Caz & The Bag

Original concepts, imagery, and written content © Rohil Aniruth & Thribing Games, 2023. All rights reserved.

Illustrations by Tineyy Arts, property of Thribing Games.

First Things First…

My process started out with an in-depth series of interviews with immigrants of every status including International students, H1-B/O-1 Visa holders, and even several immigration lawyers.

The goal was to sync up on the collective feelings and identify the diverging paths of our community.

Importantly, chatting with movement organizers and studying protests around the world, history, archived resistent art was critical in understading the what is meaningulf activation and what is performative, simply biting the aesthetics of protest.

I didn’t want this story to singularly me or monolithic/cartoonish in political representation, WHILE ALSO, maintaining a very clearly the message of anti-facist stance and keeping the politics protagonists aligned with those of myself as the creator.

The “Bag” Origins:

From the above conversatins came the concept for Caz’s backpack. SAIKŌ BOSU, all those feelings of assumed criminalry at airport interigiations and violating bag searches, expressed through body horror, manifested as demonic backpack that would unlatch from your back. Above is the practical fx pupper we made as an early test gausing if people connected to this metaphjor thorugh a horror short and then finding the ideal balance of terrifying creature and odd-couple comedy. Does SAIKŌ work better as a non-stop yapper edgign on the chaos, or as a more sinisiter sparse voice implanting dread in Caz’s head.

Concept sketches by Zenakudreamer, property of Thribing Games.

The Core Cast: Shadiya Caz Sharif, Varuk Matyana, Chelios Damn, Anjam Patel

Our lead protagonist is Caz, a 20-year-old Communications Design major at The Nu-Nu School. She’s an international student from Karachi, Pakistan. She had a (mostly) traditional upbringing in Pakistan but has always indeitifed stronger with her Diaspora. A conncective tissue that formed during her time living with her late Big Sis in Durban, South Africa.

Caz feels has a deep trauma in Karachi that is revealed as the story progresses. She moved to New York when she turned eighteen and is wholly independent. She busts her ass doing freelance everything but is trying to land an Creative Direction role at a popular fashion brand. Caz is on her Desi Heather Mason shit. While street smart, she’s headstrong, quick to frustrate and isolate, sometimes getting her in trouble in moments she knows she should’ve been more strategic. Her peers often characterize her as tremendoulsy brave but a little too reckless how she particpates of protest given her lack of citizenship. In reality Caz has a megaton of anziety and stress around her potentially being forced to leave the country be it a rejected Visa app or deportation. A lot of her decisions in career, schooling and social life is often from a place of fear and desperation to see in the country and being hunted by the perpetrating factors of her core truama.

Varuk is a 24-year-old Component Level Technician who gained a small following as a Right to Repair advocate online. He’s a serial business owner, Bronx local biz-dev legend born to a Hispanic other and South African-immigrant father. Varuk is the co-owner of Mama’s Board, a laptop repair shop and cafe on the LES. Initially home to wealthy NWHYU wannabe flâneurs and an assorment of geeks looking to customize their tech— the spot becomes a makeshift HQ for the core cast once the horror elements of the story kicks off. Varuk is the only one in the crew who already has an interest in obscure/neo “monastic orders” and their rituals or the contemporary occult. He occasioanlly hangs with a man who claims to be an exorcist and practices craft potion making.

Anjam is a 23-year-old Integrated Design Major and Food Studies minor at The Nu-Nu School. Like Caz, he’s an international student with a richly melded background of family in Hong Kong and New Delhi. While neither of his folks practice their given religions, Anjam prays everyday and tries to bring back a sense tradition (prinmarily the celebratory ones) into his family.

He’s a rich kid known to spend his family’s wealth on his homies’ rent, tuition and dumb art projects. He does this from a place of guineine love, but does also suffer from intense imposter syndrome and a self-imposed guilt about his financially smoother ride in Manhattan. He’s besties Caz, Chelsea at later Varuk are all condemened to inanity-mode hustling just to afford the basics.  

Chelios is 20-something-year-old musician and artist from, maybe, Los Angeles? She dropped out of her Fine Arts program at Prattatata. Her parents have been/clown school principals/Jeet Kwon Do instructors/imprisoned whistleblowers/cartel drug lords… she’s a bit of any unreliable narrator… our hyperbolic queen. Chelios is fearfully loyal to her friends, but maintains a great deal of mystery around her at times ephemeral presence. She never seems to have a consistent crib, is sometimes rolling in dough and other times flat-out broke. Her main goal is to drop an iconic album that connects with people on a Frank Ocean level… a forever album. She fears her friend group being foceibly disbanded and distanced if Caz and Anjam can’t get work visas or green cards.

Chelios has mnetioned wanting to turn pro in boxing and bcome famous solely to “celebrity box the shit out of Jared Leto.”

The Homies: The Exorcist, Souichiro Fike, Banger G

Mr. Brooks, The Exorcist, is a pseudo-mentor to Varuk. He is a former weapons inventor turned supernatural-investigator recluse. He attempts to help Caz understand the nature of her demon backpack SAIKŌ and helps the crew evade several threats. Mr. Brooks is not the super-clued up wise man of the group, he’s operating off of at least 60% batshit theories and delulu narratives.

Souichiro and Banger G are newer friends Caz meets during some protest scenes, each providing either combat or reconnance support. Souihiro photos have gone viral, working against his best interest, the internest frequently thirsts over him as their ressitence king. What the general public does not know, is he is actually quite a cluts. Banger G is a musican, hactivist and DIY Acoustics Engineer. They are considered socially awkward by most because of their intensly passionate communication style.

The Homies: Bagheera Baby, Rasuk, Amara Gaston

One of the crew’s key intel resources in the Survilance Wars are a network of bodega and deli cats. Bagheera Baby is the resident kitty at Yeti Deli in Chinatown. Bagheera Baby is the loyal confidante Daido a half-Japanese, half-Arab designer who was forcibly deported after overstaying her voided H1-B visa after an unfair firing unable to secure anotehr comapny to take on her sponsorship. Bagheera Baby and Daido still video call. Caz and crew befriend Bagheera Baby, and stop by the Yeti Deli to grab tasty chows and Bagheera’s latest “goss” that might help them strategize their movements around the city.

Varuk and Amara are fellow protesters that help Caz and the crew disarm enemies prior to Caz’s backpack going demon-time.