Twisted Taco: Gus Day

Twisted Taco: Gus Day

Authors note: This story takes place between Gamer Mom to E-girl and Twisted Taco Orientation. You don't have to read them to understand the story but would enrich the reading experience. Enjoy.

***

The sun was rising over a plain non-descript two-story office building in Santa Fernando, California. Two vehicles pulled into a small adjacent parking lot. One was an electric blue Tesla while the other was a black F-150 with a king ranch interior. The occupants were driven by two of the three owners of Twisted Taco Games. One of the hottest 18+ adult game companies in North America.

From the Tesla out stepped Michael Johnson, dressed in his usual Silicon Valley getup. A high-quality grey hoodie and plain dark blue, form-fitting t-shirt. A pair of blue jeans and worn-in sneakers. Out of the elevated truck, hopped out Jeff Rodrigo in his usual urban cowboy getup. Complete with fine black cowboy boots and a matching cowboy hat. Jeff looks into Michael's passenger side window and sees a familiar blond-haired woman. She was reapplying her lipstick and touching up her makeup in the vanity mirror.

Jeff gives Michael a toothy grin. "I thought there was something taboo about bosses fraternizing with their employees outside of work. You are lucky you are my friend otherwise I would have to report you to HR." They both give a small laugh. Considering the woman was Cheryl. Their lead scriptwriter as well as the HR representative. "So how long have the two of you been knocking boots?"

Michael shrugs. "You know me. I have a type. Besides having a woman around the house for more than sexual relief is great. Though the road head on the way here is not bad either. I'm telling you she is a keeper."

At that moment, Cheryl stepped out of the car and straightens her pale-yellow dress. She gives Jeff a smile and a wink and makes her way to the office door to turn off the security for the day. Michael watches her ass as she walks away for a moment grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Jeff sarcastically cleared his throat. "Well now that you have had your little love bird moment, you ready for Gus day?

Michael lets out a tiresome sigh. "God don't remind me. Why do we keep letting him do this? You know it ends the same way every time. Can't we just have him send us the proposals by email and get this over within five minutes?"

Jeff rolls his eyes. "I know. It's like getting a yearly prostate exam but it's what we all agreed to. Or would you prefer to do this every quarter like when we first started? At least we can go another 364 days without dealing with his dog and pony show. Besides he is my brother and we have known each other since middle school. Also, he does a lot of the crap neither of us wants to do to make this place float. Try to be nice and let him down as humanly as possible."

At that moment a third vehicle was approaching the lot. A white Scion Xb with a custom, one-of-a-kind, vinyl siding drove by the two men. The car was plastered front to back with a promotional Twisted Taco decal. Lewd anime inspired art from their biggest series. Obnoxious psych up K-pop blasted out the windows as the car parked next to Jeffs truck. Both men gave each other a "are you fucking kidding me" looks as the engine came to a stop.

Out of the car popped Jeff's younger brother Gus Rodrigo. He was carrying an uncharacteristic briefcase and wearing a nice grey business suit. Though Gus could have been mistaken for any other white-collar worker. The juxtaposition of what he rolled up in was uncanny and bizarre even for them. The only thought they had was he was trying to "dress to impress" for his big pitch meeting. Not that it would help in the slightest.

Michael was already both embarrassed and pissed off and it was not even 8 am. He turns to Gus. "What the hell were you thinking driving this thing! I thought I told you to get that crap off your spare car after the trade show! I had to spend a day in court trying to justify that thing as a pop-up art exhibit. So we wouldn't get fined out the ass with "indecent exposure" and "public nuisance" tickets!

Gus gives a carefree shrug and points at the decal. "No worries. I had my buddy Chewy did some touch ups so it should be street legal... Probably. Besides I needed it for inspiration for when my next project gets added to this bad boy." Gus patted the hood of the car.

The two looked at the "alterations" Gus alluded to. If the original was a 10 out of 10 for raunchy and lewd eye candy. This was an 8 out 10 on a good day. The artist air brushed some touch ups to cover more skin on the scantily clad characters. Yet, it still left little to the imagination. Lewd poses were "tastefully" altered to not show any naught bits. It made the Wienermobile look sensible vehicle. Neither Michael nor Jeff would be caught dead driving that thing outside of a promotional stunt prior to the pandemic.

Jeff took over the situation knowing best how to deal with his brother. "Gus, you got to get that thing removed later today. I know they say there is no such thing as bad publicity. But I would prefer that we do not end up on the local news for this thing. Besides why would you want to have the old design when we will make a bigger and better one?" Trying to play some subtle psychology on his hapless brother.

Gus thought about it for a second and gave his bother the double finger guns. "You are totally right. Can't live in the past and we got to make the next one even more over the top. Maybe take a few pics for the wall and maybe use it for merchandise for later. Anyway, got to get ready for the big show at 11."

Gus scurries past them with some pep in his step. Michael starts rubbing his temple. "You know. For a guy that works at a porn game company, I never thought I would say your brother has no sense shame. Are you sure you two are related? Like maybe he was adopted or dropped on his head or something?"

Jeff shakes his head. "Yeah, I have the pictures to prove it. I just got immune to his shenanigans over the years. But you got to admit, he was the one who sparked this. Who knows? Let's see if this blind pig found a truffle."

