Zain Robinson's Questionnaire

Zain lives in a small apartment room in Chicago, Illinois. Although it's a city riddled with violent crime, it's also the city he's spent all of his life in. As such, he chooses to stay there in hopes of someday putting a stop to all the crime and corruption taking place. His actual living space is rather modest and decently well kept-- though because he has no roommates, it's also somewhat barren. More notably, it's also been made rather secure to warn Zain of any potential threats. He's got various safeguards and protective measures placed around the apartment to deter and catch any intruders-- including hidden cameras, basic tripwires, etc.

Zain currently undergoes an internship as a crime scene photographer, also known as a forensics photographer. Despite his young age, his keen perceptive skills and his relative comfort working in such a field gives him enough opportunities to work a livable salary. It also serves as an opportunity to improve his investigative abilities and familiarity with crime and law enforcement. Outside of his living expenses, Zain spends the money he earns primarily on gear or equipment to keep his apartment safe and to improve his vigilantism-- including things like cameras, reinforced clothes, etc. His collection of cameras is also somewhat self indulgent, as even outside of his job, Zain enjoys photography as a hobby in his free time.

Zain's ambition is to expose and rid the world of the corruption and crime plaguing for it. Throughout his life, he's become intimately familiar with just how far the corruption reaches-- spanning from crooks and criminals, all the way up to the elite and above. It's his mission to reveal all of these injustices to the world and put a stop to them himself. However, despite Zain's intense contempt toward the corrupt, he still refuses to kill them-- doing so would only spawn more and more corruption in the world. The only life he's willing to put on the line is his own for the sake of this ambition. In fact, he's willing to risk it all-- put himself directly in front of the barrel of a gun in the name of stopping corruption.

Zain was only eight years old when he witnessed his parents being murdered in their own home. A dark and cruel night, a supposed thief broke into their house and ransacked the place. When his parents intervened and spoke to the robber, they were killed, and the perpetrator fled. At that time, Zain could only hide and watch as it happened-- waiting until the police arrived. When they eventually came to the scene, the incident was chalked up to simply being a robbery gone wrong. However, from the details of their conversation, Zain knew that there was something more to his parent's killings-- that something was being covered up. Since then, Zain has obsessively chased down the truth of his situation in hopes of preventing cases like his own.

Zain's Parents: Jason Robinson and Lana Abbas. His father was a school teacher while his mother was an investigative journalist. Zain inherited his sense for pursuing justice and the truth from his mother, while his father taught him to look at things with curiosity and attention to detail. Though they passed during Zain's childhood, he still does his best to uphold their memory.

Zain's Grandparents: David and Faye Robinson. From his father's side. After Zain's parents were murdered, he was taken in and raised by both of his grandparents. His grandfather helped show him how to become independent and capable as he grew up. Zain is closest with his grandmother, who comforted him the most after the incident.

Iris Hunt: A friend of Zain throughout all of middle and high school. Introduced him to photography which eventually became his primary hobby and profession. Much more outgoing and talkative than Zain is.

Zain's early childhood was a fulfilling, relatively normal one. His family lived in a lower-middle class household in Chicago, and he was raised as a single child. His mother, Lana Abbas, was an investigative journalist who instilled in Zain his moral compass of following truth and justice. His father, Jason Robinson, was a school teacher who taught Zain to view the world with curiosity and care. Zain had a relatively average school life-- not particularly popular among his peers, but not a loner either. After his parent's early passing at eight years old, however, things took a turn for the worse. He was taken in by his grandparents instead, and though they raised him well from that point on, he began looking at everything with suspicion and distrust. Consequently, he became somewhat of a misanthrope throughout his school years, preferring to keep to himself and avoid getting close to people.

Zain hasn't been in love with anyone before. He's somewhere on the ace/aromantic spectrum, meaning that he's not attracted to anyone in a physical or romantic sense. Beyond that, though, he hasn't let many people get close to him ever since his parent's murders due to his distrust of people and the world. Moreover, if he ever did connect to someone on such a level, he knows that they could prove to be a liability for him in his pursuit of his ambition. He'd rather avoid the pain of losing another person close to him than expose himself and take the risk-- though that may change one day...

