Sadie

Sadie has never been one for physical activity, and she's in her mid-40's, so she arrives at The Arena in poor shape. She'll notice this over the course of staying there, and especially while on the road to the eventual site of Willowmoor. There, she still won't like physical activity, but she'll at least start doing daily stretches and taking walks around the village.

Sadie can often be found in a big pair of lounge pants, a warm sweater, and the worn sneakers she brought with her to the arena. Once she invents the first Laura Vest, she'll typically wear that during the cold months; hers is in shades of navy blue and forest green.

Sadie was born in the Before Times, so not much is known about her life before the bombs dropped. She and her two sisters ran a clothing store in a small mountain town near the city whose arena they fled to when the world ended. She owned the store and ran the books, sometimes mending clothing in the wide bay windows to advertise their tailoring service or simply draw more business. That's the most she preferred to mingle with the public, though, sticking to her office in the back most of the time.

Sadie and her two little sisters, Mabel and Laura, had the misfortune of running across a post-apocalyptic neighborhood christened New Crestview. In that little community, three women were more than welcome since there was an abundance of men. Their self-proclaimed ruler wanted to repopulate the earth like Noah in the biblical account.

At first, New Crestview welcomed them kindly, offering food and shelter. The women had no idea where to go, but they did not consider staying; even then, they felt something was off about the place. Sure enough, as they talked about carrying on, the settlement's leader brought up their unpaid toll - the price to pass through the territory. He gave them two choices: leave the youngest behind and everyone lives, or he would slit the youngest's throat and force the other two to stay anyway. He already had the upper hand since they had all been apprehended by his barbaric men in their attempt to leave. The three sisters, as it turned out, did not see things the same way.

Sadie refused the offer, suggesting she would simply end her own life with Laura's death. Mabel, aghast, tried in vain to negotiate a new deal that the misogynistic leader simply began talking over, as if she wasn't even a person. Laura, as it happened, gave herself willingly to save her sisters.

Sadie and Mabel were thrown out and threatened with execution if they came near the settlement again. The pack of men who followed them out with loaded guns and ferocious expressions reinforced that threat, so the sisters had no choice but to carry on, eventually arriving at the arena without their little sister.

This obviously weighs on the two surviving sisters. For Sadie, she struggles beneath the weight of intense guilt, blaming herself that they were forced to leave Laura behind. She is also guilty for threatening to end her life rather than leave her baby sister behind; what had that rash proclamation said to Mabel? Once upon a time, Mabel had been her baby sister, after all... Sadie can't process any of her feelings, so she hides behind mending people's clothes for them, folding deeper into herself as her remaining sister pulls away. She also ponders over her threat...does she really want to end her life? Would she feel that way no matter which sister died on her? She ebbs and flows between taking herself seriously and waving herself off. After all, there are days when she still finds something to smile about in life.

Sadie believes firmly in free will, free speech, and bodily autonomy. She thinks as long as people have those things, everything else will sort itself out. Places like New Crestview that try to force you into living a certain way or make you fulfil a role...they're robbing you of your humanity, and that's the most immoral act of all.

Sadie can't seem to find any motivation. She knows she'll have to eventually, but for now, it's enough to get up and mend some clothes every morning.

Sadie has been mending her own clothes since she was little, a skill her mother nurtured, and which had been passed down by the women in her family for generations now. If she's not a natural at it, that's only because she's been doing it for so long. She's also great at numbers, actually enjoying doing the accounting for the shop she owned.

She's terrible at small talk, and she's socially awkward; rather than find a way out of a conversation, she'll simply walk away.

Likes

• Clothes
• Dogs
• Ice cream

Dislikes

• Coffee
• Socializing

Sadie is goaded into joining the Advisory Council by her sister, and when it dissolves, they both join the Caravan Conclave. When that dissolves in the face of Willowmoor's official government taking shape, Sadie will choose to stay out of leadership in an official capacity.

Sadie arrives at the arena with her sister, though the two drift apart after the loss of their other sister. She will have a hard time making friends - especially since she doesn't try.

Mabel, the little sister who survived the trip to the arena with her...and Laura, the little sister who didn't. The whereabouts of the s' still-living father are unknown, but she assumes he's dead.

Sadie's family was Catholic going back generations, and she's clinging to the belief system now as she tries to feel less helpless after the loss of her sister and proverbial end of the world. Whether she really believes any of it...she's not sure.

Sadie enjoys sewing, browsing the internet, and working on her spreadsheets. Since two of those options are no longer available to her, she dives almost obsessively into sewing.

She has no pets.