Minister's Office: Muggle Technology Centre

[sweetpinkpixie]

This room was once filled with the most interesting and random collection of Muggle technology - computers and a working jukebox, a coffee machine, video game consoles, and more. All of those artifacts were lost at the hands of the Neo-Alliance, though, and all that has been done to get the room functioning again is to sweep up the debris and discarding it.

This room is DEPRESSING.

[sweetpinkpixie]

This was LONG overdue.

It had been on the docket for some time now, but there was always something or another that unfortunately took priority in the Minister's Office. But not anymore! Charles' heart grew weary of the reminders of the war though its vacancy and it was about time that this space joined the rest of the wizarding world in rebuilding and renewal. THUS, the Minister had a few samples of carpeting and color swatches brought in by an acquaintance of Mr. Flamsteed (his sister if memory served the Minister right) to look over, which was precisely what the man was up to now. Charles had had a large round table brought into the space so all these options could be laid out accordingly and was currently leaning against it while agonizing over carpet samples. He had been advised not to be too loud, his own office aesthetic rumored to be a bit overpowering and too bold for a conductive workspace, but Charles simply could not see himself settling on any of these suggested common beige and off-white carpet options. Surely everyone could appreciate some abstract artistry in bold colors beneath their feet! Perhaps he was overcompensating for the dreariness this room carried with it, but he was really enjoying the multicolored bright circle design and the yellow, line green, and teal geometric option too. It certainly would make a bold statement.

...perhaps his daughter was correct and he ought not be left in charge of these decisions.

[Holmesian Feline]

When Simon had first returned to the Ministry after the war it had been weird to say the least.The place that had been his home away from home wasn't the same. Not just returning himself to full strength and dealing with haunted memories but in the awkwardness of being around Level One and the failure of his duel and ability to protect the Minister. It had taken dealing with his demons and a bit of intervention, but in the few years since then the security head had returned to some regularity. It helped his son had wound up being selected to work the department.

A passing staffer had directed him to the technology center when he inquired about the minister’s whereabouts within his rounds. But as he moved to enter the room what he was greeted with was certainly not what he was expecting. “Excuse me, Minister,” he remarked to reveal his presence, his face appearing neutral and not bemused. “Just when I was thinking today might be just a touch on the normal side, I seem to have apparently passed into another dimension where this space is inhabited by a carpet showroom.”

[AlwaysSnapesGirl]

Regina was too keenly aware of the effects and aftermath of the war, though the sting of loss had gradually dulled over the course of the last nearly ten years. Life continued on, and things hadn't been all bad. There had been a lot of good things that had happened since then, in fact. The rapidly approaching anniversary was a dark cloud hanging over the horizon, but for now it wasn't too difficult to ignore. She'd deal with it when it actually arrived; until then, she had other things to focus on, like work.

At first, she glanced in the old technology center room and continued past, before backtracking after registering that the room hadn't been empty like usual. There was the Minister and the Head of Security and a table with a number of swatches in the room.

After a quiet knock on the open door to announce her presence, she took a step into the room. "Are we redecorating?" she asked curiously. This room probably did need it...or were they going to give the entire Ministry a makeover? That would be...interesting.

[Kimothy]

Skeet wasn't particularly great at interior design, nor was he interested in it generally, but he WAS skilled in some art! His Hogwarts friends would know and back such claim — remember his infamous posters, everyone? So yes, in spite of what aaaanyone says about the subject of his artful skills, the former Gryffindor liked to consider himself very qualified for this endeavour. Okay? OkAy?? OKAY???!?!!

Besides, if the Muggle Technology Centre was revived, he'd get to use the stuff in here. Video game consoles, see?! Can't EVER beat him in a game of Mario Kart! Not even with his daughter Clem throwing his game controller away when she got annoyed with him.

So it was truly FATE that he had waltzed past the centre today and, seeing a colleague (Regina) enter, Skeet couldn't help but be nosey.

"G'DAY!!! What's up, everyone?" WAIT. "HELLO, Minister! What are we redecorating?" Skeet had caught the end of Regina's question, and oBvIoUsLy it hadn't clicked in his head. Why else were they in the Muggle Technology Centre, y'know? He was very kinda slow. The other guy (Simon) got a nod from Skeet. He didn't know him.

[Lottiepot]

Newly promoted, newly(ish) married and otherwise in a great mood considering the minor sulk she had that morning over forgetting to bring her packed lunch, Allie had been strolling down the corridor between the break room and her work cubicle when the presence of a group of people in an otherwise empty room caught her attention. She paused, took a few steps backwards and poked her head around the door to listen in.

She wasn’t nosey, she just liked to be involved. And luckily for the group of former Gryffindors (and a Hufflepuff), Allie was ALL over that interior decorating stuff to the point that she had created mood boards for her own home, for her wedding, for anything where she needed to see it laid out visually before making an executive decision and preventing her from acting on her impulses and regretting it later.

