Though there aren't a lot of birds to be seen these days, I'm seeing a lot of mushrooms springing up here and there. I saw morels for the first time in the wild! More mushroom photos later in the gazette.

It's also monarch butterfly season. Read on for to see a monarch raised from an egg!

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The Deadly Bluff work in progress

Developer update: The hotel interior is nearly finished. I added some comfy couches, side tables, plants, and sconces. Soon I'll be moving onto another background!

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I participated in Best of Nintendon't 9, hosted by Goati_! It's a retro Twitch streaming event, featuring dozens of streamers over three days. The only requirement was to play a game that wasn't a Nintendo game (nothing against Nintendo!). This was my first time doing it and I had a blast. I streamed Earthrise, a game that I originally streamed two years ago. It's a wonderful game and a pleasure to revisit. Here's my segment.

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The Crimson Diamond key art

The Crimson Diamond is the cozy mystery adventure game I made, and it's sold on Steam, itchio, GOG and FireFlower Games. Sometimes people ask me where the best place is to buy the game, to support me as an indie dev. Steam is best (especially if you also leave a positive review), it's incredibly helpful for visibility on the store. But please choose whichever option is best for you.

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Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is now on Switch 1 and 2! Here's the store page. I did the pixel art for the game and I'm very proud of it! The game is also available on PC and Xbox.

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Monarch butterfly egg?

Monarch butterflies undergo an amazing transformation. From eggs smaller than sesame seeds to glorious winged creatures.

Monarch butterfly tiny caterpillar

Monarch butterfly magnified tiny caterpillar

Here's the little caterpillar magnified under my loupe.

Monarch butterfly larger caterpillar

Monarch butterfly cocoon

Monarch butterfly fresh out of cocoon

Monarch butterfly ready to fly away

So far my mom's only raised one monarch butterfly this year. We'll be searching for more eggs over the next few weeks.

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fourthwall store

If you'd like some awesome The Crimson Diamond stickers, hats, t-shirts and more, I have some fun stuff on my Fourthwall store. I particularly like the embroidered items, and they all ship and arrive quite quickly, no matter where you are in the world.

And if you're interested in setting up a Fourthwall store of your own, here's my referral link (I'd get $15 credit :D).
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Mushroom I found and photographed 1

More mushrooms I've seen recently! I photograph them as I see them, so this lovely red and white specimen looks like it's been harvested and tasted by an animal.

Mushroom I found and photographed 2

Mushroom I found and photographed 3

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July 2026 VOD thumbnail

Streaming continues, with more art and more gaming.

I've started playing Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin and very much enjoying it so far!

Livestream VOD round-up. All the streams since last gazette are here:

June 16th art stream, June 23rd art stream, June 30th art stream, July 7th art stream.

Crimson C'Tuesday happens every Tuesday at 8pm Eastern on Twitch. Come and hang out!

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Screencap of Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin

Let's Play Hokkaido Rensa Satsujin! It's cool to visit Hokkaido destinations. And I haven't gotten stuck yet :).

Here's the playlist so far.

My completed Let's Plays:

Personal Nightmare (Horrorsoft 1989)

Last Half of Darkness (Softlab Software Laboratories 1989)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (LucasArts 1989)

Rise of the Dragon Let's Play (Dynamix, 1990)

The Sorceror's Appraisal (Yahtzee Croshaw, 2002)

Cruise for a Corpse (Delphine Software International, 1991)

Mortville Manor (Lankhor, 1987)

Legend of the Sword (Silicon Software, 1988)

Loom (Lucasfilm Games, 1990)

Altered Destiny (Accolade, 1990)

The Dark Convergence (Jeffrey Kintz, 1993)

The Dark Convergence 2 (Jeffrey Kintz, 1994)

High Seas Homicide (Sherwood Forest Software, 1993)

Denarius Avaricius Sextus (Thorsoft of Letchworth,1992)

Earthrise (Interstel, 1990)

Lord Avalot d'Argent (Thorsoft of Letchworth, 1995)

Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess (ERE Informatique, 1989)

Omnicron Conspiracy (First Star Software, 1989 / Streaksy, 2025)

Neuromancer -- UNFINISHED LP (Interplay, 1989)

Double Dragon EGA (Technos Japan, 1988)

Double Dragon CGA (Technos Japan, 1988)

Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (Enix, 1985)

The Twilight Zone (Gigabit Systems Inc., 1988)

Heart of China (Dynamix, 1991)

Karuizawa Yūkai Annai (Enix, 1986)

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Do you love it when people are wearing pants? You might enjoy Pantsmo's Pantaloon Adventure, a free, modded version of Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure. eviltentacle is the mastermind of the project, with some assistance from me and Emmfoolery.

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Photo of artificial ruby hemisphere, from Wikipedia, contributed by Ms saisujana

Photo from Wikipedia, July 2026, contributed by Ms saisujana

MINERAL TRIVIA SECTION

DID YOU KNOW: Rubies were some of the first gemstones to be created in labs! Geneva Rubies were developed and sold in the late 1800s. The process involved bits of rubies that were melted and reconstituted. Nowadays, rubies can be grown from their component elements to create gems with or without the inclusions that are a signature feature of the natural stones. Read more about lab-created rubies here and here.

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All The Crimson Diamond cross-stitches

CRAFT CORNER

Here are all the speech portraits I've cross-stitched for The Crimson Diamond, and the logo. Eventually this will be incorporated into a quilt!

Here are the DMC Embroidery floss colours I used for this project:

EGA DMC embroidery floss colours

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Holiday card 2025 process GIF

INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE CRIMSON DIAMOND?

I have Patreon and PayPal. Or visit The Crimson Diamond's Steam page to purchase or follow the game. (Steam reviews are super helpful and appreciated!) It's also available on GOG, itchio and FireFlower Games.

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Thanks for reading. Happy July!

-- JM