Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary

@experimentego

Anglophonic Tsinoy | He/They | Twitch @ experimentego Just a cat in a human suit. The death of print magazines put me on retirement. Sometimes I still get to write words. "Aren't you, *the* Matthew Arcilla?" "I used to be."

429 Following326 Followers1,614 Posts

Twitch Bluesky

Is this your profile?Claim it and experimentego.dirty.social is yours.Claim profile

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 13d

Merlin is a cool customer.

An orange cat lying in bed wearing small but appropriately sized sunglasses.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 13d

A blonde woman in a pink knitted shirt standing in front of a knitted print that reads "Kevin Can Fuck Himself," with the word "fuck" obscured by her head.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 18d

Eight letters means it can't stand for 'The Elder Scrolls VI: LAYOFFS' so it's probably, 'The Elder Scrolls VI: BULLSHIT'

Tweet from Xbox's Asha Sharma reads, "Live playthrough of The Elder Scrolls VI: ******** this morning. The scale and grandeur are incredible. The story is even greater."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 18d

Me too! I'm a Spider-Verse enjoyer and as dumb as it sounds I realized it only this month when the domestic assistants and nurses here pointed out these squishmallows, so uh okay maybe you and I are not the same! ::sheepish grin::

Squishmallows of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Spider-Man: Peter Parker and Spider-Woman: Gwen Stacy

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 19d

Doc Brown in a scene from Back to the Future III leaning down from the steps of his time traveling choo choo, telling Jennifer Parker and Marty McFly, "Your journalism is whatever you make it! So make it a good one!"

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 24d

EXCERPT:

"The Philippines’ anti-fake news bill is, in many ways, a copy of neighboring countries’ attempts to use the law to exert greater control over public expression on social media.

"In 2019, Singapore passed POFMA, or the Protection Against Online Falsehoods and Misinformation Act, which academics criticized as a “new form of authoritarian information control.” Meanwhile, Thailand’s 2016 Computer Cyber-Crime Act supplements its older Criminal Code by increasing penalties against those who criticize the royal family.

"In 2024, an opposition politician was convicted of violating both laws, prompting digital rights groups to denounce the “draconian nature” of measures intended to stifle dissent and legitimate criticism of the government.

"Thai political scientist Janjira Sombatpoonsiri has long studied these transnational trends, calling them “weaponized lawfare.” She has observed that autocratic and autocratizing governments “learn from each other” how to combine legal mechanisms with more insidious online armies to intimidate opponents and consolidate control.

"It is notable that House Bill No. 9465 gained new momentum following youth-led anti-corruption movements in the Philippines and across the broader region. Just as Gen Z activists learned from one another and amplified their causes — from Indonesia’s shaming of #NepoBabies to the Philippines’ anti-corruption #TrillionPesoMarch in 2025 — political elites across countries have also learned strategies of digital repression from one another."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 24d

Dungeons & Dragons x Star Wars & Dungeons & Dragons x Warcraft are great and all, but why not this instead

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 25d

My daughter, perfect in her suffering

A mostly white calico with black ears, a perfect black dot above her left nostril wearing a blue white and pink collar and a blue bell holding onto my shoulder for dear life

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· 29d

Emperor Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire struggled to articulate his problems with Starfield when it was presented to him Todd Howard, but he felt similarly as you did!

Jeffrey Jones as Emperor Joseph in Amadeus (1984), speaking to Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). He says that there is "Too much game! There is in fact, only so much game one can play over the course of an evening."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jul 7

Show me a cool physical game

The box for Spycraft: The Great Game, 1996. It is a black box with thin horizontal lines and in the center a crosshair fixed upon a man's face that is out of focus.

The tag above reads, "Danger and deception in the new world order." Flanking the crosshair are the names, "William Colby, CIA, Former Director," and "Oleg Kalugin, KGB, Former Major General."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 19

Fine. poomang.com/en/t/brain_t...

Mental Age: 28
"The world is such a cold, scary place."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 17

"You have your next assignment, Agent 47. I leave you to prepare."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 15

Introduce yourself with four video games

The box art for Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich, released 2005 for PC. It depicts a superhero in 18th century inspired patriot regalia punching a Nazi soldier in the face. To the left are bubbles depicting other characters and promising "Story-based multiplayer!" and "All new villains!" Above reads the title, "Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich," in kitschy but modern comic book-style lettering.

The box art for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri released 1999 for the PC. A star rises above the horizon of Chiron, an alien planet not unlike Earth but dissimilar in terrain. Faded into the void of space above are the faces of leaders, diverse individuals who represent the factions who compete to determine mankind's future on the planet.

