RPC-454 / Discussion

This is the discussion related to the wiki page RPC-454.

Excer 09 Jan 2021 19:57

http://rpcauthority.wikidot.com/forum/t-13969387/excer-2

Crit Thread Here.

Almarduk 13 Jan 2021 22:27

I feel like the Auctoritas addenda could be integrated into a single concise addendum, to leave more space for the later resurfacing of the the anomaly.

I don't think I really follow the narrative that you're trying to construct. It is significantly muddied by the less-than-excellent clinical tone, although certain segments shine in spite of it.

+3 for now.

DoubleDenial 11 Oct 2022 00:32

The formatting on this one leaves a bit to be desired. The use of tabviews is clunky and unnecessary, and for some reason the Church of Malthus is linked the second time that they're mentioned in the article. Also, why are random numbers put in parentheses? Are they a secret code that I need to get the true ending or something?

The tone is also weak at times, though it could be much worse. The clunkiest part of the article to me is when it leads into a bulleted list with "with some noticeably larger ones being on the".

I also felt like it took a while to get to the point. Most parts seem to go on for at least a little longer than they need to, making the important parts harder to discern. The base effect is mostly uninteresting, which may sound strange, but this kind of body horror is really a dime a dozen to me. The first three addendums, while not entirely pointless, felt like white noise. I think they could be shortened greatly to improve the article.

When I got past all that, though, I thought this was actually a really decent article. The dialogue is engaging, and the story is gripping once it gets going. I've been reading all the Malthus articles, and this is one of the few that has really made good use of the group. There's a great story here, but the bad parts haven't been fully chiseled away in its current state. When I was finished, I got enough of the idea to enjoy it, though maybe not at its full potential. 4/5

In which DoubleDenial rereads an article and appreciates it less...

DoubleDenial 23 Jul 2025 23:06

(This review is adapted from thoughts I gave in the RPC Reading Club.)

To quote a classic SCP catchphrase: "should've been a tale." The anomaly itself is dull and inconsequential to the story, which tries at an interpersonal drama against the backdrop of changing attitudes during the Authority renaissance.

I say "tries" because it's so freaking schmaltzy. Admittedly, I wouldn't be surprised if there's somebody out there who likes it for that exact reason, but to me it's cloying.

Dr. Beth: Do you know when a cure might become possible?

Dr. Russel: Given our current technology, supplies and access to the anomalous, I'd say in about one-hundred years time, give or take.

This excerpt, typo included, accurately exemplifies the caliber of writing. The story beats are hammered in as if for a child to understand: this line makes the intended resolution obvious, and Chapmen's archetype is telegraphed from his first appearance. Everyone instantly shuts down his efforts to help, because he's just too young to understand!

Neither is the anomaly particularly engaging on its own merits. It's pretty stock body horror: a random parasitic thing that grows out of you. RPC-945 (which is an article I've probably brought up enough times already) delivers the same shtick with far greater impact due to the sharpness of its image. In contrast, this goes across four different designations that are all kind of doing their own thing, none of which are nearly as freaky as whatever 945-1 is.

What I do appreciate, though, is the setting. It covers a lot of historical ground and even tries its damnedest to characterize the CoM with real depth—the only time I've seen them do anything helpful, let alone for the Authority, and I wouldn't mind more stories from this inventive angle. The Authority's attitudes at the time, too, inform the events of the article, and these nuances within the groups are perhaps the only things it succeeds in communicating gently.

The decision to include the epilogue, which at best only serves to explain the coverup, remains elusive to me, but that's par for the course. Some scenes progress the story and some don't; it's too long for its own good, as evidenced by numerous unresolved typos. I don't intend to demean the effort, which is clearly there, but it doesn't honestly make for such a great read.