#i sat drawing for so many hours in a row bc i wanted it to feel just right �� i hope i was able to capture the moment well

[puddii-ng]

swan lake x valkyrie

[wreckofawriter]

Jelly Slugs

Pairing: Harry Potter x reader

Word Count: 2,278

Warnings: Swearing, a little angsty, still plenty of fluff

Song to Set the Vibe: broken ~ lovelytheband

Request: @mcluuvin666 hi could i request a harry potterxreader in which the reader & harry always seem to find each other in the hospital wing at the end of each year because of harry’s adventures & somehow she always ends up hurt in a funny/ironic way even though it wasn’t her intention to get caught in their messes if that makes sense? either way harry & the reader get really close throughout years of ending up in the hospital wing w the reader being frustrated w the trio bc they’re the “reason” why she’s hurt and she’s just kinda like “you lot are going to be the death of me” but harry and reader end up going out anyway. lots of fluff and maybe angst if you can? thank you so much!!

A/n: Once agian so sorry this took so long! It may not be completely edited, excuse typos, I wrote litteratly all of it tonight. I'm trying to burn through my requets, if u sent one I got it I'm just waiting to get to it

    At eleven years old you had already had far too many near-death experiences, for you that meant one. You hadn’t meant to do anything at all, well except grab some snacks from the kitchen after hours, but it wasn’t anything you hadn’t done before. On your way back your ears had picked up a sweet symphony and you had grown curious. 

Turning a few unfamiliar corners you found the room, its heavy door ajar. You pushed it all the way open, a pastry still stuffed in your mouth preventing you from screaming. A large three-headed beast lay in front of you snoring loudly. Before you could turn and run your eyes found a small wooden trap door at its feet. The phrase your mother often scolded you with echoed in your head, Curiosity killed the cat. You about turned on your heel but then the ending of the saying learned from an equally mischievous classmate came to you, But satisfaction brought it back. 

You dropped the food in your hands and walked hesitantly towards the large dog. You then quietly opened the door, cringing as its hinges squeaked and peered inside being met with complete darkness. You were going to close the door retrieve your treats then head back to your dorm but as you turned you met a pair of brilliantly green eyes and you let out a yelp before stumbling backward and plunging into the hole with a scream. You were soon followed by three of your classmates almost as confused as you were. 

You ended up getting your arm broken by a giant chess piece on your way to retrieve something you didn’t fully understand and what you believed to be a curse began. 

You sat up in a cold sweat the image of a white stone queen drawing her sword waking you with a start. You rubbed your eyes only to find your left arm in a sling and aching a bit.

“Oh, good you’re awake.”

You turned to your right to see a little boy in round glasses smiling at you. “What happened last night?” you asked eyes wide.

“It’s a long story, but I suppose we have time.” He shrugged, “Jelly slug?” he offered holding out a colorfully wrapped package. 

“Yes please.”

Second year began as normal as it should have but it was soon strange and dangerous, pearlized classmates and strict rules making the school feel less and less like a home. Of course, your luck being about as bad as it got, you where the last victim of the basilisk. 

You had been polishing trophies to serve detention which you got for supposedly bad-mouthing Snape although it wasn’t your fault Draco was a filthy snitch. You then saw a large pair of yellow eyes in the shining metal and everything went dark.

You woke up four days later body aching eyes feeling extremely dry as you blinked vigorously. You had a strange sense of deja vu as the hospital wing soon came into view. Head once again thumping as you tried to recall your memories. 

“Oh right, you're here.”

You turned your head to the right to see a wide smile, green eyes hidden behind round glasses as cuts riddled the boy’s face. 

“Merlin Harry, what happened to you?” You gasped taking in his battered form. 

He shrugged, “I fought Voldemort.”

You cringed at the name but said nothing of it to him, “Again?” 

He laughed, “Yeah, this time it hurt more though.” 

“I’m glad you’re okay.” You grinned at him.

His cheeks reddened a bit, “Yeah, I’m glad you’re okay too.” 

You fell into an uncomfortable silence before Harry reached to his bedside table and offered you a tissue-wrapped box, “Jelly Slug?” 

