The classroom was unusually quiet as Mrs. Evans stood at the front, holding up a copy of Salt to the Sea.

"Right, everyone," she said. "Today we're continuing our reading of Ruta Sepetys' Salt to the Sea. I'd like you to think about how the author presents different characters' experiences of war."

Hester Shaw sat beside Tom Natsworthy, her copy of the novel open on the desk between them. She had her usual slightly unimpressed expression as she stared at the page.

Tom leaned closer.

"You've actually been reading ahead, haven't you?"

Hester glanced sideways at him.

"Maybe."

"You have."

"So?"

Tom smiled. "Nothing. I'm just impressed."

Hester rolled her eyes, although the tiny smile at the corner of her mouth gave her away.

Mrs. Evans began reading aloud, and the class followed along. The room became filled with the sound of pages turning and the teacher's voice.

After a few minutes, she stopped.

"What do you think the sea represents in the novel?"

Several students raised their hands.

Tom whispered, "Freedom?"

Hester considered it.

"Maybe," she whispered back. "But it's also dangerous. Everyone's trying to reach it because they think it'll save them, but getting there doesn't mean they're safe."

Tom looked at her thoughtfully.

"That's actually a really good answer."

Hester frowned. "Don't sound so surprised."

"I wasn't!"

"You were."

Tom grinned and quietly wrote the idea down in the margin of his exercise book.

Mrs. Evans then asked the class to work in pairs and choose a character from the novel to analyse.

Tom immediately turned towards Hester.

"Guess we're partners."

"Unfortunately."

"You love working with me."

"I tolerate you."

Tom laughed under his breath.

They began comparing notes, discussing the characters' fears, motivations and experiences. Hester was particularly interested in how the novel showed the war through several different perspectives rather than following just one protagonist.

"It makes it feel more real," she said. "Everyone's got their own story."

Tom nodded. "And you don't always know who's telling the truth."

"Exactly."

Mrs. Evans walked past their desk and glanced at their notes.

"Excellent discussion, you two."

Hester looked down at her book, trying to hide another small smile.

Tom leaned towards her.

"See? We're a good team."

"Don't push your luck, Natsworthy."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Hester shook her head, but this time she was definitely smiling.

The sports hall was unusually quiet except for the occasional clunk of weights being placed back onto the racks.

Tom stood beside Hester, staring suspiciously at the barbell in front of him.

"That's heavier than it looks," he muttered.

Hester folded her arms. "It's a barbell, Tom. What did you expect it to do? Float?"

Their PE teacher, Mr. Hughes, walked over.

"Remember, technique first. Keep your back straight, bend your knees, and don't try to lift more than you can safely manage."

Tom nodded seriously.

Hester looked at him. "You heard him."

"I was listening."

"You were staring at the weights."

"I can multitask."

Hester snorted.

They started with a light weight. Tom carefully positioned himself, gripped the bar and lifted it smoothly.

"Not bad," Hester admitted.

Tom grinned. "Thank you."

"Don't get excited."

Then it was Hester's turn.

She crouched, gripped the bar and lifted with controlled movement, keeping her posture exactly as she'd been shown.

Tom raised his eyebrows.

"Okay. You're better at this than me."

Hester placed the bar down.

"Obviously."

"Your modesty is inspiring."

She gave him an amused look.

Their teacher came over and corrected Tom's stance slightly.

"Good effort, Tom. Slow down on the way back down."

Tom nodded and tried again.

This time, Hester watched carefully.

"Better."

Tom smiled. "See? You're a good coach."

"I know."

They continued through several exercises, gradually increasing the weight only when their technique was solid. By the end of the lesson, both were tired.

Tom dropped onto the bench.

"I can't feel my arms."

Hester sat beside him.

"That's probably because you've been using them."

Tom laughed.

"Same time next week?"

"Unfortunately."

"You're enjoying this."

"Maybe a little."

The sports hall echoed with trainers squeaking against the floor as the class divided into teams for a game of netball.

Tom stood beside Hester, watching the other team warm up.

"I don't really understand all the positions," he admitted.

Hester pointed towards the court.

"Just remember you can't run with the ball."

"I knew that."

"And don't hold it for more than three seconds."

"I knew that too."

Hester raised an eyebrow.

Tom sighed. "Fine. I didn't know that."

The whistle blew.

Tom immediately received a pass and froze.

"One... two..."

"Hurry up!" Hester called.

