#which is why i ended up with the two edited screenshots in there

[harpieisthecarpie]

Edit: keeping the og reblog for posterity but I was incorrect in my presumption and the hate crime DID happen. The Independent spun it in a way I'm critical of all the same.

Alright, I had quick pointers on red flags in posts but I wanted to do more in-depth digging to be sure I wasn't talking out of my ass. Here's what I found:

I searched up Amber Muhm as my first thread to pull, and like nevermindmorpheus nearly all the results were articles from 2023 citing her as a local activist working with trans women and trans femmes.

There were a few articles covering the same crime that was alleged in The Independent! That's if "covering the same crime" suddenly translates to "reposted the exact article on their own site", of course. That batch largely consists of automated websites like Yahoo and MSN News.

The only other source I found on my "Amber Muhm" search was by Amelia Roessler with Minnpost, a nonprofit journalism group whose primary audience is Minnesotans. That article, "Police negotiation with Red Wing gunman leads to discovery of a dead woman" was published November 18th, 2024 as part of their Glean segment, a twice daily compilation of Minnesota news from various sources.

That Minnpost article refers to what we're curious about here:

And that link leads to WCCO, also known as CBS News Minnesota, specifically the article "2 transgender women attacked in downtown Minneapolis, advocates say" by Kirsten Mitchell that was published Nov 18th, 2024 at 1:42 CST

Our Independent article in question "Crowd cheered as two transgender women were attacked at Minneapolis rail station, advocates say" by Kelly Rissman was published Nov 18th, 2024 at 19:26 GMT (7:26 PM).

That converts to 1:26 PM in CST, which means The Independent article existed for a slim 16 minutes prior to that WCCO piece. As far as I can tell, the WCCO article's main divergence from The Independent is the lack of assertions that Minneapolis Police and Amber Muhm specifically told The Independent all this info.

Basically, it seems to me like Kelly Rissman, via The Independent, was the primary (and sole) source for this supposed crime that "a crowd cheered" over. And considering the lack of updates on an highly topical event and the article's lack of corroborating evidence (like video) I feel okay giving my tips.

So what are the red flags we can see right in OP's screenshots of the article?

The title's claim ends with "advocates say" and the header similarly uses "according to a rally organizer". It signals that the article is reporting based on allegations and hearsay, especially with how vague those references are

Why do you need to rely on advocates for all the info on a very public crime? Bystanders record violence even when they aren't cheering for it.

What kind of advocates are they? Trans rights advocates? Anti-LGBTQ+ advocates?

Why is a rally organizer your main source about 2 victims of what would for sure be considered a hate crime? And not even for info on the crime itself, but about the circumstances around the women's move to Minnesota.

What does the title focus on? That similar WCCO article focuses on the actual attack, whereas The Independent's title opens with "crowds cheered". Why emphasize the bystander reaction over the act of brutal violence?

It's an article by The Independent.

This is where we are. Anti-trans pogroms have begun and the community is living in fear. Things are so bad that some of us are unable to live anymore.

Where is the left? Where are our allies?

#TDoR2024

[astralis-ortus]

guess i missed you too much

✱ boyfriend!bc x fem!reader

— that's what being in love does to you.

w.count → 1.2k genre → fluff warning → reader referred to as baby and my love, 2 (two) chatroom screenshots a.n → based on this request! ngl i was like '!!!' as soon as i read the request bc i can just imagine how it would go i'm—ㅠㅠㅠ also, i have an announcement here about requests, commissions, and fanart shop—i would really appreciate it if you'd check it and help a girl out♡ ⋆ see masterlist

to put it simply, chan is dumbfounded.

he's pretty sure he had mentioned to both han and changbin that you're coming here, to seoul, in a exactly week and chan needs to have all the urgent project revisions to be done prior to your arrival. he's absolutely sure the two promised they will only be gone for a little while to get some coffee to wake them up, and chan is now certain that the two are definitely not only heading out to grab those goddamn coffee.

