The Linnormanzi
velotierus xix
prefix
linnor
suffix
manzi
IPA
/lɪˌnɔɹˈmænzi/
ID
00252
value
1:4
I.Q.
6,009
height
2'11"
length
25'3"
weight
101 lbs
ext. temp.
61°F
int. temp.
57°F
variance
15%
division
pelagic
division, ▞▟▘
▘▞▞▜
stability
88%
prevalence
0.37%
constancy
41%
lifespan
7-66 years
The linnormanzi (which was, in all other ways, a softened shadow of its parent strain) made its presence clear by the color of its ink; white, and copious enough to bleach in full the harbors of the few but faltering cities in which it appeared. The imagined stark backdrop of this "bleach paint ocean" or "white plastic sea" has since lent itself to a range of both visual and written works, both before and after the flood.
One iconic appearance can be found in penultimate scene of the fictional film The Wishing Game, in which Carrie Sands (played by a young Sophia Cure), having recorded the conscripted duet, destroys the notes for the titular song in the bay's whitewash waves.
Of no less notability is the duel between a linnormanzi and a linnormi depicted on the cover of Gutters #329 and immortalized in tribute through several large-scale public works projects. Certainly, it is not hard to see how the sharp contrast of the black and white tides, always churning and never mixing, became emblematic of the strife that would have marked the boundaries of these walltowns.
If the linnormanzi had been a part of the supposed riots, it would have been as a corpse, held up high on sticks; an emblem to the cause.
total generated
395
direct sub-strains
109
sensitives encountered
16
sensitives killed
4
total killed in flood
19
now remaining
0
Oh, I remember coming up with this one like it was yesterday! It was one of the first overseas trips, and we had just gotten back from the harbor. The weather had been really sunny and we'd all been in good spirits since we'd landed.
I had a notebook with me, and I'd been sketching a lot of the concepts for The Naive's End, and Our Changing World right along with it. It's funny, because that project was originally going to be an independent work, but I guess we kept getting drawn back into working with strangers...
Anyway, we'd taken a lot of great photos of the harbor and were brainstorming how to approach them, so naturally we got into talking about the original linnormi. I think that we'd developed a kind of nostalgia for Primer by that point, and the idea of a white linnormi had been in everyone's head for a while. I feel like we were allowed to get a little more excited about things, back then...
So it was an easy pick, making this one the "king strain" for Walltown. It was a little surprising, actually, just how much merchandise there ended up being...considering, you know, that the fade was tricky to do, and expensive.
Though not explicitly nervous, the subject scratches at their wrist.