Celia

Celia
Pronouns	they/them
Occupation	Ranked Coach, Head of BRS

Celia is the coach of the Wild Flowers, the Ranked Team of Begonia, as well as the Head of the Beastie Research Society.

Personality

Celia is a science-oriented person who is constantly working on something and knows how to ball. They complain often to the point that they may forget what it was they were complaining about. They also are more focused on testing new ideas than being successful, especially in Beastieball matches. They are concerned about the commercialization of Beastieball, but participate in the League to secure steady funding for the BRS.

Story

Upon arriving in Begonia, the player will find the Beastieball Center empty aside from the shopkeeper, who informs them that the coach was muttering about mushrooms and is probably out in the woods west of town. Checking in with Craig at the lab will get the player a similar tip.

Out that way, there is a path leading north that is barricaded with a sign that reads, "Danger. Area is under BRS investigation for unusual Beastie activity. Do not enter." The barricade is easily jumped, however, and the player can enter Miconia Grove, where they find Reese and Celia standing nearby.

Upon interacting with them, Reese will introduce Celia, who greets the player by saying, "Hello. Can you read? Our signs were quite explicit about not entering." Reese will then change the subject, telling the player, "It's crazy, we were just talking about how the BRS has no budget and isn't supposed to give out sponsorships... So uh... no need to mention anything on that topic... ha ha..." Celia doesn't remember talking about such a thing, but attributes it to their complaining being too frequent anymore.

Rolling with the new line of conversation, Celia agrees that the BRS needs help and explains that they came to help Reese with some unusual Beastie activity happening at his research site. They then say, "If you're a dependable coach... Maybe I'll pretend not to notice if you follow us further." They both leave the player to travel to the heart of the grove further north, where there is a fungal colony and a Rowdy Illugus.

When the player meets back up with Celia and Reese, they explain that Beasties going Rowdy is a relatively new phenomenon, which Celia is trying to study on top of all their other responsibilities. They had been trying to train Reese to coach Beasties so that he can help deal with them, but, in Celia's words, "good coaching takes time to cultivate." Celia then asks the player to defeat Reese in a match. After the player wins, Celia leaves the two of them to take care of the Rowdy Beastie so that they can return to the lab and continue working on other things.

Once the Rowdy Beastie has been placated, the player can return to the lab and challenge Celia to a Ranked Match. Before it begins, they explain that they relish in their chances to be on the court, being that they're so busy all of the time. While they participate primarily to secure funding for the BRS, they do love the game and aim to play it well.

During the match, Celia talks to the player about their pursuits in theorizing new Beastieball strategies. They're grateful to have the chance to test out their latest ideas. Later, they explain that Beastieball was their first passion, before they "sank into the bottomless pit of Beastie study." They enjoy the opportunity to revisit that passion. They then talk about how Beasties are built for and express themselves through sports, and how a scientist who fails to understand that concept doesn't understand them at all. Celia ends the court chat by talking about how the League's insistence on them defending their rank to maintain support for the BRS is the one slight of theirs that doesn't bother them, saying, "I love defending my rank. I love balling!"

When the player earns points against them, Celia says, "So that's how you play, hmmm...?" and, "Agh. I should have seen that coming."

Upon losing, Celia exclaims, "Well done! I should have studied more. I'm not getting enough practice." They then say that the BRS could benefit from the player's skills and offer a sponsorship, which the player pretends to be excited for since it changes nothing."

Hangouts

After defeating Celia, the player can speak with them in the BRS lab. They will be pleased to see them, saying, "Ah! Yes, I'm glad you caught up with me. I've been thinking be ought to keep in touch."

First Hangout

The player will have already earned a Level 1 bond with Celia, presumably by defeating them in a Ranked Match. By spending 1 Social Battery, the player can invite Celia to hang out. Upon receiving a call, Celia will answer saying, "Oh, you want to... Hhmmmm... But I'm so busy..." After this consideration, they'll concede, "No... I gave you my contact for a reason, didn't I? You're right. Let's meet up." They'll then ask you to meet them at the Traincar Diner in Jasper.

Upon entering the diner, the player selects a new option called "Meeting someone..." which removes the worker and user interface, replacing them with Celia. They are glad to see that you made it and start by talking about the diner. They say that it's "incredible" and that they don't visit as much as they would like to. Celia then asks to confirm that the player is from Rutile, saying that they "know all about the League's foolish stadium project" happening in the preserve. They go on to say, "It's a familiar story. No, not just familiar. An utter travesty." That sort of thing is what led Celia to join the League long ago, in an attempt to fight those kinds of decisions and bring about change, but, they say, "The machine is too big for any one person to steer."

Celia explains that Beastieball is running the world, and although the sport has been around for millennia, it wasn't always this way. In the past, Beastieball was "a minor amusement." During Celia's teen years, others thought they were crazy for wanting to study it, calling it a "stupid game played by animals." Then, everything slowly started to change, where televised matches started to attract viewers, there was money in the game, and coaching went from being a pastime to a career, and the League "from a joke to an empire." This is what turned Beastie science into a "bold frontier," and then into an afterthought. As Celia puts it, "There's so much to understand about Beasties beyond simply... balling. But research that doesn't further the balling doesn't further the League." They had thought that the growing popularity of the sport would help them share their passion with the world, but it only alienated them more.

At this point, Celia comments that they "really went on a tangent" and loses track of what they were saying. They figure they should get back to work anyhow, but they enjoyed the time away and insist they hang out again sometime. With that, Celia exits the diner and the player’s bond with them raises to level 2, unlocking their first set of favors.

Favors

Through the Contacts menu, you can ask Celia favors to teach to any Beastie of your team one Play in exchange for 1 Social Battery, as long as the Beastie can learn the Play either via level or friendship.