diff --git a/waku/node/v2/rpc/rpc_publish.nim b/waku/node/v2/rpc/rpc_publish.nim
index 93f36eb4c..e96ad1268 100644
--- a/waku/node/v2/rpc/rpc_publish.nim
+++ b/waku/node/v2/rpc/rpc_publish.nim
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import
   os, strutils, strformat, chronicles, json_rpc/[rpcclient, rpcserver], nimcrypto/sysrand,
+  stew/byteutils,
   libp2p/protobuf/minprotobuf,
   eth/common as eth_common, eth/keys,
   system,
-  options
+  options,
+  ../waku_types
 
 from strutils import rsplit
 template sourceDir: string = currentSourcePath.rsplit(DirSep, 1)[0]
@@ -18,8 +20,9 @@ if paramCount() < 1:
 let rpcPort = Port(parseInt(paramStr(1)))
 
 echo "Please enter your message:"
-let message = readLine(stdin)
-echo "Message is:", message
+let raw_input = readLine(stdin)
+let input = fmt"{raw_input}"
+echo "Input is:", input
 
 var node = newRpcHttpClient()
 waitfor node.connect("localhost", rpcPort)
@@ -27,5 +30,10 @@ waitfor node.connect("localhost", rpcPort)
 # Subscribe ourselves to topic
 #var res = node.wakuSubscribe("waku")
 
-# TODO When RPC uses Node, create WakuMessage and pass instead
-var res2 = waitfor node.wakuPublish("waku", cast[seq[byte]]("hello world"))
+let pubSubTopic = "waku"
+let contentTopic = "foobar"
+var wakuMessage = WakuMessage(payload: input.toBytes(), contentTopic: contentTopic)
+# XXX This should be WakuMessage type, but need to setup JSON-RPC mapping for that to work
+var raw_bytes = wakuMessage.encode().buffer
+var res = waitfor node.wakuPublish2(pubSubTopic, raw_bytes)
+echo "Waku publish response: ", res
diff --git a/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakucallsigs.nim b/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakucallsigs.nim
index f398f5738..3ee5c9d75 100644
--- a/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakucallsigs.nim
+++ b/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakucallsigs.nim
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Alpha - Currently implemented in v2
 proc waku_version(): string
+# TODO Deprecate old waku_publish, requires adjust simulation code etc
 proc waku_publish(topic: string, message: seq[byte]): bool
+# TODO This should be properly done with rpc types, etc.
+proc waku_publish2(topic: string, message: seq[byte]): bool
 proc waku_subscribe(topic: string): bool
 #proc waku_subscribe(topic: string, handler: Topichandler): bool
 
diff --git a/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakurpc.nim b/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakurpc.nim
index a127f4225..73452704c 100644
--- a/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakurpc.nim
+++ b/waku/node/v2/rpc/wakurpc.nim
@@ -33,17 +33,35 @@ proc setupWakuRPC*(node: WakuNode, rpcsrv: RpcServer) =
     #if not result:
     #  raise newException(ValueError, "Message could not be posted")
 
-  # TODO: Handler / Identifier logic
-  rpcsrv.rpc("waku_subscribe") do(topic: string) -> bool:
-    debug "waku_subscribe", topic=topic
-    let wakuRelay = cast[WakuRelay](node.switch.pubSub.get())
+  rpcsrv.rpc("waku_publish2") do(topic: string, payload: seq[byte]) -> bool:
+    let msg = WakuMessage.init(payload)
+    if msg.isOk():
+      debug "waku_publish", msg=msg
+    else:
+      warn "waku_publish decode error", msg=msg
 
-    # XXX: Hacky in-line handler
-    proc handler(topic: string, data: seq[byte]) {.async, gcsafe.} =
-      info "Hit subscribe handler", topic=topic, data=data
-
-    # TODO: Shouldn't we really be doing WakuNode subscribe here?
-    discard wakuRelay.subscribe(topic, handler)
+    debug "waku_publish", topic=topic, payload=payload, msg=msg[]
+    node.publish(topic, msg[])
+    return true
+    #if not result:
+    #  raise newException(ValueError, "Message could not be posted")
+
+  # TODO: Handler / Identifier logic
+  rpcsrv.rpc("waku_subscribe") do(topic: string) -> bool:
+    debug "waku_subscribe", topic=topic
+
+    # XXX: Hacky in-line handler
+    proc handler(topic: string, data: seq[byte]) {.async, gcsafe.} =
+      let msg = WakuMessage.init(data)
+      if msg.isOk():
+        debug "waku_subscribe handler", msg=msg
+      else:
+        warn "waku_subscribe decode error", msg=msg
+
+      var readable_str = cast[string](msg[].payload)
+      info "Hit subscribe handler", topic=topic, msg=msg[], payload=readable_str
+
+    node.subscribe(topic, handler)
     return true
     #if not result:
     #  raise newException(ValueError, "Message could not be posted")