Editing Olitskur (section)

==Culture==
They have each other's backs.

===Arts and Entertainment===
Olitsken music is traditionally a capella and choral: if an ianthina says they're in a band, they typically mean they're in a choir. Scat singing and beatboxing have come into popularity as a new and exciting musical development. When instruments are involved, they're almost always drums or percussion, but on special occasions, you'll see strings as well. String instruments are difficult to make--usually they're metal or ice--so few know how to play. It's extra special when one does. Woodwind instruments don't work underwater, so they're virtually never used. 

Song is incredibly important in Olitskur. Due to the lack of written language, all history, lessons, and more are stored in stories and song. A great many songs form the basis of any child's education. 

===Death===
For many ianthina deaths, nothing remains. Friends and relatives disappear into the dark or the jaws of a predator. When this happens, there is a funeral where memories and grief are shared, and that's the end. The dead are considered carried off by the current, swept away to another life. When a body remains, this idea persists, and this is when Olitsken morticians get involved. The mortician guides the body down, down, down to the grave gardens on the ocean floor and hands the body into the care of the gravekeeper.

Gravekeepers are biologists, herders, and gardeners all at once. The body receives a shallow burial, and the local population of bone worms, shrimps, corpse cleaners, and other scavengers release the soul of the deceased ianthina back to the sea. Often, graveyards are decorated with stones, deepsea corals, and glowing algaes, bringing beauty to this final resting place.

For diaspora ianthina and those in the Southern Enclaves, where the ocean is not deep enough nor the currents fast enough, you often see cremation, after which, a loved one's ashes are returned to the sea, or another place they loved.

For those who want to keep their lost one close, you often see memorial sconces. Memorial sconces are crystal bowls full of glowing algae in the deceased's lumen color. Often, these sconces are decorated with special beads to represent aspects of their life or things they loved in life.

=== Fashions ===
Most Olitskens wear some variety of wetsuit, which they will pair with boots if they go above water often enough. Usually, these are made of treated leather or woven from a variety of flax-like seaweed. They use fish, seal, and bear leathers that have been treated for softness, stretch, and flexibility. If it fits tightly enough, these will be fur-lined for extra warmth. They are masters of tight sewing, creating near-invisible, water-tight seams. In big cities, you'll see more unusual silhouettes--like skirts and looser clothes--since the city is well-protected enough that no one who lives there needs to make a quick getaway from predators. Dying and staining takes place entirely in caverns above sea level. 

Because most Olitskens are wearing the same silhouette, accessorizing is extremely popular. Glass beadmakers in particular are held in high esteem: strings of beads make excellent accessories and are extremely versatile. Special beads are always available for purchase during festivals, and Olitskens will commission custom beads to commemorate major life events. Strings of special beads will often be displayed in the home, if not worn. Extra small seedbeads are sometimes woven together to create a form of beaded embroidery for clothing as well.

Aside from beads, Olitskens will decorate their wetsuits with appliques, color blocks, and sewn-on fish scales. Some will tie on cords of shell, shark teeth, coral, stones, or other ocean treasures as jewelry. The other most common accessory is a basket or weapon holder. All Olitskens are trained in self defense, and many carry weapons. Most weapons are sharpened bone or steel forged in hydrothermal vents. Traditional Olitsken weaponry consists of spears, harpoons, and other similar piercing, melee-type weapons.

=== Gender ===
For ianthina, gender is just one of many ways to present oneself, like a sense of style. It reflects a person's understanding of themself, and it's not uncommon for ianthina to go through at least two or three sets of pronouns throughout their lives as that understanding grows. One of the ways that Olitsken language has shifted is that, their pronouns reflect this flexibility of gender. Notably, their "I" pronouns are gendered, and these pronouns can be broadly grouped as masculine, feminine, or other. Different "I" pronouns carry different connotations. For example, there are different pronouns that are all masculine, but also indicate that the speaker defines themself as cute, or young at heart, or confident. Certain "I" pronouns are also used specifically in formal settings, to indicate respect (and, similarly, specific pronouns can be used to insult someone). Depending on what "I" pronoun someone uses, other ianthina are typically able to conclude which third-person pronouns are appropriate. 

