Anton Blackhawk

Anton Blackhawk, also known as Tony by Joel Dresden and all of the readers of his advice column for the "Sangrive Times", is a side character in the Elsaverse that, so far, is only featured in Chasing Beth (2021), the sixth game in the saga. He came to Sangrive with his wife, Tatiana Blackhawk, from the parallel universe, and had a son and a daughter, named Michael and Trisha, in Sangrive's realm. He worked as a First-Officer for his wife, who was the Captain of an army ship. Like many people from his home world, Anton has a power: he can amplify other people's powers, making them more effective.

Both Anton and Tatiana Blackhawk died in unknown circumstances while Joel Dresden was fighting for his life after being injured in war; as Joel is a Medium, the couple's souls were able to find him and have been living in his mind, clung to him, since then. Thanks to Anton's power, Joel can see them, hear them, and communicate with them as if they were always by his side, which helps him to write a successful advice column for a local newspaper with their hints and emotional insights.

Personal
Anton Blackhawk was a caring, sensitive, and respectful man who worked as a First Officer on the ship where his confident and assertive wife, Tatiana, was a Captain. They had two children, named Michael and Trisha. It's not clear whether Tatiana and Anton came to Sangrive from the parallel universe before Morland Reyes did, or along with him, or right after him, but from their bonus scene in Chasing Beth it can be inferred that they helped him in his early days at Sangrive's realm, when he was still starting to amass his wealth: using their powers, they helped Morland to buy his first hotel in the city and, even though they didn't seem to fully trust him, they felt comfortable enough in their new world that they decided to have their children in Sangrive because, as Anton pointed out, at least there were "no giant lizards trying to wipe out our race." At some point, though, their relationship with Morland worsened and Anton and Tatiana died to pay an alleged debt, although the exact circumstances are yet to be told.

After dying, however, their souls found Joel Dresden's mind and they clung to it, as he is a medium who can communicate with the dead from the parallel universe, although he didn't learn that until very much later. At the moment of their death, Joel was in a coma, fighting for his life after being injured in a war he was covering as a reporter; when he woke up, he noticed he could see, listen, and talk to this couple he had never met before, and he took them for a creation of his injured mind. The truth is that Anton's power enhanced Joel's, letting him communicate with them as if they are actually living people in his mind, often dressed in clothes that match Joel's current situation in the real world, and sometimes minding their own business. However, due to Joel's PTSD, all of their efforts to explain the truth to him were pointless, so Anton and Tatiana eventually accepted the situation and tried to help him in his daily life, taking care of his mental health in the best way they could. They got used to the names Joel gave to them, Tony and Tanya, and used their own powers and personalities to offer their own tips and pieces of advice when asked. Thanks to them, Joel began to write a successful advice column for the "Sangrive Times" that is published under the names of 'Tanya' and 'Tony', or 'T&T', so readers think they are real, existing people. Readers write into them asking for relationship advice, and after Joel selects the most interesting messages, Anton's remarkable sensitivity and Tatiana's power to get strategic insight into people's feelings, amplified by her husband, result in quite interesting exchanges between them and Joel that he transcripts to write his column. Tony's character traits are very well-received by the masculine audience, who learn to be more caring and supportive, becoming better partners and lovers.

This symbiosis between Anton, Tatiana, and their host went on unchanged for a few years, until Joel got assigned the task of covering the story of a new vigilante that had started to act in Sangrive. During his inquiries, the journalist met Detective Michelle Won, who apparently had a relationship with Anton's and Tatiana's son, Michael; Joel also had to patch up his relationship with his girlfriend, Serena, which led him to meet Chloe Reyes. In both cases, Anton and Tatiana reacted in a weird manner, as they were visibly affected by these encounters that brought them many memories from their time alive, and Joel started to suspect that there was something really off in his mind; Anton's reactions were especially strong and he finally pushed Joel to seek professional help at last. Thanks to his therapist, Joel realized he started to see Tony and Tanya before waking up from his coma, and not right after waking up as he had always believed. Later on, when Joel was in shock after witnessing how a gangbanger shot the woman who saved his life back in the desert, Tatiana forced him to react, promising to tell Joel the truth about them; the next morning, they eventually do so, and then the couple asks Joel to get some updated info about their children.

Powers
Anton Blackhawk is an Amplifier: he can amplify other people's powers. It's not really explained how his power actually works or what limitations he has when using it, but his wife claims that it was extremely useful when she was commanding her ship and has also been the key for their special link with Joel.

Miscellaneous

 * Although Tatiana's model is Tora Productions' writer's virtual avatar, Anton's model is not related to the dev team's artist, Mortze, in any way.