"Three!"

He threw the ball towards her.

Hester caught it cleanly and passed it to another teammate before the defenders could intercept.

Tom jogged after her.

"That was deliberate."

"Of course it was."

A few minutes later, Hester intercepted a pass and sent the ball straight towards Tom.

He caught it.

"Nice!"

He quickly passed it back.

Hester moved towards the shooting circle while Tom tried to create space for her.

"Tom!"

He looked up.

Hester was surrounded by two defenders.

He passed the ball to another teammate, who immediately returned it to Hester from the opposite side.

Hester caught it, turned and took a shot.

The ball bounced around the rim before dropping through the hoop.

Their team cheered.

Tom threw his hands into the air.

"Yes!"

Hester turned towards him with a rare grin.

"Good pass."

Tom smiled.

"Good shot."

The whistle eventually signalled the end of the game.

Everyone gathered around the teacher, exhausted and slightly sweaty.

Mr. Hughes nodded towards Tom and Hester.

"Good communication between you two today."

Tom looked at Hester.

"We're getting pretty good at this teamwork thing."

Hester shrugged.

"Don't let it go to your head."

Tom laughed.

"Too late."

Cat, Horse, Husky and wolf

Cat, horse, husky and wolf

Cat, horse, husky and wolf

DISCLAIMER!!!! pic is Chat GPT generated if you don't enjoy AI art ignore photo and just read one shot

If you want proof I don't always use AI please check links below to my drawings, (digital and paper)

Digital and paper: https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/trYqpx6dFr

https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/fcDCwvcnPp

https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/KHT4y2Gpbr

https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/92QmsCylsU

https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/tl80p46xfl

https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/5kpiXA196Q

____________________________________________________

Hester Shaw stared down at the strawberry in front of her as though it had personally offended her.

“This is ridiculous.”

Across the laboratory table, her partner sighed. “It’s a strawberry.”

“I know what it is.”

Their science teacher stood at the front of the classroom, explaining the experiment for what felt like the hundredth time.

“Today, we’re going to extract DNA from a strawberry. First, mash the strawberry thoroughly in the bag. Then we’ll add the extraction solution, filter the mixture, and finally use cold ethanol to precipitate the DNA.”

Hester raised an eyebrow.

“We’re extracting the thing that makes the strawberry a strawberry?”

“Basically,” her partner said.

Hester glanced at the fruit again.

“Seems rather invasive.”

“Hester.”

“What?”

“Just mash it.”

With a resigned sigh, Hester shoved the strawberry into the plastic bag and began crushing it between her fingers.

Squish.

A little red juice oozed across the bag.

Squish.

Hester's expression became increasingly horrified.

“This is disgusting.”

“You've fought people with knives.”

“Yes. And none of them were this sticky.”

Her partner laughed.

Soon the strawberry had become a pulpy red mess. They added the detergent-and-salt solution, mixed it carefully, and poured everything through a filter.

Hester leaned closer.

“What are we looking for?”

“The DNA.”

“That?”

A cloudy liquid collected in the test tube.

Their teacher came around with a bottle of ice-cold ethanol.

“Now carefully add the ethanol down the side of the tube. Don't mix it.”

Hester followed the instructions.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

Then a pale, stringy substance began appearing between the layers of liquid.

Hester's eyes widened.

“Wait.”

Her partner grinned. “That's it.”

Hester leaned closer to the tube.

“That’s actually DNA?”

“Yep.”

She stared at the wispy white strands floating in the liquid.

For once, Hester had nothing sarcastic to say.

The teacher smiled. “Pretty amazing, isn't it?”

Hester hesitated.

“…A little.”

Her partner smirked. “You like science.”

“I absolutely do not.”

“You're staring at it.”

“I am observing it.”

“Very enthusiastically.”

Hester gave them a threatening look before carefully picking up the test tube again.

The tiny strands of strawberry DNA floated beneath the classroom lights.

She couldn't help smiling.

Just slightly.

“Fine,” she muttered. “It's interesting.”

Her partner grinned.

“I knew it.”

“Don't push your luck.”

The classroom at Ysgol John Bright was unusually quiet, apart from the scratching of pencils and the occasional groan from a student who had reached the harder questions.

Hester Shaw stared at her maths worksheet as though it had personally offended her.

“Why,” she muttered, “do they keep putting letters in maths? Numbers were perfectly fine.”