Children also have a pronoun used specifically for them. Ianthina cannot be gendered at birth: no physical clues to their biological sex are present until they hit puberty, and even then, they're less sexually dimorphic than humans. Thus, ianthina have neutral pronouns reserved specifically for children. Choosing an adult pronoun is part of an ianthina's coming of age ceremony, and--though some know immediately which they want--it's common for teenagers to test out different pronouns amongst each other in preparation for that moment.

=== Language ===
Most of Enchiron shares the same common language, with accents and handfuls of individual words that change from place to place, but Olitskur has been isolated for so long that their language has deviated far more than anywhere else. An Olitsken can still converse with a mainlander, with some effort, but it definitely takes effort to become fluent. Olitsken language has many words that are all its own, and still more words that simply do not mean the same thing as they do on the mainland. Sailors and traders are typically fluent in both.

=== Parenting ===
Olitskens believe very strongly in the tenet that it takes a village to raise a child. While parents might be the primary caretakers, there’s no sense of a nuclear family, and very much the expectation that wherever your child goes, there will be someone there to ensure nothing bad happens. Children are typically close with neighbors and very familiar with their big extended families. For the most prominent of these caretakers, their word can hold almost as much sway as the parents, and parents can be overruled if enough of their community disagrees with a choice they’re making. (This does tend to mean that different neighborhoods have different practices, when it comes to the specifics of how best to raise kids.)

Ianthina also highly value instilling a sense of independence and self-determination from a young age. For example, children are generally allowed to explore the nearby area on their own, without parental supervision. If they have friends with them, they have a lot of freedom where they can go. Or, another example: set bedtimes aren’t common; children are expected and allowed to sleep whenever they are tired. 

Children also take on responsibilities within the house at a young age, and often help their parent with whatever their chosen work is. Learning responsibility starts young. A child’s first errand—commonly to deliver an item to a neighbor or pick up an item from elsewhere—is a celebrated rite of passage that typically occurs before a child turns 5 years old. 

This culture, of course, isn’t foolproof: not all adults want to or know how to deal with children--particularly if they're rebellious, combative, or have a special need--and some parents overrely on their communities. There are always those who fall through the cracks.

===Religion===
The Olitsken god is the [[Godbeasts|Leviathan]], and the Leviathan is very, very real. It is a massive, violent sea serpent that roams the seas, alight in signature patterns of lumens.  Legend has it that, in ancient times, those living on the Eniyan coasts offered human sacrifices to the Leviathan, for its blessing, or to pray for calm seas, or out of abject fear, and indeed, the Leviathan took these victims. 

But, not all perished. Survivors were taken back to the Leviathan's home in Olitskur and, depending on the teller, what happened next varies. It is one of the few stories not agreed upon in the histories. Some say, clever sacrifices hid from the Leviathan, scraping out a life for themselves in secret, and slowly, over the years, their children adapted. Others say that the Leviathan--jealous of other gods' creations--used its magic to twist the bodies of its victims until the ianthina were born. Still others--kinder folk--say the Leviathan was simply lonely, trapped in the arctic waters, and changed the humans it took because it craved a family, as they all do. 

The Leviathan still visits Olitsken cities regularly.  A city of any substantial size has a massive temple dedicated to it, a place where the Leviathan will come, sleep, and the ianthina who work there will ply it with food, music, and other entertainment. Occasionally, the Leviathan has acted destructively, killing people or destroying buildings, so when it comes, Olitskens are desperate to please. Temples are always large, open, and lavishly decorated. Some ianthina have dreamed up kinder gods, but these religions are much more niche. Most Olitskens take very little stock in faith: if you cannot see a god and it does not respond to you, then it must not exist. Consequently, they see very little reason for religious symbols. Gods are simply something that are, not things they owe any loyalty too.

===Romance and Family===
Marriage ceremonies include a twining of the antennae, as a way of combining your light. Because of how they're used for communication, and because they're relatively delicate, touching an ianthina’s antennae without permission is extremely taboo. For most, it’s an act of intimacy reserved only for parents, lovers, and the very closest friends.

Polyamory is very common in Olitskur. There is safety in numbers, and ianthina apply that philosophy to romance as much as anything else. Due to the complicated family structure, most track their family line through their birthing parent. When marriages occur, typically the new couple chooses a new family name, and this name represents their household. Sometimes the new name will take parts from their parents, but not always. Family names are much more household names and relationship signifiers than ancestry markers. When coming up with a family name or naming a new child, considering the very literal sound of it is very important, since song is so important in Olitskur.

=== Holidays ===
The loss and return of the sun is vital.