r/whowouldwin • u/TheAsianIsGamin • Jul 19 '25
Event Character Scramble Season 20 Round 0: Eden Prime
To determine Roster Seeding, Round 0 writeups will be ranked from 1-5 by our esteemed panel of judges. Seeding scores will be determined by the judges’ averaged ranks of your stories, with higher ranks receiving higher seeds. All three judges will read all Round 0s.
Your Judges are: /u/TheAsianIsGamin, /u/Proletlariet, and /u/Talvasha
When judge voting goes up for this round, we'll have a WWW moderator lock the thread, preventing anyone from posting more. Make sure to get all of your writing done on time!
The Character Scramble is a long-running writing prompt tournament in which participants submit characters from fiction to a specified tier and guideline. After the submission period ends, the submitted characters are "scrambled" and randomly distributed to each writer, forming their team for the season. Writers will then be entered into a single-elimination bracket, where they write a story that features their team fighting against their opponent's team. Victors are decided based on reader votes; in other words, if you want people to vote for you, write some good content. The winner by votes of each match-up moves on to the next round. The pattern continues until only one participant remains: the new Character Scramble champion, who gets to choose the theme, tier, and rules of the next Scramble!
The theme of Character Scramble 20 is Scramble Effect. Round prompts will be based on the many worlds, missions, and memorable moments found throughout the Mass Effect series.
Join the Character Scramble Discord!
Round 0: Eden Prime
Lightyears away from where any of its ancestors once roamed, a rooster crows. The sun turns the purple of dawn into a bright, beautiful azure, and from within the arcologies that dot the land, efficient with both energy and space, the people rise just as slowly. There’s much work to be done, out there on the fields, but mornings like this are worth enjoying. The skies are clear, the land is fertile, and all is quiet. It’s hardly the most exciting corner of the galaxy—and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be.
Until an unexpected discovery turns this once-sleepy idyll into a flashpoint. At first, your team thinks this is a simple mission: Recover whatever it is they found, and slip out to get it where it needs to be before anyone can make a fuss.
But the moment your team makes it onto the planet, a firefight breaks out with an unforeseen enemy. Soon, it becomes clear: Something important has been unearthed, and someone wants it. Badly enough to kill for it.
Round Rules:.
Galaxy Map: Hundreds of billions of stars, each with its own system of planets. Your round doesn’t have to take place on an agrarian colony—or even on a sci-fi planet at all. But a season like this is about discovery as much as anything else. Start to show your audience where you’ve brought us.
Find the Beacon: Whether by being ordered to investigate it, or by chance, your team stumbles upon an object revealing something rather sinister. This object can be an artifact showing you visions, a murder weapon, written logs, a witness, or anything your story needs. But it has to be threatening—something your team never would have expected.
Don’t Worry. I’ve Got it Under Control: A contact or ally that your team expects to help instead betrays you. This contact must come from one of the Class Role Adoption Pools other than the one you adopt from.
The Price of Revenge: The traitor acts swiftly to take or destroy the object—without care for any bystanders or collateral damage. They set bombs, or a computer virus, or something else that would have disastrous effects for everybody around you. You must choose one of the following prompts:
- Paragon: There are lives at stake, right here, right now—and besides, you’ve already seen the evidence yourself. The powers that be will just have to believe you. Let the traitor escape, lose the object, and save lives.
- Renegade: Your newfound mission is too important. Hunt the traitor down, defeat them, and take the object back.
We Could Use Your Help: Your team comes with two characters, but you must select your third from the unscrambled characters of the Class you do not currently have, listed in tables below the roster here.
Normal Rules:
Stand Fast, Stand Strong, Stand Together: Nobody can take on a mission like this alone. You’ve got a team of the brightest, toughest, and deadliest allies a Scrambler can find—use them. We’d love to see your characters make full use of their wide-ranging abilities, both on their own and as a team.
We Will Hold The Line: You know what’s at stake. Failure is not an option. Even if your characters have only a small chance of victory, write that small chance happening!
Special Tactics and Reconnaissance: Saving the galaxy will take more than the same old tricks. You are allowed and encouraged to mix and match powers, and to develop your characters in any way you wish, both on the battlefield and off. However, your opponents are not expected to keep track of these in-story changes, and vice-versa.
Every Life Is a Special Story of Its Own: Feel free to give a brief summary to introduce your characters at the start of your post. If you do, you should mention things like powers, personality, history, and anything else that the average reader should know before reading.
Legendary Edition: Sometimes, Spectres have to go a little outside the lines in service of their mission. You’ll have the same latitude—as long as you go with the broad strokes of the prompts and the rules, you'll be fine.
