RPC Authority

after some ironing out, the liberties taken with norse mythology end up actually doing it more good than bad

very epic good job pierson

I really like this article, it handles mythology in a fun way and comes out with an interesting twist, but falls apart at the end, in a way that makes me drop my vote from a 5 to a 3.

The idea of Odin being an RPC is fine, but the way this is just casually and explicitly presented rubs me the wrong way, especially given the article repeatedly just calls him odin and then redacts the rpc number (it'd be like using the name of any other humanoid rpc- it's not fitting with the tone and just feels like a namedrop).

Particularly this:

Researcher Weaver: (Clears throat) Yes, but, he's quite alive.

Why does this guy know this? How did he survive being eaten? If we're going along with the idea that it's just common knowledge amongst researchers that odin is a nebulous rpc, why is his number redacted in-universe, beyond the fact that he doesn't exist on the actual meta catalogue?

Note(s): We're gonna have to keep an eye on RPC-197 since he found out that RPC-███ is alive, and within our hands. As a precaution, security has been increased within the premises of RPC-197. — Head of Site Security, Lt. Colonel Keener.

This follows on with another jump- the researcher doesn't say the authority has him in captivity, it's a jump to have 197 think he is, or the memo writer think he think he knows this. It's also… not really implied or show to us why he'd be so mad that odin is still around, there's not any real indication that he explicitly wanted odin dead since the "i ate him after he attacked me" thing sounds defensive and isn't presented with any venom in the wording.

RPC-197: Then I will pursue my goal to destroy this organization. The Authority must be destroyed, for it will be my destiny.

This… also seems way out of left field, it could work if developed more beforehand but it's just not a good stinger here given what the rest of the article's tone is.

As a pretty wild suggestion, this article would be a lot better if it were vaguer- cut out the random researcher being like "actually odin is an rpc", cut out the explicit monologue at the end between fenfir and what i assume to be loki, and merge them together in a more mysterious way. Have him escape after an incident and have the stinger be the level 5 redacted video recording of a global director (or a shady figure implied to be a global director by the dialogue rather than the actual log text, to make it less obvious?) taunting him, with the implication the figure is odin himself, who leaves and then fenfir escapes to go after him.

I just think the ending needs a lot more "show don't tell" than it has now, so I can't in good conscience vote it the 5 that i think it has the potential to be

Very rich background delivered with poised execution. It's prime 5 star material.

I love it

Special thanks to the people over at the Discord and in the forums in particular for helping me out on this project.

I would to personally thank Lieutenant Marshall does not match any existing user name, SSplinterful, and ToxiKoal for their wonderful voices on the interviews!

If you have any thoughts about the article, feel free to comment below! :)

- Dr. Pierson

Awesome job on the audio log

Not much to say or complain about this one. The audio logs were a pleasant experience and one of the GDs knowing who the RPC is was a fun surprise. I think its because this one didn't stand out strongly in any way to me. Down to its core, its just vanilla Norse mythology. Its fine how it is, however adding more spice to the entity itself could bump this up from 4 stars to 5 for me.