“That one reminds me of an amusement arcade” she commented as she slipped into the group, pointing to the first vibrant carpet. It was either that or one of those indoor soft play places for kids, both of which she had the fondest childhood memories of but in her opinion wouldn’t be the most appropriate option for a professional workplace. “Is that the vibe you’re going for in here, Minister?” She asked curiously. She was all for a splash of colour though, she’d never understood the whole beige and monochromatic theme that the muggles were favouring these days.

Oh and hello everyone.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Perhaps he should have waited for Jade to become available to assist with all these decisions instead of stumbling through on his own. Charles was, could be, a very patient man when he needed to but this particular space had been this graveyard of memories for far too long already. Things would work out in the end - they had for his office, after all!

He was still in the middle of considering and moving carpet samples around in a makeshift ranking when he heard someone else step into the space and join him. The Minister thought that by now he would have at least moved on to considering wallpaper or paint but alas. Jade had been very literally when he asked for every sample at her disposal when he had meant things a little more metaphorically - or perhaps this was something he only realized because he was feeling quite overwhelmed. "Ah, Simon. Good to see you, my boy." Yes, it had been many a year since Simon was of the age where he was considered a 'boy' but to Charles the head of security would forever be the older brother figure to his little sunspot during her time at Hogwarts, and quite the sharp quidditch captain as well. Forever 16-or-so-years old, and there were far worse things to be remembered as. "Well, that is because this is a far cry from a normal day. Today is a momentous day since it is ti----"

Cut off mid sentence, Charles smiled at the commissioner and nodded. "We are indeed, Miss Amstern," he confirmed while beckoning her closer with a little wave of the hand. "A long overdue step towards progress and rebuilding, wouldn't you say?" Charles knew how intimate damage and grief had touched the young woman's family - she may even find assisting with this process a bit therapeutic. "This very room, Mr. Sayse," the man chuckled with his arms stretched out to either side for illustrative emphasis. "I've asked a very polished and posh interior designer, a woman by the name of Jade Flamsteed-Williamson." There may be a name or two there that the young employees were familiar with. "She was kind enough to lend all the samples you see here," he elaborated further, pointing to a few more large binders that still had not been touched over on another table. Charles adored the liberty of choice, but there was also a danger into having too many choices.

"Ah, Mrs. Ackerly-McKinley. Lovely of you to stop by," he greeted the newly (as of the New Year) appointed Hogwarts liaison. "Quite the fetching sample, isn't it? Like a lively carnival." Which was precisely the sort of vibe one would not want for an office space, at least not at the level that this bit of carpet would seem to imply. "Well, I suppose there in lies the problem, my dear. I am not quite sure what sort of look to go for," he laughed and patted his stomach. "But certainly something with color. I would quite rather we avoid the more traditional whites, blacks, and greys in this space."

Hands on his hips as he straightened and looked down at the array of options.

"Perhaps something a bit more modern than an amusement arcade," he pondered, now rubbing his scruffy beard with his palm. "What sort of aesthetics are popular these days?" he asked the collected group.

[Holmesian Feline]

Ah to actually feel like the boy the older man’s words could refer too. Then perhaps his battle scars might not bother him so much and Simon wouldn’t have the darker memories he had outside the joys of being possessed by a pirate . But alas, they both had had better days and both survived for what appeared to be today’s more mundane agenda. Thank Merlin for that. The head of security could easily guess where Charles words were headed, but his attention went to the door with his companion’s as they were joined by another after a knock.

“Good day,” Simon said, returning the one man’s greeting while directed at them all with a nod of acknowledgement of his own while letting the Minister answer the questions on redecorating. It was his brainchild and decision after all. He was just the one who had stumbled on the scene that his wife would likely be far more comfortable, the woman comfortable in the field of design of multiple sorts not just fashion.

AH a Flamsteed was involved in today’s activity…that explained SOOOOO much.

Like an arcade?

The security man turned his attention to the sample in question, tilting his head slightly in one direction or the next. He supposed it could remind one of that, though the multicolored streaks could also represent the chaos of dueling spells if you asked him as a trained law enforcer. Maybe not quite the best train of thought given the room’s history. “Colorful…” he mused absently as he moved to look at some of the other selections. “But perhaps more streamlined. You don’t want to distract from the actual purpose of the room.”

[Lottiepot]

Allie had loved the time she had spent working in the daycare but she was glad for progression and to be somewhere where she could interact with more adults and feel more included in the ministry community and have the opportunities to socialise with her colleagues like this. She’d got to meet plenty of ministry workers when they dropped their children off but that was the extent of their conversations, they’d never really interacted beyond that and so her knowledge had been mostly on a name basis. It was for this reason that any excuse to be involved, Allie was straight there hence her enthusiasm today.