You nodded taking it from him

Third-year had been downright dreadful for you. You were finally a teenager which basically meant everything that had been easy and quick now seemed to take hours and far too much thought. Every little thing you did you were sure would be scrutinized, it didn’t help when a close friend of yours spread a nasty rumor about you and you found yourself skipping classes and opting to stay in bed. A serial killer being on the loose certainly didn’t help. 

The only sort of decent thing that happened was your friendship with Harry, after two times of healing in the hospital wing together you decided to be at least acquaintances. You held study sessions with the boy and occasionally his two best friends although all they did was bicker.  

You also happened to be outside reading when a rat lept on you and dove down your shirt leading to you being dragged into a tree by a dog who turned out to be a serial killer who turned out to be Harry’s godfather. But to be honest you didn’t really care.

You were absolutely livid, your leg was torn apart and for the third time in a row you had somehow been shoved into an adventure you most certainly didn’t want to take part in and you were bleeding heavily because of it. 

Oh yes, how could you forget? You were also almost killed by your professor, who had turned into a werewolf just in time to almost kill you again. 

When you woke up in the hospital wing with the golden trio surrounding you, you weren’t so pleasant.

A string of foul curse words, pointing fingers and yelling was shot at the three teens who apologized profusely insisting they did not mean to get you caught up in their business. 

You eventually calmed down and found out it wasn’t all that bad considering you got to see the suddenly very attractive dark-haired boy who made a point to spend all of his free time in the hospital wing with you as your leg healed. You shared a large amount of jelly slugs as you read muggle books and did your best to stay on top of studies.

Fourth year was much better than the last. You and Harry spent more and more time together and you felt a large crush on the boy who lived growing. Hermione knew about it instantly and Ron seemed adamant to tease both of you just for the joy of watching your faces flush. But good things never lasted.

You had a heart attack when Harry’s name came out of the goblet and found yourself taking his side in a sudden war between him and Ron. The bitch of a journalist Rita Skita also plastered you and Harry’s face all over the daily prophet when she caught you hugging him before his first task. You went with Harry to the ball although to both of your disappointment only as friends. And you ended up comforting Hermione in the hallway anyway. 

You also were almost drowned by your sorry excuse for teachers in the second task. Never one to back down from a fight you yelled directly at Dumbledor and Karkaroff saying how if your name wasn’t pulled out of that idiotic goblet than you shouldn’t have to almost die for the even more idiotic tournament. Of course, you did this with a very colorful vocabulary that landed you three weeks of detention. 

When Harry pulled Cedric from the maze you had cheered clapping along with the band until suddenly you heard the boy wail like a wounded animal. You raced down to meet him and helped pull him off of the elder boy’s body.

He was shaking the entire time and when you finally managed to drag him away he buried his head into your neck and sobbed. 

Harry was then dragged away by Mad-Eye and you were quick to follow, bursting in on the two just as Moody no longer became Moody. 

“Harry!” You yelled diving at the quickly transforming man who was holding him at wand point. 

Your body suddenly erupted in such harsh pain you thought you might throw up. 

“Y/n!” Harry’s yells fell on deaf ears as the unforgivable curse took all of your attention. 

By the time Harry was able to disarm the man, you had passed out from the pain. 

You woke up in the hospital wing three days later a disheveled Harry seated in a chair next to you his arms folded on your bed his head resting on them. 

When you tapped his shoulder lightly he jolted awake immediately engulfing you in his embrace sobbing out apologies as you pushed yourself closer into his chest. 

“I’m so so sorry y/n, I never meant for you to be caught up in any of this.” He choked out pulling away from you and cupping your face in his hands. 

“It’s okay Harry, I’m okay.” You spoke smiling weakly feeling extremely exhausted. 

“But he used an unforgivable cu-” 

“I don’t care, I’m just happy you’re okay.” You interrupted leaning into the soft circles his thumb was drawing on your cheek.

Harry’s eyes filled with an unidentifiable emotion and suddenly his lips were on your own. 

The second they connected he backed away blushing so heavily you were sure he was hot to the touch.

“I’m so sorry y/n, I don’t know what I was thinking and I-”

You only shook your head and wrapped your hands around his neck bringing his lips back to yours. His hands ended up on either side of you as you leaned back down on the bed bringing him with you. He hovered over you, your tongue slipping into his mouth as you played with the ends of his hair. He tasted overly sugary with a hint of fruit, just like a jelly slug.