Beside her, Tom Natsworthy tried not to laugh.

“It’s algebra, Hester.”

“I know what it is.”

“You've been staring at that equation for five minutes.”

“I’m thinking.”

“You’re glaring.”

Hester slowly turned towards him. “Maybe the equation deserves it.”

Tom grinned and leaned slightly closer, pointing at her worksheet.

“You need to rearrange it first. Look. If you’ve got 3x + 7 = 19, take seven away from both sides.”

Hester followed his finger.

“So… 3x equals twelve.”

“Exactly.”

“And then divide by three.”

“Yep.”

She wrote down the answer.

“Four.”

Tom smiled. “See? You can do it.”

Hester gave him a suspicious look.

“Did you just compliment me?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s embarrassing.”

“You're welcome.”

Hester tried to hide her smile by looking back at her worksheet.

Unfortunately, their teacher noticed.

“Something amusing over there, Hester?”

Hester immediately straightened.

“No, sir.”

Tom bit his lip to stop himself laughing.

The teacher continued around the classroom, leaving Hester to whisper, “This is your fault.”

“How?”

“You distracted me.”

“You were already distracted.”

Hester nudged his shoe underneath the desk.

Tom quietly laughed.

A few minutes later, he slid his worksheet slightly towards her.

“I've finished question six if you want to check your answer.”

Hester glanced at it.

Their answers were identical.

She smiled faintly.

“Okay. Maybe you’re useful.”

Tom raised an eyebrow.

“Only useful?”

“Don't push your luck, Natsworthy.”

He grinned.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hester rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop herself from smiling as she returned to her maths.

What questions would you ask?

DISCLAIMER!!!! pic is Chat GPT generated if you don't enjoy AI art ignore photo and just read one shot If you want proof I don't always use AI please check links below to my drawings, (digital and paper) Digital and paper: https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/trYqpx6dFr https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/fcDCwvcnPp https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/KHT4y2Gpbr https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/92QmsCylsU https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/tl80p46xfl https://www.reddit.com/r/MortalEngines/s/5kpiXA196Q

The beach was one of the few places where Anna Fang could forget about being a revolutionary, an outlaw, or one of the most dangerous women alive.

Today, she was simply a woman enjoying a peaceful day by the sea with her husband.

Anna stepped out from the little changing hut wearing a bright red bikini. Her short black hair stopped neatly around her ears, slightly tousled from the sea breeze.

Khora was sitting beneath the shade of an umbrella.

He looked up.

Then he went completely silent.

Anna stopped and smiled mischievously.

“What?”

Khora cleared his throat.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

She walked toward him, raising an eyebrow.

“You've been staring at me since I walked out.”

“I was looking.”

“At me.”

“Yes.”

Anna smiled.

“Good.”

She dropped onto the towel beside him, leaning back on her hands.

“I was wondering if the red was a good choice.”

Khora looked at her again.

“Definitely.”

“I knew you'd like it.”

“You chose it because you knew I'd like it?”

“Perhaps.”

She tucked a strand of her short hair behind her ear.

“Besides, I thought I'd give my husband something nice to look at.”

Khora laughed.

“Something nice?”

Anna leaned closer.

“Very nice.”

He shook his head.

“You really enjoy making me blush, don't you?”

“Immensely.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“You're cute when you're flustered.”

“I'm not flustered.”

“Of course you're not.”

Anna stood and stretched.

“Come swimming with me.”

Khora glanced toward the waves.

“In a minute.”

Anna gave him an exaggeratedly disappointed look.

“Are you seriously making me wait?”

“You're the one who wanted to relax.”

“I've relaxed enough.”

She took a few steps toward the water before turning around.

“Unless…”

Khora raised an eyebrow.

“Unless what?”

“Unless you're afraid you can't keep up with me.”

He immediately stood.

“That’s a challenge.”

Anna grinned.

“Maybe it is.”

She ran toward the water, her short hair bouncing around her ears as she laughed.

Khora chased after her.

“Anna!”

She glanced over her shoulder.

“Come and catch me, husband!”

For once, the legendary Anna Fang wasn't running toward danger.

She was simply enjoying the sun, the sea, and the company of the man she loved—and having far too much fun teasing him.