"if you two aren't back here in 5, just know this is your one and only warning," chan muttered through gritted teeth, trying his best not to sound too pissed before sending the voicenote in their '3racha only' groupchat.

it's not that chan didn't understand—he knows he's been pushing both changbin and han more than he usually does, and chan is very much aware that the duo are bound to be a bit more rebellious than usual once they reach their point of exhaustion, but he really is looking forward to the time he's about to spend with you, and he's not about to let anything come and ruin that.

it's been a while since you've last spent a considerable amount of time together with chan. sure, there are stolen dates here and there whenever a holiday would match up and you could take some time off to visit chan's version of paradise (which is unironically everywhere within the bounds of japan) together, but those visits always ends as quickly as it starts and left the two of you with a longer list of regrets by the time you had to let your hands slip away from chan' warmth.

so this time, when you finally were able put your responsibilities on rest for two whole weeks, it didn't take much of a convincing for either you or chan to finalize the dates when you would finally be able to be within each other's reach. chan even went the extra mile to immediately book your flight coming in, though you had to basically threaten him with no video calls for a week if he went through with his other plans to spoil you rotten.

well, you could only hope that chan won't pull any uno reverse card on you once this plan came to an end.

a bell sound from his phone quickly distracts chan from the lines of lyrics he's trying to edit—an action he came to regret when the notification in view were merely a singular line of emojis sent by changbin, consisting of the same teasing faces and a pink ribbon both changbin and han been sending chan for days now on end.

"oh, he's done," chan groaned, head tilted back in annoyance as he threw his poor beanie back at the sofa where changbin was supposed to be seated right now. to be frank, chan didn't understand what changbin has been implying with the string of emojis at all. presumably changbin and han had seen the way chan saved your kakao talk profile—hence the pink ribbon, but why now? exactly when chan's the most sensitive of the topic? the fact that chan couldn't contact you drives him even crazier—you had told him you haven't been feeling well and you'd text him again once you feel better, but that was like, what, an eternity ago? chan didn't want the risk of waking you up either especially with your trip coming up, so…

he's basically helpless.

another set of annoyed groan became chan's initial response when his phone came alive with a new notification. reluctantly grabbing the device, chan was mentally prepared for a text bubble sent by the youngest of the three, containing of the same string of emojis changbin had just sent—only for his heart to jump out of his chest when he saw the pink ribbon next to your name.

before chan could type another reply, his attention were robbed by the knocks on his studio door—which is a little weird considering neither han or changbin would bother, and the fact that it's nearly midnight meant that almost no one that chan knows of should be looking for him around this time of night.

"manager hyung?" chan cautiously called out, instinctively grabbing his discarded beanie before he went to reach for the door. "did you leave something? or are you—"

the words on chan's tongue dissipates soon after the door swung open—but even with the way his eyes just doubled in size, chan still couldn't believe what he's currently seeing right in front of him now.

"hi, my channie," you finally spoke, a wide grin decorating your lightly flushed face from all the adrenaline you've been feeling; and only then, chan seems to wake up from his trance.

"wha—baby?" chan could hear how voice had skipped an octave higher, but he couldn't care less—did he fell asleep? is this a dream? chan had to pinch himself before he even pulled you in his arms, tightly wrapping the giggling mess that you are in his warmth. "you're actually here? wasn't your flight next week? did i got the dates wrong? how—"

"whoa whoa, calm down there, racer," you quickly stopped your boyfriend's wild train of questions, still with your smile plastered across the span of your face—your plan is a massive success.

"it was supposed to be next week," you confirmed, eyes still taking in chan's perplexed face while your brain etched the memory in its hall of fame, "but i miss my boyfriend too much to wait another week, so… i asked for bin and jisung's help to change my plane ticket!"

suddenly, everything that's been happening to chan in the past week just clicked—the time he caught changbin and han meddling with his laptop, the nervous chuckles, the way they become way to secretive with their phones, the phone calls, and those lines of goddamn emojis. it all finally makes sense.

"is that so?" chan shook his head despite the clear view of his dimpled smile, arms tightening around your waist, "so you three little naughty being has been cooking up plans behind my back, that's what you're saying?"

the sound of your sweet laugh fills chan with an overwhelming sense of warmth— you might spend the majority of your year apart from each other, but for chan, it's moment like this that makes all the dark nights of longing seem worth to be worth his patience.

after all, you're everthing chan ever wanted in his life.

"my my," clicking his tongue in faux disappointment, chan gently fixed the strands of hair falling over your eyes—ones ever so tender whenever you fixed your gaze on him, "what am i gonna do with you, hm? you naughty little baby?"

"not sure," you cheekily replied, lightly scrunching your nose the way chan usually does. you're just happy that you're finally in chan's arms again, to hell with any of the 'repercussions' chan might be building in his head for your little misdemeanor.

"but can you kiss me first?" you continued, trying your best to stay nonchalant despite the sudden spike of your heartbeat due to your own silly attempt at being witty and chan's surprised laugh, "i think i need my boyfriend's kiss so i could face my punishments later."

frankly, chan's head is still plagued with tons after tons of questions of your little successful stunt—he can't help it, you're someone he love and cares about after all,

but who is he to deny your sweet little plea?

©️ astralisortus, 2024. | likes and reblogs are highly appreciated♡