You were interrupted by a cough followed by a low chuckle and Harry immediately pulled away from you and you turned to see not only your headmaster but Professor McGonagal and Madame Pomfrey all staring at you. 

Your eyes went wide and you felt so hot you thought you might catch the sheets on fire. You stole a glance at Harry who had paled dramatically, looking sick. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better y/n.” Dumbledore chortled. 

You hissed in at the pain that shot through your ankle. Your head had also begun to pound causing you to squeeze your eyes shut and attempt to relieve the pressure by pressing onto your temples. Fuck Umbridge. You hopped that bitch was dead, as your eyes began to adjust to the sudden brightness of your surroundings you saw an all to a familiar sight. The hospital wing had become your home away from home and now in fifth year you, it made sense you ended up there once again. 

When your psychotic headmaster dragged you, your boyfriend and your two best friends out to the forbidden forest as she was attacked by a giant she managed to hit you with some sort of spell which effectively left you in your current state. Harry who was seated beside you wrapped his arms around your waist and placed a kiss on your neck.

“You okay?” He asked he seemed stressed, then again when wasn’t he?

“I’m fine.” You lied with a smile pushing his glasses back up his nose. 

“I think you should stay here y/n/n, I can’t have you getting hurt.”  He frowned. You then took notice of the group of teenagers was behind him. They were clearly about to leave. 

“I think history has proven that kind of unavoidable at this point.” You sighed standing up and drinking whatever was on your nightstand, it turned out to be a pain medicine that tasted the equivalent of dragon piss. 

“Y/n...” Harry spoke hesitantly.

You turned to look at your boyfriend, your face set in stone. “If you don’t take me with you I will find another way to that building.” 

Harry sighed biting down on his lip, “Fine. Alright, guys, let’s go.”

Your lips twitched into a smile just as you were about to leave the room you noticed a small half-empty bag on the table next to your bed, you stuffed it into your pocket and ran after the group you had fallen behind. 

You sat silently eyelids feeling so heavy you thought they might close at any moment. Your entire body ached, your headache coming back stronger than ever, but you didn't let onto your pain. 

Harry had his head buried into your stomach as you combed through his messy hair, his sobs were the only sound in the massive black room. Sand was scattered around you as you clung to your boyfriend your back up against a black glass wall as you stared blankly ahead of you. Dumbledore stood a few feet away, seeming almost as lost as you were. Part of you hated him for putting Harry through everything he had just been through, but you knew it wasn’t his fault. 

Harry adjusted himself so his head was buried into the crook of your neck, his arms wrapped around your waist. The movement caused something in your pocket to crinkle, catching your attention. 

You reached into your robe and removed a half-empty bag of candy. You smiled in spite of yourself. 

You tapped Harry on the shoulder whispering his name. He looked up at you his eyes rimmed in red, his face blotchy, the sight made your heart throb.

“Jelly Slug?” You asked your voice cracking.

The boy let out a mix between a laugh and a sob before lightly placing his lips onto your own. He tastes salty and bitter, like tears and blood. You found yourself wishing you were elven again when everything was simple, wishing that Harry still tasted like jelly slugs. 

Taglist:

(Realizing I forgot this last fic I posted, my bad)

@accio-rogers

@roslea

@k3nz-doodl3

@theseuscmander

Masterlist

[yhs-okami]

Deathcup by mom jeans ?

A/N: This one was hard bc I couldn't understand the lyrics that well (bc I'm hoh), but I got a sad kinda vibe from it, so that's what you're gonna get bro kdjdndjsnsnd

The light pitter-patter of rain on the roof of the school soothes Grian's frazzled nerves a little. It had been nearly two decades since he had step foot into this place and he had almost hoped it would stay that way, but, of course, Meri had gotten into another fight with Dom and J's kid and Ellen was at work so he was the one that needed to come pick her up.

Okami and Rowan give him small, tired smiles as they pass Grian's daughter off with only a week's suspension this time. Absentmindedly, Grian notices how his former teachers looked so much worse for wear, grey hairs overbearing and wrinkles gathering where they weren't before. They make small talk for a couple minutes, Grian asking about Silly and Necra's well-being and Okami asking in return about his and Ellen's relationship and Sam's therapy.