Zain is a deeply paranoid individual. Scarred by the conspiratorial murders of his parents, he believes that anything or anyone could be a possible threat, or at the very least, hiding something darker. However, even greater than his fear of potential danger is his fear that he won’t be able to stop it– or more generally, his fear of failure as a whole. The thought that all of his work won’t be enough to expose the corrupt, or that he’ll fail to stop the next atrocity he’s witness to, drives him to constantly be alert and ready to act. Moreover, Zain also possesses a deep fear towards losing control, particularly the idea that he’ll either be captured or lose his sense of justice. Having his agency stripped by becoming stuck or restrained, combined with the rest of his fears, means that he is extremely averse to putting himself in a position where he is at that risk. On a more overarching level is Zain’s fear that he’ll lose sight of the bigger picture– allowing himself to violate his code of no killing, which would mean that he has failed his pursuit of true, meaningful justice and that he has fallen to the same levels of violence that those in control enact on others.

In terms of pure material or utilitarian value, Zain's custom made gadgets-- which encompasses his Deliverance knives and Night Watch lenses-- are the most important items he owns, due to all of the effort that goes into creating each one and their role in enabling Zain to survive as a vigilante/Contractor. However, in terms of what he actually considers his most prized possessions, their weight is more sentimental in nature, as they consist of the memorabilia of his parents before they passed away. These items include things such as old trinkets, blankets, and animal plushies, and the like, which he keeps in a small storage box along with the rest of his go bag inventory. The most prized of these is a family photograph depicting them at a picnic in a park, which Zain has framed and pinned on the wall of his room. This photograph serves as a reminder for Zain of his early childhood, as well as a reminder for what he seeks justice for.

Zain's biggest problem in his life right now is figuring out how he will kickstart his ambition of pursuing justice and exposing corruption in an efficient way. His eyes are currently set on his home city of Chicago, which he has witnessed to be rife with organized crime firsthand. At this point in his career as a Contractor, he has decided that now is the time to take action with the preparations and improvements he's made. However, though he's developed significantly since his first Contract and incident with crime in the city, meaningfully changing anything remains a major undertaking. While he could, and does plan to, begin patrolling the streets to manually monitor and stop crime himself, he knows that doing so won't be a big enough solution in it of itself, and simply just trying to kill every criminal would both violate his ethics and fail to actually get rid of the root of the problem. To handle this, he plans on beginning to investigate the controlling forces responsible for perpetuating crime in the area so that he can put a stop to them, as well as enlisting help to bring them to actual justice.

Zain's actual 'morning' or when he wakes up usually depends on how late into the night he has stayed up, as his investigative work and eventual patrolling means that his schedule is rather irregular. Regardless, he usually aims to get up around 8 to 9 am on most days, sacrificing sleep if necessary. From there, he makes a routine check of the security of his apartment, ensuring that nothing could have passed through checking camera footage, looking at alarms, and otherwise scanning for signs of trespassing. After this is complete, Zain attends to his basic hygiene for the day, though he doesn't spend particularly long on making himself presentable. During this period, and when he moves onto preparing/eating food afterwards, he catches up on recent events within his city-- tuning into the news, radio, etc. For breakfast, Zain actually spends a considerable amount of time cooking something unique and flavorful each day, disliking the blandness of repeated meals or pre-prepped food. Around an hour later, and he's typically fully ready for the rest of the day.

Zain doesn't regularly go out to any special events, nor did he ever attend any during his schooling. Unless it were a particularly formal occasion, he would most likely just show up in his regular streetwear, which has been reinforced with kevlar and padding for protection. And even if it were, he'd still aim to wear something with practical and protective value. As for preparations, he doesn't have much to do for making himself extra presentable other than freshening up and maybe applying a basic dollar store cologne, if there weren't any concerns for leaving behind a distinct scent. Most of what he'd do to prepare would consist of looking into the details of the event. Namely, running a thorough investigation into the area's surroundings, exits, and layout if possible, alongside researching who else is attending, anything potentially strange behind the scenes, etc. This would take up most of his time, as security and readiness for action is what he considers most important in a situation like this.

