#prisoner exchange

[emachinescat]

Hooray for the BTHB card!! Can I request prisoner exchange? :3 <3

-- @thedragon-and-hisboy

Thanks so much for the request! This isn't exactly like a traditional prisoner/hostage exchange, but I still think it fits the prompt well and I think (hope!) you'll like it! <3

First Bad Things Happen Bingo space filled! <3

What Others Choose to Sell by Emachinescat (AO3)

HTTYD | Link in Title

In which Hiccup exchanges his freedom to save Toothless, and Viggo finally gets what he wants.

Fandom: How to Train Your Dragon (Animated Movies), DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon)

Words: 4,775 | Chapters: 1/1 | Rating: Teen And Up Audiences | Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply | Category: F/M, M/M | Part 1 of Bad Things Happen Bingo

Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Astrid Hofferson, Viggo Grimborn/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III | Characters: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Astrid Hofferson, Viggo Grimborn, Mentioned Toothless

Additional Tags: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Whump, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III Needs a Hug, Hurt Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Kidnapped Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless Friendship, Self-Sacrificing Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, prisoner exchange, Hurt No Comfort, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Whump, Creepy Viggo Grimborn, Implied One-Sided Viggo Grimborn/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Slavery, Sort Of, Inspired by Lyrics from Hadestown, Non-Consensual Touching, Bad Things Happen Bingo

‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚

Excerpt below; read the whole fic on AO3! <3

‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚.‧⁺ ⊹˚

She couldn't keep the crack of desperation out of her voice. "How the Hel would you own Hiccup?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hiccup flinch, and panic clawed the ravaged remains of her heart.

Viggo's answer stole her breath and made her hands tremble — in rage, in fear, in heartsick sorrow. "How else does one acquire precious wares? I bought him, of course."

Astrid saw red, heard the blood rushing in her ears, felt the drumbeats of rage reverberate through her core. "That's — you can't — who the Hel—?!"

"I am a businessman, Astrid," Viggo said. He stood, sauntered over to Hiccup, and placed a heavy hand on his prisoner's shoulder; Astrid bristled, fists clenching, fingernails biting into her palms, at the way Hiccup flinched at the contact. "This is the nature of my work: I make deals, I trade, I sell, I buy. But," he added, his fingers tightening possessively on Hiccup's shoulder, "I only buy what others choose to sell." The corners of his mouth turned up into a predatory smile that sent shivers crawling down Astrid's spine and shot bolts of dread into her heart.

Viggo released Hiccup — chains clinked as he sagged in relief — and resumed his seat behind the desk. Without a word, he slid a document across the desk. With trembling fingers, Astrid took the parchment and began to read, horror sinking like an anchor in her gut. Viggo smiled with wolf's teeth and watched realization sink its poisoned teeth into her.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Viggo asked, his face a furnace of hunger and triumph. He leaned forward, drinking in Astrid's despair and Hiccup's terror and resignation. "He signed the deal himself."

[eretzyisrael]

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

russian captivity for Americans vs russian captivity for Ukrainians

[dontforgetukraine]

RFE/RL talked to Andriy and Ihor, two freed conscripts from the National Guard. Their unit, No. 3057, was part of the Ukrainian forces who defended the city of Mariupol and surrendered to Russia in May 2022.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

[theultimatespicysandwich]

Whumptober No. 8: “Oh horror, oh horror, what did you see?”

Self-Inflicted Injury | Held at Gunpoint | Dissociation

Caretaker walked through the parking lot, weapon held out in front of them. Whumper asked to meet them here, but they didn't say to come unarmed.

Around the corner, they saw Whumper waiting next to a parked car, casually checking their watch.

"Don't move," Caretaker said, holding up their gun.

"Ah, Caretaker," Whumper said, unbothered. "I was wondering if you were going to show up."

"I could say the same thing."

"Why don't we skip the pleasantries and get to business." Whumper moved towards the trunk of the car, just shy of opening it. "Do you have what I asked for?"

Caretaker used their free hand to reach into their jacket and pulled out a flash drive. The plans for the device were on there, as promised. Slightly altered to be defective, but still there.

"Do you have what I asked for?" Caretaker retorted.

"Patience," Whumper chided, opening the trunk. From inside they pulled out a gun of their own, and Whumpee, hands bound and silenced with duct tape.

Caretaker felt their heart clench as they saw Whumpee, grateful to see them alive, but horrified at their state, bruised and beaten, struggling to stand as they were pulled from the trunk.

Whumper aimed their gun at Whumpee."No funny business now." They held their hand open, locking their eyes on Caretaker. "Hand it over."

Caretaker tossed the flash drive over as Whumper shoved Whumpee forward.