Slowly, Rowan hobbles over from the empty student desk he had been sat in top of and claps Grian on the shoulder firmly, nearly causing the young man to fall over from the force. It seemed, even in his old age, Rowan was still tens times as strong as Grian would ever be.

"You know, kid, you never did say goodbye..." Rowan says gruffly, his booming voice now but a distant memory.

Grian draws his brows together.

"No, I said goodbye when I graduated. I would have never forgot because you two were the closest I had to actual parents." He says in confusion.

Okami sighs softly and shakes her head adjusting her glasses softly.

"No, dear, he doesn't mean us..." She murmurs, her voice just as soft and sweet as the day she started teaching their class.

Grian pauses to think before it hits him like a bag of bricks and he looks down sadly, tugging at a loose string on the sleeve of his sweater.

"Is... Is he still down there?" He asks softly, feeling a little embarrassed and ashamed.

Okami nods and Grian sighs.

"I'll only be down there a few minutes..." He mumbles, despite everyone knowing he's lying.

If he finally goes to say goodbye, everyone knows he'll finally break down and probably be there for a couple hours.

With a confused huff, Meri follows after her father, down the first flight of stairs and into the lunch room. Off to the back of the room, there was an iron gate closed over a doorway in the wall that she had never noticed before, but Grian goes right up to it and pushes it open with no problem. He walks over, the rain misting over his skin and clothes and the humidity frying his hair, but he pays no mind to it as he spots the small row of gravestones.

Teacher Gareth, a man he never met, but had heard great things about.

Salex Brown, a girl he had heard so many things about, hearing she was so kind and so pretty and so amazing.

And...

And Taurtis.

Grian tears up as he sighs, moving to sit cross legged on the grass in front of the stone as he runs his hands over the text engraved into it.

Taurtis Tanaka.

1999-2015

A brave and loving soul.

Grian bites his lip to try to stifle a small sob that threatens to escape. Taurtis died that night on Halloween while trying drive the bus and, for so so many years, Grian never wanted to accept that. He didn't want to say goodbye because he knew, when he inevitably had to, he would never be the same again.

Slowly, Grian looks over at his daughter, who looks wide-eyed, surprised to see her strong and happy father so emotionally vulnerable.

"Meri... I think I'll be a while. Go on home if you want to, I trust you." He says, his voice cracking as he tries to pull himself together.

The teal haired teenager nods and turns on her heel, already reaching for her phone, likely to call Ellen or Uncle Sammy to have them make sure Grian is okay. Grian doesn't notice though as he looks back at his friend's gravestone.

"Hey, dude... Long time no see..."

Send a song for some vibe writing?

[thebusmansholiday]

Beijing - Shanghai - Xi’an - Urumqi

Beijing

Exiting Ping'an subway station on the look out for our hotel, that unmistakable sound of a man coughing up some gob and spitting it out on the pavement in front of us, and I knew I was back in China....

Struggling with serious jet lag on the first few days, wondering around the sights of the Chinese capital in the unseasonal blistering heat was a struggle at times. Deciding to walk through the Forbidden City in the midday sun was a big mistake, the masses just keep pouring into the former emperors palaces, armed with selfie sticks and umbrella hats.

The heavenly temple gardens just before sunset were the perfect escape from the crowds, it's a must visit if you are ever in Beijing, and do it in spring if possible, when the trees are blossoming and locals gather to play music in small brass bands or crowd around tables playing board games.  What you notice about the many public parks in the city is that the elderly population make full use of them, with large groups decked out in tracksuits going through aerobic sessions to music pumping from mini ghetto blasters.

Now, onto food...  The back street 'Hutong' alleys of Beijing are full of little food stalls, and the abundance of choice can be a tad overwhelming. Trying to order from a Chinese only menu is also a daunting experience at times. If the menu has pictures then we can eat there, if not we try pointing at what someone else is already eating and rudely point at their food, usually noodle soup with a little side salad of spinach(?) spring onion and peanuts.

Little round sweet pastries from peoples front windows, turned shop front, are a delicious cheap (¥1) treat for afters.  You can never go hungry in this city, no matter what time of day, a cheap late brunch option is never far away. Our favourite in Beijing is the Breakfast wrap:  corn bread mix spread onto a hot plate with an egg cracked on top, filled with salad, crispy noodle and some spring onion and coriander sprinkled on top then folded over into a wrap.

