room when her mother knocks on the door, after which [[spoiler:the trio are beaten to death.]]

** In Act 1, [[spoiler:after the truth about Marin's death is revealed, Melanie [[HeroicBSoD screams in horror]], still obviously in denial over her brother's death, and yells at and abandons Sunday for revealing such horrific truths to her. Somewhat subverted in that Melanie later apologises to Sunday for being a jerk and rejoins the party.]]
** Downplayed in Act 2 when a similar incident occurs after Anghela learns about [[spoiler:the abuse her mother inflicted on her.]] It doesn't take a lot of the group's convincing to convince Anghela that she's beautiful the way she is, but it's evident she's still shaken up about what she'd learned.

* {{Non Standard Character Design}}: In Act 1, Sunday and Melanie meet Marin, who Melanie wants to make a gift for, triggering a quest. However, Marin's sprite design is slightly different compared to the rest of the characters--he has a single eye that is drawn more realistically compared to the more {{Animesque}} style the other characters' eyes are drawn in, and his character portrait that appears during his dialogue has no mouth. [[spoiler:The reason for this becomes clear later on: the real Marin passed on long ago, and the Marin we meet in the Stairway is just an avatar to distract Melanie from the fact that her real brother has already passed away.]]

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* {{An Aesop}}: Using escapism as a coping mechanism is never a good idea in the long term. Instead, although it may be painful and takes a long time, learn to accept what happened and grow from it.