There was something about that title and double-barreled surname that made her stomach do that excited fluttery thing, she was still not used to it so it always caught her off-guard in a good way when it was mentioned out loud. It was likely the reason for the mildly goofy grin on her face from the greeting, not that she wasn’t pleased to see the Minister too. “It’s certainly eye-catching, you wouldn’t walk past this room in a hurry.” If the intention was to pique curiosity then it was the perfect carpet for the job. If it was calm and serenity that he was after then he might want to go back to the drawing board. “Oh I agree. I don’t understand why everyone is so against colour in their decor these days. I can’t say that gray sparks any excitement in me when I look at it.” Gray was the colour of dreary days and thunderclouds and.. elephants. They were perhaps the exception, seeing an elephant would incite joy in anyone but she doubted that painting a mural of an elephant on the wall would be an appropriate option.

Maybe it was all those years working with children that had skewed her opinion however.

“What is the intention of this room?” she asked, reflecting off of her colleagues' statement. Allie was too young and new to know what the room was used as previously, it could have been an arcade for all she knew.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Color Charles a Gryffindor, but the word streamlined carried a certain dry corporate je ne sais quoi about it. Seeing as the Minister was in was in well over his head without even a boat to lack a paddle for, he was not about to dismiss any suggestion. Though he did suppose finding a sample that did not look as though a group of teenagers had just duelled using exclusively Pingo over it. Holding his chin between his thumb and index finger, Charles nodded at Simon's tenderhearted suggestion and continued to do so as Allie spoke and, blessedly, contributed to the desire for color discussion.

"This is the Muggle Technology Centre, or was prior to the war in which timeless technological artefacts were destroyed," he explained with a solemn nod and his hand falling to his stomach. He wouldn't have been surprised if they had used certain Unforgiveables on employees to accomplish this disrespect but there was no sense in speculating on how it was done at this point. "It is my wish that this space be restored to its former glory...with some tasteful updates to it as well. I had a vision for there being office space for work, particularly those whose jobs require communication and relations with our muggle countryfolk, as well a breakroom element to it "

It was quite spacious in here, after all.

He reached for another book of carpet samples and flipped over the page to a new set of samples. "I too would like to avoid extensive exposure to grey and monochrome."

[Kimothy]

THIS ROOM?! It might have been comical, the look of surprise on Skeet's face, at that confirmation. Because oBvIoUsLy what other place would they be redecorating? Skeet had always thought this centre needed changing, anyway. It was so boring-looking, like!! His two girls could make a whole mess in here, and that would be ART in his eyes. It was THAT serious, how this room was basically monochromatic depression, and therefore it needed a splash or ten of colour.

So the confirmation that they were indeed rebuilding the Muggle Technology Centre was more than enough to have Skeet's brain Z O O M I N G through the possibilities of how it should look like here. Which colours, schemes, VIDEO GAME CONSOLES ahem hem hem, and the whole shebang.

Which is why he zoned out during the minister's explanation on the intention of the room. As well as the stuff his colleagues had shared.

"Do we have a pattern that looks like a disco dance floor??" In Skeet's head, the aesthetic FITS, okay? Don't blame him for his EXCELLENT taste. Don't hate him cos ya ain't him. Bla bla bla.

[Lottiepot]

Ohhh that made sense.. kinda. She supposed that arcades and muggle technology went pretty well hand-in-hand although she was certain that the types of technology that the Minister had in mind weren’t dance mats and racing simulators and more the mundane computers and printers and whatever other useful contraptions that muggles had created. Either way, there was no need to be boring in design regardless of the ‘seriousness’ of the room. “Did all the technology get destroyed too?” she asked, a little cautiously considering the sensitivity of the subject. It was only because she was sure that her wife’s grandma would still have some retro pieces stored in her attic if that was the look that Charles was going for.

Allie was all for injecting colour and boldness and a touch of pizzazz but the second that Skeet mentioned a disco dance floor, she presumed that the discussion had migrated a little too far towards the fun and less towards the work aspect. “Is that how you like to spend your breaks then? Dancing I mean.” she laughed brightly. She was tempted to make a joke about breakdancing but she had spent too long thinking about the punchline that the comedic timing would be thrown off and the moment would’ve passed before she got to it. “Because a karaoke machine would completely match that aesthetic but I don’t think our colleagues would appreciate the disturbance.” Completely understandable really, it wasn’t their colleagues fault that they weren’t fun.

Aaaand all this discussion was probably NOT helping the Minister finalise his choices but rather confuse them even more so back to sensible choices she supposed. “If it’s any help, blue is supposed to aid in concentration and relaxation, green is supposedly neutral and balanced and yellow is positive and energising.” A combination of the three could look quite pleasant in the right shades without leaning towards looking like a ‘fun house’.