Also, small deep fried pastries filled with spinach and spring onion (Again, it might not be spinach) being a popular choice for us to keep energy levels up during our marathon walking sessions. With the iphone app measuring the amount of steps we are undertaking, it has become a bit of an obsession to walk everywhere rather than take a short hop on the metro. Our record in Beijing was 32,858.

'When in Peking'... we tried Peking duck at 'Liqun Roast Duck' a cool hidden backstreet location which served us an absolute feast of food. All the duck is shredded up for you by the chief carver on a table next to you, so you can just get stuck in and don't have to fiddle around with it. Little rice pancakes come on a plate for you to make your own little duck wrap combinations with all the different sides that come with the set menu for two. Deep fried aubergine, mushrooms, cucumber, spicy potatoes, spinach(again) peanuts. It was well worth the ¥340 (£38) price.

We took a coach trip to the great wall on our final day. It is spectacular viewing, seeing it wind through the mountain tops and a true wonder at just how the hell they managed to construct it all the way back in 700 BC. Only problem is, with a coach trip you are given only 3 hours to walk up to it, walk along it, and walk back to the coach park before the coach driver and guide want to get back to town for supper. You could spend far longer up there, but a coach trip seems the only option available for day trips from Beijing.

Our final meal in the city and we were very curious about the famous Wangpangzi Donkey burger chain.  Sorry, but I have to try, for you the reader. Served in a crispy bread bap, with spring onion and fresh chillies, it was really delicious! 2 for a quid makes it a very satisfying dinner.

19/04/17 BEIJING TO SHANGHAI G115 train departing at 09.22 Duration: 5hrs 40mins £60 (approx) second class seat

It was great to be back on the People's Railway. The high speed network here is rapidly expanding and makes a mockery of the uk's struggle to try to shade 30 minutes off the London to Birmingham route. Here it actually serves a useful purpose: to move the vast, always on the move population between the sprawling metropolises.

We were en route to Shanghai, a near 900 mile journey that can be done in under 5 hours, and we hoped a slightly slower, mid morning Wednesday 'G-train' would be relatively quiet, but the herds of wheely suitcases just kept on rolling down the isles filling up the luggage racks around us. Luckily the G-Train offers ample leg room to stretch out, but any chance of nodding off for a midday nap were dashed when we realised the 'adults' sat around us liked to play loud video games on their mobiles.

Shanghai is much cleaner and a bit more orderly than the manic streets of Beijing. It has a much more western feel, big shiny sky scrappers and more chain stores on offer. Despite this, it retains a real buzz of life that we were to see throughout China.

The Chinese live outside, front windows are turned into makeshift takeaway food joints, parks become outside gyms where people of all ages unashamedly stretch out their limbs placing them over heads, up onto monkey bars (very flexible people) and really unwind after the daily stresses of city life. It seems no one eats at home, everyone utilises the cheap local restaurants, dumpling soup kitchens and filled steam bun stands for their breakfast lunch and dinner.

After the expenses of the great wall tour we needed to start reigning in our spending if we were to stay within budget. For such a long period away it would be too easy for spending to spiral out of control. Me and Louisa had a very strict long term economic plan and it centred around cheap food. In Shanghai it was all about the dumpling soup. For a quid we could get a big bowl of ten veggie or pork filled dumplings in a hot spicy soup. Also, Steamed buns, which were becoming a staple of the trip, filled with curried cabbage was our favourite of the many varieties you can find on most streets.

It was great to meet up with Chairman Matt (as he is known locally) and some of the other Shanghai expats in the evening. We were treated to a feast of food at 'Grandmothers Home' restaurant on our final night in the city. We were then taken back in time to the late 90's /early 00's at 'Ellens', a dive bar where a few rebellious local youth like to down shots to pumping tunes. The staircase up to this venue is bricked up for some reason, leaving the elevator as the only escape from the 3rd floor venue. (Keith Lard, of phoenix nights fame, would have a fit!) With a busy restaurant on the floor above, using the same elevator, it was a long wait for our group of 6 to leave and move onto the next watering hole.

