Hi!! In honor of Worldbuilding Wednesday, pls do tell more about your recent worldbuilding for Prodigal!!! I'm so intrigued by your post the other day mentioning cultural practices, modes of dress, how homes are built, etc.
Yes of course!! Mainly the details I've been coming up with have been inspired by what colder locations do to keep warm, especially Norway, and Yakutsk in Siberia as an extreme example.
What I've been discovering is that the major tenets of Prodigal England are modesty and practicality (more will probably be added), the first coming from Catholicism and practicality being prioritized due to the harsh and unpredictable weather conditions. Modesty does require you to cover your skin, but it also just means not making a spectacle of yourself, so part of why crinolines/many layers of petticoats are rarely used is the idea that it takes up space and forces others to navigate around you, which isn't proper. People are also taught how to keep themselves warm through quality over quantity, and told horror stories by their parents of sweat freezing onto your skin due to too many layers during extreme weather, so there's not a use for many petticoats, anyway. All undergarments are turned longsleeved and are made out of wool or some equivalent, doing a lot of work for keeping yourself toasty when paired with a decent coat or two. The same principle of modesty is also why eye-catching colors aren't worn often, either. The only time bright colors and crinolines are used are in special social situations like parties, where you're naturally expected to dress up and make an impression. Other than when you're rich, overly elaborate or bright or outrageous clothing is most often attributed to self-absorbed younger generations and their ridiculous fashion trends. Attica's a good example of that--she's no longer young, but her obsession with her glory days is made obvious to everybody by how she continues to wear things deemed immature.
As far as homes go: no matter if it's rich or poor, pretty much every one has staples of 1. steeply pitched roofs so snow doesn't pile and 2. a fireplace put in the middle of the property so the warmth can spread everywhere! People generally keep all their doors open for the heat to travel. The rest isn't guaranteed, but everybody will find their own DIY ways to seal their windows and doors, sometimes with thick curtains. Walls can be very thick and insulated. Pipes are also insulated to prevent them constantly freezing or bursting. Fancy homes can have a little entryway mudroom with racks to dry your clothing.
For cultural details, coal and fire have been integral to everybody getting by when times get tough, so I've been trying to think of ways that might show up. One little thing is the phrase "getting/needing your coal" emerging to refer to basic life needs being met. Some people might also use it as a joke, like when they go to the same coffee shop every morning to find one morning that they're closed, and they just can't live without that part of their routine. For fire, I can't decide who this is a belief for--it may be a remnant of Pagan spirituality. Whatever it is, people don't necessarily worship it, but some can regard fire basically as a divine force. Contradictory to Charity's strict Catholicism, and despite it being generally seen as an antiquated belief now, I do think she views it this way, but it's generally an idea held by much older generations or people especially in tune with local culture. It's caused the colloquial term "too much life" to pop up when talking about the cause of death in a fire, and in very extreme cases, it can be seen as a tragically beautiful way to die.