Round 0 will run from Saturday, July 19th to Saturday, August 9th, 11:59pm US Eastern Time.
The character limit for this round is 4 full length Reddit comments, or 40k characters.
While it is fine to go a little bit over, anything that far surpasses this limit will be disqualified. This limit does not include intro posts, or analysis of the matchup.
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u/Ohnijin Boris Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
Far outside the town, they were taken to the entrance of this ‘no man’s land.’ It was a part of the desert, one in which Flint sensed dangerous things lurking within it.
Jack was the first to set foot in the territory. His steps were silent as he made his way deep into the territory, Archer similarly so. Vash, however, needed to watch his steps much more carefully. He didn’t get far until something rose from the dunes beneath them. Spider-like machines—guardians.
They seemed like they had it handled, in the meantime Flint and Rifle made small talk. “So… the kids…”
Rifle shook his head. “Ain’t mine. Some lost their parents in a great calamity some time ago, others’re just street rats without names.”
“And your past, that the regulars were talkin’ about.”
“Well you heard ‘em. Used to be the renowned criminal ‘Longarm Rifle’ feared across the galaxy, ‘till I got caught.” He brandished his mechanical arm. “Losta buncha my chrome in the Kyln, brought back less when I broke out. But I found sumn’ better than that.”
“Yeah?”
He turned back to his home. “Originally they’re just following me around, while I planned for my ‘comeback.’ Heh. Feel silly thinkin’ bout it now.” He cleared his throat. “Eventually realized that I didn’t wanna be the bad guy anymore. My original plan was to save up enough to set them kids up with proper parents—sold the last of my tech for it—but they were adamant bout stickin’ with me.”
“…I know the feeling.”
“You have someone back where yer from?”
“My daughter, Keemia. She was just a kid when I took her in, but…” He looked to the sky. “…Seems I missed out on her growing up.” He sighed. “I was never a good guy. Started crime back in highschool, an’ kept goin’ since then. Wish I had a chance to change, for her sake.”
Rifle bumped a fist to his chest. “Word of advice: people ain’t ever stagnant. We change our minds on things big and small constantly. That means you’re free to do whatever, and more importantly, it’s never too late for you to change.” Flint smiled at the idea, that even now he had a chance to be better.
“Are you two done chatting over there?” Archer called over from the sea of machine corpses, dismembered and scrapped.
“Coming.”
The group ventured deeper into the no man’s land, until they reached a cliff. Under it was a large pit of sand. Rifle pointed at it. “Excerpt says it’s in there.”
Flint cracked his neck; a few grains fell out. “I got this.” He took a few steps back, then rushed forward, diving headfirst into the pit. Vash and Archer called out to him, but he knew what he was doing.
Falling, falling, falling. But not like last time—this time was different. There was fear, yes, but not of the fall, rather what would come next. What matters is that he dove with intent, and that’ll keep him sane. His body became a droplet plunging into a sea of sand, becoming one with it. He was sluggish at first, but he adapted. Like a torrent he spun creating a hole in the center growing ever wider. The sand spread outward and upward like falling in reverse until finally the hole was clear, revealing a spiraling slope into the underground. Flint reformed in front of the group. “Path’s clear, you can come down safely.” He smirked. “Be waiting for you at the bottom.” His form sunk back into the sand.
“I liked him better when he was exhausted.” Archer complained as he and the others walked down to meet Flint.
At the bottom of the pit, the group faced an enormous cave. Whatever they’re searching for, it’s in there. “ …In we go, I guess.” Vash said as he braced to step in.
As they ventured through the dark, Flint wondered something. “Say, Vash, what’re you getting out of this?”
“Nothing, really. I’m just along for the ride.”
“Really? Not tryna clear your name or anythin’?”
“Couldn’t even if I wanted to…” The outlaw slumped.
Archer turned to him. “Despite your reputation you like helping people, yet you’d be doing more good if you turned yourself in.” His glance turned to a glare. “Whether you like it or not, trouble will follow you wherever you go.”
Vash lowered his head and mumbled to himself. “Trouble’s been following me even before then.” He pouted and kicked rocks, until he bumped into Jack’s back. “What the—” Vash looked up. They were here.
The structure was larger than any he’d ever seen—than any of them had ever seen. An enormous platform the size of the town and two cybernetic spikes jutting upward, curving inward in an incomplete circle. A little ways away was more tech, likely a control panel and power supply. No, this wasn’t just any alien device, Flint recognized it. It was…
“…A portal?” The others looked at him.
“Is this the one you went through?” Archer asked.
“Nah, way too big. But I know a portal when I see it.”