Zain doesn't treat his birthday as a particularly special occasion, especially since his parents' passing. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't celebrate it at all. His next birthday will be his twenty first, though he doesn't plan on going out on a drinking spree like many others that age would-- nor would he have enough peers he's close enough with to do so. On the insistence of his remaining family, and mainly for the sake of staying connected with his grandparents, the most socialization he'll usually do is attend a dinner at their home. Otherwise, it'd mostly just be another day for Zain.

Zain dwells a lot on his past and the consequences of his actions. Being unable to do anything to stop his parents' murders as a child is something that still sticks with him strongly after all these years, and it's what has driven him to do everything he does now. However, as he's grown older, he's somewhat come to terms with the fact that there may have been nothing his younger self could have done at that age. There are, however, many moments in Zain's career where he wishes that he could have done something differently, where he knows he could have made a better decision. Moments where if he just had a better plan, he could have prevented the death of colleagues. The biggest regret and frustration Zain has had in his career is his experience in his most recent Contract, nearly resulting in his own death and the death of everyone else with him. Since then, he's become determined to take charge and refuse to make the same mistakes again.

The nature of Zain's Gifts aren't actually 'overtly supernatural' in comparison to most other Contractors. Instead, they mostly derive from his sheer skills and abilities, in the same way other powerless vigilantes in fiction operate (think Batman, Rorschach, etc). Of course, the degrees in which he has become skilled are more than impossible and accelerated thanks to accepting the Contract, which Zain has realized over time, but he's still under the belief that nothing else is special or magical about him. His non-innate Gifts come in the form of Artifact Crafting gadget style items that help him keep up with others. Though Zain isn't necessarily a lab genius or inventor, he is street smart, and possesses a high level of ingenuity, craftiness, and resourcefulness. These aspects, combined with the inspiration and luck that hits him after a victorious Contract, are what he draws upon whenever he workshops a new gadget to build.

Zain isn't traditionally religious. While he's aware that there are likely some higher powers, deities, and divine spirits out there just from his knowledge of the illuminated world and his exposure from the Contract, he doesn't hold any devotion towards them after the murders of his parents. Instead, his beliefs lie in the pillars of true justice, which he believes strongly in due to the teachings of his parents. In particular, he believes that justice comes in the form of truth, accountability, and foundational change. Consequently, he believes murder is a failure in this regard, even in the pursuit of justice. It ensures that the corrupt never entirely face the consequences of their actions, that it would bring him to the same disregard for human life like them, and that the root issues of the world's injustices are only fueled by further violence. It is for these reasons that Zain maintains his code of ethics towards killing, and instead seeks a more foundational justice.

Zain's beliefs in the nature of true justice and his view of the world as a whole have been challenge drastically by nearly each and every single Contract he has been on. From the very get go, he has been confronted with the choice to throw away his ethics, either as a compromise or in their near entirely, for the sake of accomplishing a Contract's objective and furthering the cosmic agenda of the Harbingers. Despite having the opportunity to act otherwise numerous times, in situations where it would have been significantly easier to give in, Zain has remained stalwart in his code of ethics, particularly towards refusing to kill anyone. While he's also began to grow more adaptable in these situations, they have, in a way, bolstered Zain's resolve towards justice even further, as each job is an opportunity to right the wrongs of the world by taking action himself. Additionally, he has been exposed to a lot of magic bullshit since starting out, and has begun to harbor a slight disdain for dealing with its nonsensical and often inhuman nature.

McKenna Rene: The only Contractor that Zain has actually encountered more than once in his career, during his first ever contract and in his fifth. A professional NASCAR driver with an extraordinarily powerful legendary vehicle. Zain is not fond of them due to their experience together on his first game, where McKenna supported committing atrocities to win. After their second contract together, his hostility mellowed after they succeeded, but he still wouldn't consider them an ally.

Bankston Battle: Another Contractor that Zain encountered on his first Contract, though they've yet to be on any together since due to Bankston reaching higher brackets. A werewolf justiciar who has since become the head of the Battlegrounds. Zain actually respects Bankston significantly due to their shared senses of justice, and since then, Bankston has helped Zain with legal issues he's ran into and established a trading relationship with the Firm.

Xander Angelos: A Contractor who Zain has encountered on his most recent Contract, and an instructor for medieval reenactment battles. Zain worked extremely well with them during the Contract, and he holds a high degree of respect for his position as a mentor.