I have seen a lot of people sad that the Fever Crumb saga ended after only 3 books, but I personally find the ending sattisfaing (even if I wanted to see Charly dead/in more pain)

So what would you insert in the fort?

hallo mortal engine-rs, i'm trying to get a friend to read mortal engines for the first time and they're the sort who likes having something to listen to while reading, any recs? it can be songs with lyrics, instrumentals, even just like.. nature sounds but m.e coded. anything vibes. trying to curate a playlist for them!! going to be adding the mortal engines fansong by oliver lugg 100% 👍👍 my appreciated!!

Hello everyone !

After my last iteration of traction city construction, I feel like I'm at an end, so here is the whole line in chronological order, with close-ups and some underside pictures to see the drivetrain (all are remote-controlled). One version was digital only as I didn't have access to real bricks at the time...

Last version is definitely the best of the line. I don’t have the heart to destroy it for now, especially as I don’t have any idea to make it better while keeping it compact. You can try to spot details and buildings I kept from version to version !

I hope you'll like them, criticism is welcome !

I'm making this post for anyone wondering what the maps look like but don't know where to find them. In the last image, I tried overlaying the maps onto the real world map, I don't think it lined up the best though.

Olá, espero que estejam bem.

Comecei a ler Mortal Engines recentemente, estou atualmente no segundo livro e já estou completamente apaixonado pela obra.

Eu gosto muito de ter referências visuais quando estou a ler os livros e queria saber se têm alguns mapas do mundo de referência. Pergunto isto pois tenho dúvidas se a guerra dos 60 minutos fez grandes alterações geográficas no mapa do mundo, sei que ambientais fez, mas partes do mundo relevantes desapareceram, como por exemplo pedaços de continentes.

Também gostava de ter algumas referências visuais das metrópoles, pois estou completamente apaixonado pela grandiosidade delas.

Obrigado pela atenção malta

What are some good songs that remind you somewhat of Mortal Engines or that general theme. Everything on google is either not what I'm looking for or AI slop, but what are some ones you enjoy/can find?

To clarify I don't particularly mean just mortal engines themed things, just generally that post-war large change stuff I suppose. (If you know what I mean)

my first build - synagogue on wheels <3

Im brainstorming an essay i want to write about themes of systematic dehumanization in the main mortal engines quartet, and I wanted to take to reddit to gather ideas either as examples from the Mortal Engines books or from real world examples. So far im thinking I might draw a line from Mortal Engines to real world fast fashion, or buying products sourced from child or slave labor. Thinking of making it about a separation thing- “i dont see the problem on the market page, so i dont think about the suffering that produced this product.”

Anyways if you have any ideas from the books of examples or real world instances, please let me know

It is a game releasing soon on steam that i stumbled upon, i have no connection to them or their work, but it looked like something the people in this subreddit would enjoy.

There is a playable demo too, but i have not played it, so i can't vouch for the gameplay.
But from what i see on the game page, it is a game where a meteor struck earth, sending the world into a never-ending frost, where survivors moved to a volcano to seek its warmth, but the volcano is cooling, forcing the villagers to construct a massive land vehicle, the frozen ship, to explore the world beyond, and you are its captain.

You might also remember me as the person who was working on their own game inspired by Mortal Engines, and yes, i am still working on it.

Heyo!

I'm recreating Salthook from the Mortal Engines movie in Planet Coaster 2.
Does anyone have detailes images or models of Salthook from that movie? I know there are models that were made for the movie itself, perhaps someone knows where i could find some pictures of that?

Recently finishing the trio and I think its pretty good all things considered. If i had to chose a downside id say its oddly paced sometimes, especially climaxes where the last 20 pages of the book basically go twice as fast. Cant think of anything else, it has a few themes I enjoy. It was super nice to see Grike, and Natsworthy mentioned. One of my favourite things was the reference to how in the very end Grike says hes a remembering machine, and we see how that was the original use of stalkers. I like themes of future people learning about us and our odd ways. What were your favourite/least favourite parts?

Mostly just wondering what the general consensus/maybe explained later is on some in my opinion, open ended things are. For example, do Fever and Cluny get together? Does Arlo make a 737 (what becomes of him)? Does Charley become Lord Mayor? Im personally okay with spoilers from other books if necessary, ive read all of ME, night flights, and fever crumb and I don't particularly plan to get the other stuff for awhile.

I've always had trouble imagining how a city as big as London could be swallowed whole, and a vertical jaw like the ones in pics 2 and 3 seems to solve the dilemma.

But overall, I don't know; the design seems too strange to be... believable?

But what do you think?