#selection process

*When Britain reorganized its civil service in the 1880s it introduced self-consciously similar examinations, testing bright young men on their knowledge of Greek and Latin classics before sending them off to govern India, and even now British civil servants are still known as mandarins. Nineteenth-century conservatives saw exams as part of a sinister plot to "Chinesify" Britain.

Context: Nicholas from Selection Process, sometime after his encounter with Jefe

~~~

A dull thud echoed down the empty street. Only a few steps away from his car, Nicholas looked around uncertainly. Words tumbled over each other from the alley ahead, Spanish syllables too fast for him to translate with his limited knowledge. Hesitantly, he approached the alley and looked around the corner.

The wan light at the end of the narrow street silhouetted two figures. A skinny kid in a hoodie had his hands up, pleading, while a larger man in a jacket loomed over him. Suddenly the larger man’s hand shot out, grabbed the kid by the throat, and slammed him against the wall.

The crack of head hitting brick sent a surge of energy through Nicholas. He leapt into the alley without a thought, unable to stand there and watch someone give a kid a concussion.

He charged the aggressor, using his body to knock the man away from his would-be victim. It worked, but that was the extent of Nicholas’s plan. He tried to grab the man’s jacket, with half an idea about throwing him to the ground.

The man jerked out of his grip, thrust a hand into a pocket, and pulled out a gun.

Time stretched and narrowed. The barrel rose toward him in slow motion. Nicholas had never carried a weapon, not even pepper spray. First, do no harm. He made a desperate grab for the gun, shoving it aside just as the man’s finger tightened on the trigger.

The shot’s deafening blast was beyond anything he’d ever encountered or expected. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, clutching his ears.

The other man recovered and raised the gun again. Nicholas watched in frozen dread. He’d been stupid, incredibly stupid, and now he was going to die for his reckless attempt at heroics.

The man’s finger tightened on the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Nicholas turned and scrambled desperately for the alley entrance as the man furiously racked the slide. The corner, he just had to get round the corner; surely someone would be there, someone would be investigating the noise. A piece of trash slid away under his foot and he started to fall.

Good questions all, anon! Ones that we will be attempting to solve once we get our final claim forms today or tomorrow. 

Right now, we have an array of colorful spreadsheets arranged by fic and choice order. If a fic is requested as a first choice by a single artist, then that's all settled--it’s a match! Or if a first choice fic is T-rated and was requested as a first or second choice by an under-18 artist, then they have priority since they're choosing from a smaller group of fics. Another match!

Now if a story has a number of artists requesting it as their first choice, then that’s when their other fic choices come into play. This is why most Big Bangs have multiple rounds of claims to whittle selections down.

We will try to avoid that if possible but if we need to, we'll send out one more form to see what other 4 fics our artists might choose past fics that are no longer available for the reasons listed above. 

In terms of how many artists and writers there are, we won't know until claims are finalized. Sorry, that's just not something we can predict until pairings have been solidified. 

Every Big Bang has different rules and ours doesn’t require our artists to do more than one piece of art per assigned story. If they would like to do multiple works for their assigned story, because they have the time and ideas, then they are absolutely welcome to do so. No one will complain. 😁

We hope that answers your questions, anon! Feel free to reach out to us directly too, if you have more.

Win a Date Chapter 2 Selection Process

No. God no. Nope.” Jenny clicks on submission after submission, rejecting them one after another. She insisted one be the first to see them. If they pass her rigorous standards they are sent on to Murtagh. So far only a handful had made it that far. The rest are like the lasses he is trying to get free of. “What is this then?” She stops at Claire's submission.

She needs to tell her. Unbelievably, she had received an E-mail telling her Claire had made it to the second level of the submission process. So, on the still off chance she was selected, she needs to tell her.

“Claire,” alerted by her serious tune, she turns to her with a frown. They are at their shared flat. They have both just got off work. “I did something. Really I didn’t think you would make it this far or I would have told you.”

“What did you do?” Her mate's eyes narrower as her hands go to her hips.

“I entered you in a type of contest. You have made it to the next level.”

“What is the prize?”

Geillis bites her lip and her head drops. “Well that is the thing. It is a date. But not just an ordinary date. It is with some actor. Unnamed right now.”

Claire stares at her. Her eyes narrow farther. “You did what?” Her voice is deceptively calm. Each word spoke precisely. Geillis knows her mate is furious.

“A druggist who wishes someone to watch trashy TV with, take long walks while holding hands. She is beautiful in an understated manner. States she doesn’t want a man to take care of her. Wants a man to be a full partner with. Christ Jenny, she sounds bloody perfect.”

“I know. You may have been right. As hard as that is to admit.”

“If she as she says. We need to investigate this Claire Beauchamp a bit more. I am sending Angus and Rupert out to Dublin to check her out.”

“Aye.”

“You want me to be eye candy to some over blown self inflated actor. Have you lost your bloody mind! “

“It isn't like that. See.” She pulls up the original advent and shows her. 'A unnamed actor seeking a true and lasting relationship with a woman who is looking for more then a meal ticket or eye candy. She needs to be stable, self sufficient, know herself, and in it for the long haul.”