Howdy friends and welcome to the blog post you've all been waiting for... 

THE RESULTS OF THE OPENING ROUND OF TKO CHALLENGE

As you may (or may not) know, TKO Challenge is a bracket-style competition that runs throughout the year using different prompts for each round to seek one, true, CHAMPION. This year we had a non-standard bracket featuring nineteen entrants, fourteen of whom submitted entries. Below, you'll find out a little about every awesome story (with links) as well as learn, pairing by pairing, who is moving on to the 2019-20 quarterfinals. The prompt for this round was 'dysfunctional relationships'.

dreamshadow v. toomanycurls v. somethingwicked

The first of our three 'triads' was a showdown not just between three members, but three houses, with members hailing from Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor.

@dreamshadow submitted Unforgivable, a story focused on the Greengrass family and their post-war family dynamics, particularly between Astoria and her father, who is jailed in Azkaban. Told in the third person from Astoria's POV, the piece features beautiful dialogue and description and tackles the war between family and individual identities and how each can help or hinder making choices in life.

@toomanycurls wrote Shared Loneliness, original fiction that attacks the modern problem of electronic absorption and its impact on a marriage while raising difficult questions about technology in modern society and its effects on individuals - and institutions - that lie at the very core of life.

somethingwicked: no submission

ADVANCING: toomanycurls

pookha v. MadiMalfoy

Our first true pairing pits authors with varying styles in an intense battle to progress.

@pookha's entry was Death is No Escape and provides a short, high-impact look at a man's inability to let go.

@MadiMalfoy gave us Knocking Requests exploring a unique dynamic between Professor Pomona Sprout and everyone's favorite controversial character - Severus Snape. You'll learn how far a Hufflepuff's kindness can go.

ADVANCING: pookha

MuggleMaybe vs. Unwritten Curse

This pairing is a rematch from the inaugural TKO Challenge in which defending champion Unwritten Curse prevailed. Would the champion progress or would her challenger even the score?

@MuggleMaybe submitted A Ghost, A Grave, which explores the sisterly bond between Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy - its past, its present, and a future that will be determined by Andromeda this time.

@Unwritten Curse began her defense with What He Wants, looking at a relationship by Scorpius Malfoy and Lysander Scamander in a spin-off of her critically acclaimed novel, Project Azkaban that leaves readers questioning motivations and where truth really lies.

ADVANCING: MuggleMaybe

AngelEyez3954 v. Pixileanin v. MalfoysAngel

Another 'triad' which this time pits convention versus quirk to test who makes their style work best.

@AngelEyez3954 treated us to Playing Pretend wherein one brother pays the ultimate price for denying who he is and losing the other to the betrayals he makes because of it.

@Pixileanin presented A Thousand Miles, a unique piece of original fiction that doesn't run from magic, but forces a family to united and confront their past when its shadows won't stop haunting them - and their children.

MalfoysAngel: no submission

ADVANCING: Pixileanin

Dojh167 v. PinsandKneazles v. shadowkat678

A 'triad' become uncomplicated.

@Dojh167 shared The Moth & The Flame, a story featuring a relationship in which power is viewed through a constantly evolving scoreboard. As life presses onward, what will be the final score?

PinsandKneazles: no submission

Shadowkat678: no submission

ADVANCING: Dojh167 (default)

TreacleTart v. Lost_Robin

@Lost_Robin offered another story questioning sisterly bonds in the Black Family. Andromeda watches as Bellatrix is consumed by increasing darkness while Narcissa cows to the pressure of being a daughter of the House of Black. In Three Sisters Andromeda takes her own path - a path that she can't stop from hurting when she's severed from them all.

TreacleTart: no submission

ADVANCING: Lost_Robin (default)

CheekyTorah-Lex v. NoelleZingarella

Darkness gives way to light.

@CheekyTorah-Lex tickles the hearts of Drarry fans by mixing fight and fluff in Goodnight, love.

@Noelle Zingarella's Todentanz gives us ghosts contemplating their existence through a religious lens - one finds earthly freedom while the other leaves it all behind.

ADVANCING: NoelleZingarella

Tanda v. facingthenorthwind

The Second Wizarding War took a toll on everyone.

@Tanda takes Ron from the Burrow, To the East, and back again as Charlie helps him recover from his struggles to find a place post-war.

@facingthenorthwind lets us inside the mind of Remus Lupin in the middle of the war as he hides his heart, shows his self-loathing, and finally tries to let something good happen again in windows that don't open.

ADVANCING: facingthenorthwind

Thanks to everyone who joined in the challenge! As a reward, all participants will receive two reviews on stories of their choosing and our round winners will receive five such reviews instead. I know you want your reviews fast friends - so get me your list!

To follow the bracket, check out our quarterfinal pairings below:

toomanycurls v. pookha;

MuggleMaybe v. Pixileanin;

Dojh167 v. Lost_Robin; and

NoelleZingarella v. facingthenorthwind