diff --git a/app/components/DemoStage.vue b/app/components/DemoStage.vue
index e0acb53c..c8ab0943 100644
--- a/app/components/DemoStage.vue
+++ b/app/components/DemoStage.vue
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ const liveUrl = computed(() => live && !demo.video ? demo.liveUrl : null)
         :src="liveUrl"
         sandbox="allow-scripts"
         :title="`Live output of /${demo.name}`"
+        loading="lazy"
         class="demo-stage__frame"
       />
       <DemoMedia v-else :demo :eager play="visible" />
diff --git a/app/components/WeeklyEmailPreview.vue b/app/components/WeeklyEmailPreview.vue
index e2073b1a..57f4c636 100644
--- a/app/components/WeeklyEmailPreview.vue
+++ b/app/components/WeeklyEmailPreview.vue
@@ -8,8 +8,11 @@ import type { DigestDemoResponse } from '#layers/identity/server/api/digest/demo
 
 // A failed demo costs the section its picture, never its copy or its CTA:
 // `data` stays null on error and `hasDemo` gates the whole frame.
-const { data: demo } = await useFetch<DigestDemoResponse>('/api/digest/demo', {
+// Only the card and its row count reach the payload. The answer also carries
+// the whole email as `html`, which this preview never renders.
+const { data: demo } = await useFetch('/api/digest/demo', {
   key: 'home-digest-demo-v1',
+  transform: ({ card, rowCount }: DigestDemoResponse) => ({ card, rowCount }),
 })
 
 const hasDemo = computed(() => !!demo.value?.card && (demo.value?.rowCount ?? 0) > 0)
diff --git a/app/pages/index.vue b/app/pages/index.vue
index 9bd7276c..bd9434c2 100644
--- a/app/pages/index.vue
+++ b/app/pages/index.vue
@@ -91,9 +91,10 @@ const [
     query: { limit: 24 },
     // The board ships only its head. The rest of the named Skills, with their
     // posts and star series, serve `/skills/trending` and would ride in this
-    // page's payload unread.
+    // page's payload unread. The texture reads only Skill names, so the
+    // repository cards stay out too: they were 47 kB of the payload.
     transform: (feed: TrendingFeedResponse) => ({
-      items: feed.items,
+      textureNames: feed.items.flatMap(repo => repo.skills.map(skill => `${repo.owner}/${repo.repo}/${skill.name}`)),
       board: feedBoardRows(feed).slice(0, HOME_BOARD_ROWS),
     }),
   })),
@@ -110,8 +111,6 @@ const { data: demosData } = useLazyFetch<{ items: HomeDemoItem[] }>('/api/skill-
 const recentUpdates = computed(() => updatesData.value?.items ?? [])
 const recentPublishes = computed(() => publishesData.value?.items ?? [])
 
-const trendingRepos = computed(() => trendingData.value?.items ?? [])
-
 /** Owners whose avatar failed, which means the GitHub account is gone; see `/skills/trending`. */
 const missingAvatars = ref(new Set<string>())
 function onAvatarError(owner: string) {
@@ -132,9 +131,7 @@ const showTrending = computed(() => (trendingData.value?.board.length ?? 0) >= H
 const weekBoardPath = trendingRangeMeta('week').path
 
 /** Real Skill names from this week's trending repositories, for the hero texture. */
-const heroTextureNames = computed(() =>
-  trendingRepos.value.flatMap(repo => repo.skills.map(skill => `${repo.owner}/${repo.repo}/${skill.name}`)),
-)
+const heroTextureNames = computed(() => trendingData.value?.textureNames ?? [])
 
 /**
  * Track order, measured 2026-09-04 rather than assumed.
diff --git a/shared/image-proxy.ts b/shared/image-proxy.ts
index 81a6e396..fe44a1f0 100644
--- a/shared/image-proxy.ts
+++ b/shared/image-proxy.ts
@@ -88,7 +88,20 @@ export function avatarProxyUrl(src: string | null | undefined): string | undefin
   const target = parseImageTarget(src)
   if (target._tag === 'Err' || !isAvatarUrl(target.url))
     return undefined
-  return `${IMAGE_PROXY_PREFIX}/avatar?url=${encodeURIComponent(target.url.href)}`
+  return `${IMAGE_PROXY_PREFIX}/avatar?url=${encodeURIComponent(avatarAtThumbnailSize(target.url).href)}`
+}
+
+/**
+ * Bluesky's `avatar` path serves the upload at full size, often 1000 pixels
+ * square. Pages draw avatars at 20 to 40 pixels, so the trending board shipped
+ * about 760 kB of Bluesky avatars where the `avatar_thumbnail` path sends 39 kB.
+ */
+function avatarAtThumbnailSize(url: URL): URL {
+  if (url.hostname !== 'cdn.bsky.app' || !url.pathname.startsWith('/img/avatar/'))
+    return url
+  const thumbnail = new URL(url)
+  thumbnail.pathname = url.pathname.replace('/img/avatar/', '/img/avatar_thumbnail/')
+  return thumbnail
 }
 
 /** The proxy address for a GitHub account avatar at a pixel size. */
diff --git a/test/unit/image-proxy.test.ts b/test/unit/image-proxy.test.ts
index 3dd3b2d7..3431e63c 100644
--- a/test/unit/image-proxy.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/image-proxy.test.ts
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ describe('avatar proxy addresses', () => {
     ['a GitHub avatar', 'https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/1?v=4'],
     ['a GitHub login avatar', 'https://github.com/harlan-zw.png'],
     ['an X avatar', 'https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1/a_normal.jpg'],
-    ['a Bluesky avatar', 'https://cdn.bsky.app/img/avatar/plain/did:plc:abc/bafk@jpeg'],
+    ['a Bluesky avatar thumbnail', 'https://cdn.bsky.app/img/avatar_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:abc/bafk@jpeg'],
   ])('proxies %s', (_label, src) => {
     const path = avatarProxyUrl(src)!
     expect(path.startsWith('/_img/avatar?')).toBe(true)
@@ -85,6 +85,14 @@ describe('avatar proxy addresses', () => {
     expect(parseImageProxyRequest('avatar', { url: src })).toEqual({ _tag: 'NotFound', reason: 'not-avatar' })
   })
 
+  it('proxies a full-size Bluesky avatar as its thumbnail', () => {
+    const path = avatarProxyUrl('https://cdn.bsky.app/img/avatar/plain/did:plc:abc/bafk@jpeg')!
+    expect(parseImageProxyRequest('avatar', queryOf(path))).toEqual({
+      _tag: 'Ok',
+      request: avatar('https://cdn.bsky.app/img/avatar_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:abc/bafk@jpeg'),
+    })
+  })
+
   it('builds a GitHub login avatar address the route accepts', () => {
     const parsed = parseImageProxyRequest('avatar', queryOf(githubAvatarProxyUrl('antfu', 64)))
     expect(parsed).toEqual({ _tag: 'Ok', request: avatar('https://github.com/antfu.png?size=64') })