Secure, alarmed, and monitored. The perfect room, if such a thing were possible in Zain's eyes, would be a truly safe space where there would be no need to worry about intruders. Its location would have to be secluded, ideally completely off the grid, unknown to the world, and hidden from outside view. If someone were to stumble across it, the room would need to have defenses both from the inside and out-- traps, tripwires, pits, and everything in between to ensure security. He should also be aware of every single thing that happens within its vicinity, through the implementation of various alarms (ideally silent) to notify him and cameras so that he can record and review footage. Beyond that... a library, workbench, and some minimalistic decorations would do some work to make the place feel comfortable.

Zain's skillset lies in the realm of being crafty, sharp, and prepared at any given moment. His belief is that it always best to have a contingency prepared for the worst case scenario. Regardless if something has a ninety nine percent chance of being safe, the one percent chance of disaster cannot be safely ignored. Even if one wants to hope for the best, they must prepare for the worst. This philosophy is only fueled further by his sense of paranoia and distrust towards others. After all, true corruption often lurks under the veil of benign benevolence or innocence, with the goal of lowering one's guard and leaving them susceptible in mind. It has often led to judgements and questioning from his peers, and for the most part, his preparations are rarely necessary. When they do come up, however, and it turns out that something deeper lurks behind the scenes... that's when Zain's philosophy is vindicated.

Zain's limits are Capture, Murder, Failure, and Injustice. Unlike most people, he lacks a deep emotional response to experiencing Anguish or witnessing Atrocities. Due to his sheer sense of grit and determination to see his goals through, undergoing immense pain or loss isn't something that deters him in the long run. Moreover, throughout his time as a crime scene photographer, he has already seen a number of gruesome scenes before, and seeing the aftermath of such events no longer phases him significantly. What does matter to him, however, is allowing the act of such an atrocity go by without proper recompense, or committing such an injustice himself. This also includes murdering people, with Zain's belief that crossing such a threshold would fail to accomplish the foundational justice he seeks in the world. Beyond that, he is also extremely averse to the idea of becoming captured, held, or restrained due to his deep sense of paranoia, and his Failure limit stems from the intensity of his beliefs and how failing means not being enough to reach them. Very few things would bring Zain to the point of breaking his Murder or Injustice limits, though he has crossed both his Capture and Failure limits to ensure justice at all costs.

The title of Zain's soundtrack would be: "The Greater Picture." It would feature a mix of alternative music/genres and pieces from other soundtracks.

1: Utopia Finale (Christobal Tapia De Veer): Unsettling, disorientating, chaotic. Part of the Utopia soundtrack. – (Link) 

The conspiratorial themes of the Utopia series encapsulates Zain's background/the murder of his parents, as well as the sense of paranoia that's scarred him since. 

2: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana): "With the lights out, it's less dangerous— Here we are now, entertain us" – (Link) 

Zain started out his career at nineteen years old. This punk rock track captures the energy, anger, and drive he's held since towards pursuing his ambition.

3: Heaven (Shoji Meguro / Persona 4 OST): "Those long days passing by from that door— Like late summer, they slowly fade away" – (Link)

A melancholic song reflecting Zain's past and memory of his parents. The themes of exposing the truth are also prevalent throughout Persona 4 and its soundtrack.

4: Beneath The Mask (Shoji Meguro / Persona 5 OST): "I'm a shape-shifter at Poe's masquerade— hiding both face and mind" – (Link)

Another Persona song that embodies Zain's paradigm as a vigilante, living a secret life and operating under the secrecy of a mask.

5: Until I Die (Machine Girl): "Casting shadows in a cave as an act of resistance— until I die, until I die" – (Link)

The lyrics of this track emphasize Zain's strong perseverance, and how he refuses to give into the systems he fights against by using everything at his disposal.

6: My Eyes (Travis Scott): "Look in my eyes, tell me a tale— Do you see the road, the map to my soul?" – (Link)

Pretty much only the second half, mainly matching the atmosphere of Zain's actions. Zain's eyes are also a key aspect of his symbology as a perception character.

7: Something In The Way (Nirvana): "Underneath the bridge, tarp has sprung a leak— And the animals I've trapped have all become my pets" – (Link)

Another Nirvana track, the tone matches dark and gritty nature of Zain's story. Also used as the theme for The Batman movie.