21/04/17 SHANGHAI TO XI'AN Z92 Train departing at 18.44 Duration: 14hrs 45mins Soft Sleeper - £52

The Z92 sleeper train pulled out of the main Shanghai railway station at sunset. Being a Friday it was packed with people heading home for the weekend. Luckily for us, no one took up the other bunk beds in our 4 bed compartment and we were able to spread out and enjoy a romantic chicken and mushroom pot noodle dinner for two. Served with tomatoes, and bread for dipping in the left over soup.

The most distinctive feature of Xi'an, and you see it as soon as you arrive at the main railway station, is the iconic perimeter wall that surrounds the old central part of the city. The wall dates back six centuries and extends for more than 14km and you can walk all the way around the top of it. At 12 meters high it makes for a pleasant stroll to take in the sights of the city. We walked the whole lot and in doing so smashed our daily steps record for the trip with a score of 37,564 (21.3 km) taking our 7 day average up to an impressive 24,000.

At night, along with the drum and bell towers, the wall is lit up with rows of red lanterns and spotlights that reflect attractively in the waters of the surrounding moat. You really get a feel for the old ancient, mystical China when in Xi'an. You also start to see a more diverse ethnic mix in the population. Xi'an is the start/end point of the ancient silk road, and as well as being a famous trading route for goods, over time traders from the predominantly muslim middle east and central asia have ended up settling here.

The Muslim quarter of the city is characterised by it's minuet domes and it's famous nightly food market, which is a real pull for two hungry travellers on the look out for a cheap meal. The hand stretched noodles are famous and the men cutting them up and whipping them on the ground draws crowds. We are cajoled by an eager host into a nearby noodle cafe to try some of them. Without choosing, ours are covered in a peanut butter sauce, and a sprinkling of veg and chilli on top.

Again, like in Beijing and Shanghai, the public parks here are heaving with locals stretching, running, playing table tennis, dominoes. The Xi'an 'peoples  parks' are particularly charming as they border the outside of the medieval perimeter wall.

23/04/17 XI'AN TO URUMQI Z105 Train departing at 11.02 Duration: 24hrs 13mins Soft Sleeper £75

Two local Xi'an lads heading west for the week shared our 4 person berth. They looked like they were on a 'business' trip of some sort. Maybe someone at the Xinjiang end of the business wasn't playing ball? Lo spotted the armani jeans and high heeled leather ankle boots, along with a rolling stones live in Zurich 1817(?) t shirt. Also, a faded England football cap, worn with the bent visa as if on his way to tear up some quiet Belgian town at euro 2000.

The first hour of a 25 hour journey was a struggle to settle in. Our cabin was in a bit of a state from the night before, the occupants from Jinan to Xi'an had left half empty pot noodles and an overflowing bin for us. The Chinese carriage attendants didn't  seem too bothered about it, and there was no way Chinese Danny Dyer, a toothpick in mouth kinda guy, or his pot bellied mate were clearing it up.

We enquired with our new friends where they were heading, and a glance at the time table showed they would be leaving us around 1am which offered hope of some space and a bit of peace and quiet overnight. This is customary chit chat on long sleeper journeys. People act polite in asking where each other is going, inside you are all just hoping the others are f***ing off soon so you can have the compartment to yourself. We had it easy on the Shanghai to Xi'an leg, no one to share with, a delightful introduction to long haul train journeys for Lo.

Things got a bit confused at Lanzhou station around sunset. Me and Lo are outside stretching our legs haggling for some apples from one of the platform food sellers. We come back to find we have been joined by another room mate for the night. That makes it 5 people sharing a 4 bed compartment? Confusion all round for a while, especially from our new Lanzhou buddy who's not sure where to put his stuff. He is a big lad, chubby baby faced, no older than 20, carrying a bag of sweets and watching videos out loud on his extra large samsung mobile. This is obviously alarming, coming up to bed time. But what really concerns us is his heavy breathing, especially as he struggles up to his top bunk berth. He is going to be a big snorer and me and Lo know it. Along with Danny, a heavy smoker, it could be a long night ahead...

It turns out Danny's mate doesn't even have a ticket for this bit, he is supposed to be a carriage down, slumming it in hard sleeper (third class) but has just been hanging out with us for the day at no extra cost. As we make up our beds for the night, making it clear to all that we are wanting some sleep, Danny's mate finally leaves us for his actual seat, and all is quiet for about 5 mins before the crescendo of gargling throat noise begins from the beds opposite.