Key art for Evolve, released in 2015 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. In a misty forest, a team of individuals equipped with advanced gear and weaponry -- the spy turned medic Val, the engineer turned offensive support Hank, the welder turned assault Markov and celebrity hunter turned trapper Griffin -- face off against a 40 foot tall creature, a monstrous hulking figure known as the Goliath. Emblazoned across the backdrop is the stylized banner for the game's name, "Evolve."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 14

A three panel comic book page.

In the first panel, a blue-skinned man, known as the omnipotent Doctor Manhattan, looks up thinking, "It's 2018 and the World Cup is being held under a brutal oppressive regime."

The second panel depicts the same man but from a further distance. He is on Mars and is looking out into space. He muses, "It's 2022 and the World Cup is being held under a brutal oppressive regime."

The third panel sees him seated on a rocky pile thinking, "It's 2026 and the World Cup is being held under a brutal oppressive regime."

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 12

A villain from Mazinger Z named Baron Ashura. A single person made from the split halves of a man and a woman, dressed in a black and purple cloak

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 7

Waiting for dinner. Which is in six hours, but he doesn't know that.

A very handsome orange cat. His name is Merlin.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Jun 4

Spirit energy? At this time of the year? At this time of day? In this part of the map? Localized entirely within the Japanese?

The Superintendent of Springfield education astonished.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· May 27

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· May 24

A still from Star Trek: The Next Generation. A starship with a disc like prow attached to a sloped midsection twin cylinders that house propulsion systems called nacelles, travels space along a drifting asteroid. It's the USS Enterprise. A caption in the classic episode title font reads, "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar"

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· May 16

My spouse, listening to me explain why the 33 year old 3DO is a superior means to re-experience the interactive cinema classic Wing Commander III: The Heart of the Tiger, the Citizen Kane of videogames.

A middle age man with a bald head and glasses and short trimmed beard is sitting at a table a diner across his colleague, a young man in his twenties. It's Walter White from the iconic "what the fuck are you talking about" moment in AMC's Breaking Bad.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 24

"Today is World Book Day. Post a photo of the book you're currently reading." #booksky #worldbookday

A soft cover copy of "How to Stand Up to a Dictator," by Maria Ressa.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 21

Where Deck Nine got it right was with True Colors, in which Alex Chen's empathokinetic abilities peel open the psychological context of the actions of those around her. It has a thinner plot that Max's first adventure but contextualizes pain and grief for Haven Springs and for Alex.

A young woman with dark hair and glasses in a hoodie shirt with a denim jacket sits in front of a poster depicting various emotional states. It's Alex Chen, the protagonist of Life is Strange: True Colors.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 21

This is why Before the Storm misses the mark with Chloe's Backtalk ability. Not because it isn't a paranormal skill but because it does nothing to explore and expand what's going on with her and Rachel Amber. The story is... okay. But it would be better if Backtalk or any other skill did anything.

A tattooed bouncer in a brown shirt points his finger disapprovingly at a young woman with brown hair wearing a dark jacket. The young woman is Chloe, the protagonist of Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 18

It gives me the same energy as To Wong Foo's "Places for Homos"

An officer of the law -- Sheriff Dollard played by the late Chris Penn -- is mostly offscreen but we can see he is writing a list on a clipboard.

His list reads: "Places for Homos"

"1. Flower Shops
2. Ballet Schools
3. Flight Attendant Lounges
3. Restaurants for Brunch
4. Antique--"

Dollard's writing hand obscures the rest.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 16

Text in the style of a janky capitalized sans serif font, like that of a classic anti-piracy ad from the 1990s:

"YOU WOULDN'T CUSTOMIZE A MILF"

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 13

A JPG of a middle aged man with unruly white hair and unkempt hair encased in a life support harness with massive tubes going in and out of it. It's Jeremiah Surd, the quadriplegic supervillain cyber criminal from The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Apr 9

Current mood: "One of the great things to pretend is that you're not only alright, you're in great shape. Now to have that come true... "I've actually gone on stage depressed and that's worked its magic on me, because if I can convince you that I'm alright, then maybe I can convince me."

A black and white photo of Carrie Fisher, on the set of Empire Strikes Back when she was 23 years old. She is laughing while making eye contact with the camera.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Mar 30

Okay kid, I get it it's you time

A calico cat, mostly white with black stained ears sitting in front of a computer monitor. She is wearing a red and blue Spider-Man themed collar. On screen is a Bluesky post of her from a different angle, looking down at her.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Mar 30

Morning with the smol

A calico cat, mostly white with black ears and a little black spot on the right side of her nose.

Matthew Arcilla, editorial mercenary@experimentego· Mar 28

By Shin Electromilk, 2021. www.instagram.com/electromilk/