Zain's overarching Ambition is to expose the corrupt criminals of the world and bring them to justice. Though the premise of his goal will likely remain the same even as he gains power, the scale of what he tackles will likely evolve with him. Currently, Zain is focused on figuring out how to resolve the injustices happening in his home city between all the criminal activity, corruption, etc. However, as he grows stronger, he'll likely end up taking on bigger and bigger threats, ones that lurk within higher authorities such as other criminal gangs, government conspiracies, etc. With how prominent and pervasive an issue like this is, as well as how fundamental it is to society, it is unlikely Zain will ever find himself at a point where he considers retiring. More likely than not, he'll continue pursuing the truth and justice as long as he possibly can, going until the inevitable end.

Though Zain is able to keep his cool even under heavy stress, there are a few key things that set him off. The most prevalent of which is his intolerance towards injustice, whether it be the acts of carelessly harming civilians, resorting to torture or other inhumane plans, or allowing corruption to slip by for the sake of convenience. These things are the tactics of the enemy, and are not to be used even if it would make a job easier or if it necessitates it. This has, on a few occasions, raised tension between Zain and his team due to the nature of the Contract and other Contractors being more willing to do such things to win. While no all-out fights have spawned from these confrontations (aside from his first job, which was resolved quickly), Zain isn't unwilling to challenge his peers to uphold his code of justice. This anger, naturally, also applies towards the perpetrators of these injustices-- scumbags who abuse, take advantage of, and target the innocent so that they can further their agendas, make their lives easier, or simply cause pain onto others. These are the types of people that Zain opposes above all else, and while he refuses to cross the threshold of killing them, he will do everything in his power to stop. Aside from violations of his code of justice, Zain is also immensely frustrated by failure-- far more than a normal person. In his mind, failure isn't an option with an ambition like his, and as a result, failure has become tantamount to committing a grave sin. This applies especially to any repeated failures or mistakes, due the idea that he should have learned his lesson already, which has brought him to the brink of death before due to making overcorrections and growing frustrations.

Zain is a fairly secretive person due to his immense paranoia. The thing he keeps most secret, especially during jobs, is his real identity. On Contracts, he goes by the codename "Vi," and he always has part of his face concealed by a mask and/or his shades. He additionally takes a few other special precautions to make sure he isn't compromised, such as using burner phones for communication, wearing gloves, and keeping his identification in his implanted pouch. Not only does he not trust the majority of his peers with this information, he also knows that being associated with the frequently-less-than-legal activities of the Contract can complicate his plans for the future-- especially since he's already been forced to play his hand to catch a murderer (getting his fingerprints and DNA into the database). These measures also apply to his plans and activities as a vigilante, due to similar reasoning.

Following traditional Harbinger naming conventions, Zain would potentially go by his current title, "The Vigilant," which is what his codename is short for and plays on his paradigm as a vigilante. Another suitable name could be "The Cowl," depending on how far he develops as a vigilante, as it matches the same type of persona as other non-powered heroes with gadgets (aka Batman). Though he'd likely be the type to assign Contracts through Agents or messages, in the event that he has to introduce a new Contractor or takes special interest in one, his presentation would likely come in the form of something mysterious or fearsome-- a set of eyes peering through the dark, or the manifestation of uncanny environmental effects to hint and communicate to a Contractor. His Contracts would most likely be grounded in nature, due to his lack of supernatural theming, revolving around stopping and investigating criminal activity.

The only existing Contractor Zain has officially encountered more than once remains McKenna Rene, who he only worked with twice in his early career-- and who he still harbors a degree of resent and spite towards. Consequently, if they were to get on another Contract together and McKenna were to not make it out, it wouldn't truly affect Zain all too deeply. Regardless of who doesn't survive, Zain would make sure to capitalize on the opportunity to take their gear. Though somewhat cruel, he knows the value of the equipment most Contractors carry, and as such, would respond in the utilitarian manner of looting their body. If this were a hypothetical Contractor that Zain had become close to and worked with on multiple occasions, his response would likely differ-- depending on the circumstances, he would retaliate against those responsible and attempt to secure the body so it may be given a proper burial. However, he'd still probably take their gear and put good use to it.