They admired its monolithic size, all but two. These two knew what this portal was. It wasn’t salvation—it was a weapon, waiting for a master to wake it and spill more blood. One saw a piece of history that should’ve stayed buried. The other saw a means to an end, as all decisions must come at great cost. The latter—Archer—walked to the control center.
“You can’t.” Vash—the former—grabbed Archer’s shoulder, significantly more serious than before. “This portal—it's powered by Gamma energy. The amount of energy used to open it is comparable to a neutron star! Just activating it could destroy all of Drywood, if not all of Gunsmoke!”
“And just how do you know that?” Flint squinted.
“I—” Vash held his tongue, he said too much.
The sheriff began to panic. “Are the people safe? A–are my kids safe?” Vash said nothing. Rifle shook him by both his shoulders. “ARE THEY SAFE, VASH?!”
Vash looked solemnly, Rifle got his answer and fell to his knees—he just led this world to hell. “I…”
Archer continued forward. Rifle reached out. “Wait… no…” His pleas were ignored. One more stood in his way. Jack stood firm in Archer’s path. “I will not take part in this.” Archer raised a brow. “Is this not what you wanted?”
“I will not let innocent lives perish for the sake of my goals!”
“Lives that won’t exist anyway when you return!”
“Existing or not, I refuse to sacrifice the townspeople for the sake of opening this portal.” Archer was outraged. “You would let go of your second chance? The power to fix your mistakes?” He clenched his fists. “Fine. Be that way. I won’t waste this chance. I will undo my curse, whatever it takes.”
Flint heard the conversation and was in conflict. Those people would die if the portal activated, but as Archer said this probably won’t even happen when he goes back to the past. But these people, they do exist. Sheriff Longarm, the bandits, the regulars. Just because they’re not from his time doesn’t mean they should pay the price for his actions. Yet still he had to choose: go back now and return to Keemia, or stay here and abandon her, likely forever. He didn’t like either option, but the choice was clear.
Jack’s sword sunk into the sand.
Vash turned to face Flint—he looked betrayed. The Sandman stared solemnly. “I’m sorry, but my daughter needs me.” Immediately the ground began to tremble as sand rose from the floor, creating many hands that reach at the opposing three.
They’re far quicker, however. “Sheriff, get back!” Vash yells as he fires at one of the sandy hands. It disperses, but quickly reforms. “Wuh-oh.” Vash rolls out of the way before it grabs him. He needs to find a way to the main body, but how?
Meanwhile Jack uses his agility to get his blade back from the Sandman. Armed again, he blocks Archer’s path once more. The two are locked in a standstill. Archer scoffed. “Very well. You’ve made your choice.” He reached his hands forward, twin blades like Yin and Yang manifested before them.
“And you yours…”
Archer charged at his former comrade striking at blinding speed. Jack parried the onslaught as best he could, waiting for an opening. He thrust forward, forcing Archer to deflect and back off. Now Jack was on the offensive, his strikes started slow to gauge his opponent’s reflexes. As expected Archer dodged without effort. Slowly, he upped the pace with little change. Until finally, with an unexpectedly swift strike, he cut into his thigh. Blood splashed as Archer’s balance faltered, but this fight was only getting started.
Vash didn’t know what to do. He managed to get Rifle to safety, but he’s still facing this head on. Luckily he was hidden, but knowing him that wouldn’t last long. “Vash, please.” Sandman called out to him. “I don’t wanna fight you man. Either I sacrifice them, or sacrifice my daughter. I can’t make that choice, but I have to pick one.”
“I understand, Flint.” Vash popped out of his hiding spot. “I just don’t agree.” He aimed but not at the Sandman. His barrel redirected to the control panel. He fired.
“No!” Sandman’s body shifted to stop it. Meanwhile Vash booked it for Archer & Jack. “Hey Jack, wanna switch partners?”
Sandman charged at them. Jack readied his blade and cleanly sliced him in half, but no blood was spilled. He should’ve known, the Sandman’s body isn’t solid. “It seems we’re incompatible.” Jack turned to face Archer again. “But some advice: his body is the sand itself!”
Right, Vash already knew that. He’s weak to water, but he didn’t have any on him. He did bring a can of booze though. In probably one of his worst decisions, he ran up to the Sandman. Now face-to-face, he vigorously shook the can and sprayed it at him. He could see Sandman’s face become mushy. It worked! And his reward: a sandy fist to the face. Vash was launched out of the cave. He looked up to see Rifle still making his way back to Drywood. “Sheriff! I need you to get as much alcohol as you can!”
“What?”
“It’s Flint! He’s weak to alcohol!”
He nodded, running out of the pit.
Vash sat up, watching the Sandman slither up to him, with half a face. “Now you’ve pissed me off.”
“Seems I have a knack for that, don’t I?”