Danny left us at Jiuaguan station at 1am, the door slamming shut behind him woke up the big lad on the top bunk, and we had a brief spell of quiet as he rolled onto his side into the recovery position and began breathing a bit easier.

That was now the aim of the game for me and Lo. Every time he rolled on to his back and started bellowing out his struggling diaphragm rhythms, we had to try and wake him up. I tried a loud clap of the hands, this woke him up but didn't force him to turn over. Lo would scream "for f*cks sake, please stop!" again, this woke him up in a mild state of bemusement and for a few seconds we would have peace before he started up again. Lo eventually lost it and grabbed his arm and shook him. I switched on my bedside light and as he looked down at me wondering what the hell was going on, I begged him "please just stop that noise!" and hand signalled for him to turn over. I don't think he spoke a word of the queens but he got the message and we finally got some sleep before he left us at 6am at Hami Station, a small town on the ancient silk road famous for it's sweet melons.

The rolling desert landscape seemed like it would go on forever until out of nowhere appears this huge ugly looking metropolis in the distance. Exiting Urumqi South station and we knew we had arrived in Central Asia. The world's Uyghur Muslim population is around 8 million. 7.5 million of them live here, in the Xianjing Uyghur Autonomous Province of China, known to Uyghur's as East Turkestan. It's the largest but least populated of the 23 Chinese provinces. 

Trouble has been brewing here in the provincial capital in recent years, a growing separatist movement claims that the region, which they view as their homeland and refer to as "East Turkestan", is not part of China, but was invaded by China in 1949 and has been under Chinese occupation since then. China asserts that the region has been part of China since ancient times, and now calls it Xinjiang Province. Xinjiang, literally meaning "New Territory" or, officially, "old territory returned to the motherland". As such, tensions are high in Urumqi, and after a few bloody terrorist car bomb attacks in recent years, there is a heavy military presence on exiting the station.

Our hotel in the centre of town, had two security guards armed with riot shields at the entrance, a tad unnerving, especially as you had to wonder what good the rather elderly looking dads army guards would do if a another riot did break out on the streets.

Urumqi provided cooler temperatures than we had experienced since Beijing, and 4 nights here with not much in the way of tourist sights to see, we bunkered down in our executive suite hotel room and recharged, ahead of our journey into deepest Central Asia. The executive suit came at no extra cost after Lo demanded we get a room that didn't smell of smoke. This suite still smelt a bit and despite it being a clearly signed non smoking room, it still had an ashtray either side of the bed and one in the bathroom.  But it was huge, so we took it.

The hotel £2 all you can eat breakfast buffet, was putting too much of a dent in our daily budget, so we had to turn it into a breakfast and a lunch buffet. Trick was to turn up just before it finished at 11, take our sweet time eating as many eggs boiled in tea (it's a thing in China) as we could stomach, and filling up a small bag of bread and jam spreads as we went up for seconds and thirds.

To the south of the city was the rather tacky looking, 1980's built grand bazaar. It was supposed to recreate the feel of the once bustling silk road markets that would have flourished here before the Chinese turned the city into a concrete jungle. A walk around the Bazaar felt more like a stroll around the elephant and castle shopping centre, but without the DVD sellers (which is quite ironic) and instead, sacks of spices and nuts for sale.

Some great food is to be had around the side streets of the bazaar. We tried our first plate of 'pollo' (mutton and rice) an Uyghur staple, and a decent pot of tea to wash it down. The most common food stall's here serve the famous naan like bread.  Large furnace ovens are constantly churning them out, and they are delicious plain (great for dipping in yogurt), with almonds and red beans, or sweeter ones with raisins and sugar inside.

The regional museum killed an hour, the walk up to it about 2 hours. Urumqi is probably the most unfriendly city for pedestrians I have ever been to. Gridlocked, six lane highways everywhere, pavements often disappear without warning or are turned into car parks, pedestrian crossing lights often don't work, and some of the most bizarre raised walkway constructs you will see in a 21st century city. The people's park and hongshan park are the only escapes from the chaos. 

We boarded the Saturday night K9595 train from Urumqi South bound for the Khazakstan border and eventually, after 33 hours, we would arrive Almaty.