the websites are going to a costume party

i’m getting the websites dressed for halloween. apparently having several sites also means coordinating a group costume, so this feels like a good time to introduce the little people wearing them.

there’s a vampire, a bat, a wizard, and two ghosts. the halloween looks are still being finished across the sites, but the cast is ready.

telly has kept the microphone

telly is the blue television-headed host of taco ’bout it. you’ll see him around the blog, usually looking like he has something to say. his halloween costume adds a cape and tiny fangs. unfortunately, becoming a vampire has done nothing to reduce the talking.

facet has wings now

facet is trove’s purple crystal-headed mascot, with the round gold glasses. trove is where the movies, shows, books, albums, comics, and games go. facet’s halloween outfit is a bat costume: same glasses, additional wings.

the pencil is doing wand duty

the purple-haired character on schweg.xyz is the illustrated version of me. he normally has a pencil. for halloween, he gets a plum wizard outfit and the pencil gets a promotion. useful range for one piece of stationery.

Moots brought two ghosts

Moots’ overlapping-circle idea becomes a pair of friendly sheet ghosts for halloween. one ivory, one lavender, both looking considerably more approachable than most things associated with a block checker.

a small invitation to get spooky

the new experience starts with a small animated character floating over the page after a short pause. clicking the costumed visitor will turn on the dark halloween look, with orange accents and animated backgrounds that lean spooky, whimsical, and a little camp.

it’s optional. the invitation can be dismissed with ×, and the appearance can be reversed. the controls are being brought together in the header, where the light and dark choices live, so changing the look has one place to go.

i’m keeping the character small and the page usable. keyboard access, reduced-motion behavior, dismissal, and getting back to your previous appearance are part of the final checks before the whole family is ready.

the shelves get a costume, too

trove’s halloween shelf styling is getting its own attention, including portrait images for sharing a shelf in stories. i’ll give those a closer look separately; this introduction belongs to the little bat supervising the collection.

first halloween, then the next outfit

the sites share the seasonal groundwork, but each keeps its own character. christmas is planned next, in november. for now, the dress code is capes, wings, and sheets.