"There, not too difficult, was it?" Whumper admired their prize as Caretaker caught Whumpee, keeping them from falling. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Caretaker bit back a sarcastic remark as Whumper got in their car and drove away. They removed the gag and got to work on the restraints. "Don't worry," they said, to reassure themself or Whumpee, it was unclear. "We'll get home soon."

[workersolidarity]

🇵🇸🇮🇱 MORE FOOTAGE OF THE WELCOMING HOME OF PALESTINIAN PRISONERS, BEING DENIED SUCH FOOTAGE FROM MAINSTREAM WESTERN MEDIA

Palestinians warmly welcomed the freed prisoner, Adam Abu Hamed.

Adam returned to his home in the village of Sur Baher in occupied Jerusalem after his release from occupation prison.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Khalida Jarrar among Dozens of Palestinian Prisoners Freed, Mostly Women and Children

Khalida Jarrar was among the dozens of Palestinian prisoners freed, most of whom were women and children.

Israeli authorities have released dozens of Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, from Ofer Prison west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The release took place late Sunday night into Monday morning, marking the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, facilitated by international and regional mediators.

The freed prisoners were transported in buses marked with the emblem of the International Committee of the Red Cross, escorted by Red Cross vehicles, as they made their way back to their homes.

Among those released was Khalida Jarrar, a prominent leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who was greeted by her family in Ramallah. Journalist Bushra At-Tawil, also among the freed, arrived at her home in Al-Bireh.

In addition to those from the West Bank, Israel freed several Palestinian prisoners from Jerusalem, directly releasing them to their homes in the city.

Palestinian human rights organizations confirmed that 90 prisoners, including 20 children, were part of this first batch, a much-needed step toward alleviating the suffering of Palestinian families torn apart by the ongoing occupation.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

vote blue

* * * *

Joe Biden’s gifts to America

August 2, 2024

Robert B. Hubbell

Over his half-century of public service, Joe Biden bestowed many gifts on America. True, like every politician with a fifty-year record, he has made his share of mistakes. But when it mattered most, Joe Biden stepped into the breach to defend democracy and provide hope to America when it flagged.

He stepped up to challenge Trump in 2020 because he believed he could save America from the horrors of a second Trump term. He was right. That was a gift.

Over the next four years, he restored decency, compassion, and fairness to the governance of great nation. That was a gift.

He proposed and passed sweeping legislation that made historic investments in fighting climate change, protecting the environment, ending child poverty, rebuilding our infrastructure, and bringing chip manufacturing back to America’s shores. That was a gift.

He restored the broken relationships between America and its allies. He was able to do so because our allies recognized that he was a good and decent man whose word could be trusted. That was a gift.

Today, Joe Biden’s gift of renewed international alliances resulted in the freedom of three American citizens wrongfully detained by Russia. The exchange would not have happened except for the relationship of trust and goodwill between President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The German Chancellor agreed to release a Russian assassin held in a German prison. In agreeing to the deal, Chancellor Scholz told Biden, “For you, I will do this.” See WaPo, Inside the deal that led to a blockbuster prisoner swap between U.S., Russia. (This article is accessible to all.)

The complex deal involved 24 detainees and 7 countries—the most complicated prisoner swap between the US and Russia in history. President Biden continued to work his relationships with foreign leaders to close the deal until the very moment he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race. Joe Biden’s selfless efforts were a gift.

The complex deal could not have happened without Joe Biden and Kamala Harris or the cooperation of six US allies. Vice President Kamala Harris played an active role in the negotiations, including private meetings with the Slovenian Prime Minister and German Chancellor at the annual Munich security conference.

The complexity of the deal is beyond the comprehension or attention span of Donald Trump—who boasted that he could secure the release of US detainees from Russia without giving any concessions to Putin. After Joe Biden finished his press conference announcing the deal, a reporter shouted a question about Trump's boast that “that he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange.”

Biden stopped, returned to the lectern, and asked, “Why didn’t he do it when he was president?” See embedded video, here.

Within an hour of completing negotiations for the swap, Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. Thirty-minutes later, he endorsed Kamala Harris for president. At a time when party leaders and podcast pundits were calling for “mini-primaries” and an “open convention,” Joe Biden had the wisdom and foresight to realize that Democrats needed unity and certainty.

Kamala Harris had earned Joe Biden’s endorsement, and he gave it promptly and enthusiastically. Forty-eight hours later, Kamala Harris was the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. That was Joe Biden’s final gift—a seamless transition that has allowed Democrats to overtake Trump in less than two weeks. Kamala Harris deserves great credit for that result, but so, too, does Joe Biden for his selfless actions, wisdom, and political foresight.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]