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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much

@torrent-empress.bsky.social

3.6K followers 2.2K following 18K posts

🧿 Artist, dumbass, shitposter 🧿 F/30/bisexual disaster. 🔞 Minors DNI, occasionally NSFW. Art tag: #torrentart Comic Tag: #aavia Probably thinking about Astarion. Disgruntled tech worker. https://torrentempress.neocities.org

torrentempress.neocities.org

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · Mar 22

Hi everyone I'm Belle!

I draw a lot of fanart and elves. I like BG3, 90s anime, vampires, and sharing resources. I also talk a lot about books and tech! I'm writing an Astarion webcomic

My Server for creative accountability >> discord.gg/ZV44FtSmAC

Send me stuff >> torrent-empress.straw.page

Marvel comics inspired Scarlet witch floating in the air holding our her right hand on a yellow background with sparkles

Vampirella jumping in the hair on a red background in front of a dripping moon with bats in the air surrounding her with her eyes glowing blue

Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3 dressed as Death holding a scythe in the left hand and a skull with a "evil eye" pendant in the middle, standing behind my Tav Veluthe who is in a red hooded cape and floor length dress with a golden belt holding with a golden "A" pendant that is sparkling and trailing with sparkles and butterflies, while she holds a red wine glass in her right hand as a snake trails on her right arm

Shampoo from ramna 1/2 sitting at an angle with her legs crossed looking at the camera with a soft smile with sparkles, a red border, and a yellow and white floral background
Shampoo from ramna 1/2 sitting at an angle with her legs crossed looking at the camera with a soft smile with sparkles, a red border, and a yellow and white floral background

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Reposted by ˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much

✍️ Fayden Art 🎨 @fayden.bsky.social · 5h

Drew some Powerpuff Girls fan art, I gave them a little chibi style I’m not used to but I love the result. Which of the three is your favorite?
#arttrober2025 #PowerpuffGirls

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 5h

This looks amazing I would buy!!!

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 6h

I have already heard an account recently of ICE destroying a home after taking people from family and it is.... Devastating

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 6h

Feeling particularly glum about the recent ice raids and how militant they are - how they are explicitly not just taking the people but destroying their homes.

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Yeah I have a loooot of worries for blacksky in particular. But I'll hold my breath for them.

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Move to blacksky and northsky. Keep in mind that these teams do not have the infrastructure and money to do the things that VC backed firms do and if thousands of users are posting at the same time in different languages, it can be very hard for a small team to manage on top of trying to fix things

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Whether it's moderation, hosting, server upkeep, design upkeep (it's not just about the visual design but whether or not that design is accessible and easy to use) the costs for a large scale social media are literally far too much.

I really think people should keep that in mind even if they do

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Or cohost.

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Y'all saw what happened to cara, when people all tried to jump at once they could not afford the costs.

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Also want to add that I simply do not believe it is possible to have a social media platform without either VC money or government subsidization, the costs are simply too much.

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Well, after looking at northsky and blacksky while I wish both extremely well (and strongly suggest that people consider those) I do not think I will be moving to either should Bluesky go down.

Unfortunately I've been through several online communities that have built similar infrastructures

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Blackmailed all of the mods into closing the group after threatening them with their nudes.

People are nuts.

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Down an entire infrastructure that took years to build, the power vacuum destroyed the entire structure. In another similar set of groups, a specific user basically made a clique that targeted mods until they systemically turned thousands of people against them (with bullshit) and eventually

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Yeah that's what has happened before in other similar structures I've been apart of. I used to be in a series of online groups (I've watched this pattern at least 4x as an adult) of users that numbered in the tens of thousands basically devolve bc two mods were accused of SA which basically tore

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

It's like nation building basically, it's incredibly hard not to devolve into civil war at these early stages and while blacksky has the strongest chance imo, they're going to have the hardest taking account their new userbase vs old.

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

That are going to want power within these burgeoning marginalized communities that are already on edge, that's a powderkeg ready to blow.

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

I think that communities like that do best when they're kept to a certain size and are allowed to grow at a slower sustainable pace, these are small teams that are essentially going to be overwhelmed with users looking and expecting perfect products out of the gate and users within these communities

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

I want to clarify that I don't think this necessarily has much to do with the actual communities or identities either are built around, it's just the circumstances around their recent popularity do not bode well for their continued presence

˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

Find a good community that fits them. The blacksky team in particular seems really put together.

I would rather decentralize further.

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˚ʚ Belle ɞ˚ @ working too damn much @torrent-empress.bsky.social · 7h

That have all lasted roughly 2-3 years before collapsing in on themselves like dying stars that devolved into doxxing, accusations of abuse, and embezzlement.

And if I'm honest I don't think that it'll be any different here. Again, I'm not wishing anyone here bad and I hope that people are able to