***

A few hours later the entire company gathers in the make-shift board room. Many square tables and chairs were pushed into a row with a small projector with a screen was setup. At the head of the table is Michael and Jeff followed by the blonde busty Cheryl to Michael's side. Next to her was the aloof Latina Amy their sound designer. She nodded her head as she listens to some music on her phone. Alice, there motion capture specialist was busy typing away at her computer. Yun and Delilah were sketching out designs and talking about fabric for a costume they were working on. Phoebe and Melina. The two newest hires were setting in the back excited for their first pitch meeting. Completely oblivious of the spectacle that was to come.

Michael stood up and addressed the room. "Alright since everyone is her, I wanted to thank you all for taking the time out of your day. We all know these meetings can drag so I wanted to start on a positive note." Picking up a piece of paper in front of him. "Sales figures have been looking good over the last quarter. As expected, the patches and updates to our older games have been received well with no bugs. We have gotten great feedback for are mind control, BDSM, and fantasy titles. As you know...."

At that moment Gus came up from the stair well blasting "The Time is Now" on his cellphone. Phoebe and Melina turn their heads to look at the attempted cool motivational speaker entrance. The rest of the table either rolls their eyes at the sight or ignore the pageantry unfolding before them. Oblivious to his audience, Gus continues until he gets to the head of the table.

With a wide smile on his face Gus begins. "Who here is excited for Twisted Taco's next big release!" Holding up his suitcase. "What I got in here is a WMD that will blow the doors off this company to new heights. Are you with me!"

Phoebe and Melina let out a "Yeah!" While the rest of the table either doesn't respond or gives a pity cheer. Having heard this at least a dozen times before.

Tring to keep the energy going Gus continues. He opens the briefcase and takes out several stapled proposals and places them face down in front of everyone. Trying to build a sense of suspense. When he reaches Amy, he has to tap her shoulder, so she stops listening to music. Essentially blocking out the stupidity for as long as possible. Next, he moves to the laptop connected to the projector and starts his presentation.

Clearing his throat Gus begins. "Imagine a vast unexplored world. Where you are a young adventurer. Seeking to photograph the most sexy, elusive and beautiful creatures known to man. Imagine photographing these lusty creatures in their natural habitats. Playing with one another. Bathing in clear springs. Fighting each other for dominance in this wide expansive world." Gus flips through several concept slides he made on the power point. His limited skills at drawing and using cut and paste from various anime series featuring monster girls was clear. "So, what do you say? Who wants to take a jungle cruise ride to this paradise!" Flipping to the last side which in colorful display says, "Monster Girl Safari". Jungle sounds mixed with sexy giggles accompanies the graphic.

Michael with his hands pressed to his lips makes a gesture toward Gus. "No."

Gus gives a confused look. "What is wrong? It's a great idea?"

Michael continues. "It is a great idea. Except it's called Pokémon Snap. You basically pitched Pokémon Snap."

Gus a bit flustered continues. "I suppose there is some similarities. But mine has sexy monster girls. What is the big hang up?"

Michael sighs, "The "hang up" is I do not want this company to get us sued into oblivion by Nintendo! On top of that it violates the one of the three rules when we started this company. No shit. No gore. No furries. Those people are the herpes of the independent gaming world. Even if we never got sued. Our inbox would be stuffed to the brim with request for more furry games as well as borderline bestiality fan art. I do not want to open that pandoras box. So, I am making an executive decision and shutting this one down." Michael says in a calm but firm manor.

Gus keeps trying "But... But. We have done bunny and cowgirls in the past. Isn't that a double standard?

Michael tilts his head. "Gus those were character costumes and well-established troupes in the anime community. This is a completely different level. So, no. They are not "the same.""

Jeff cuts in. "Lets just move on. I am sure you got a banger of an idea coming up."

Gus recomposes himself and goes into his next pitch. Flipping to a black screen with monks chanting. "Once every 10 years the realms of good and evil face off a tournament that will determine the fate of this world. Only the most skilled female fighters from around the world can face this challenge. With their fists, weapons, armor, and cum." He flips the slide. "This tournament is IMMORAL CUMBATH!" Generic fighting music begins to play. These sexy warriors with strip each other of their honor, dignity and cloths to win." Showing slides of characters removable armor. Various moves which would cover their opponents in spunk.

Jeff chuckles and chimes in. "So, is there a finishing moves of some sort?"

A delighted Gus turns toward his brother. Not realizing he is being baited. "Of course! Each character will have there own specialized erotic end mov. As well as environmental traps. For instance, the winner can uppercut the loser off a bridge into a bubbling lake of cum. Where they will be grabbed mid-air by a tentacle monster. Fucked in all three orifices before being drug under the bubbling white surface." His hands were making very excited and animated sexual gestures. "That is hot has hell right."

Michael interrupts. "Why dose this sound like the plot from Mortal Kombat? It's even got fatalities."

Gus stops and starts to ramble. "Well... I suppose... there may have been some... Loose inspiration. But! My vison has no gore, so we are good."

Michael wrinkles his forehead. "Gus. It needs to be an ORIGINAL idea! We are better than the two-bit flash games that skirt parody law. I am not saying it's a bad idea. But if I can sniff it out, others will as well. The Twisted Taco brand is better than a pale imitation. Do you have any ideas that are not blatant videogame rip offs?"

A now sweaty Gus rubbed the back of his neck. He thumbs through his proposals and flips to the next section. "Alright everyone flips to page twelve." He quickly taps through at least three more proposals on the power point. Michael skims the skipped pages and shakes his head. One was clearly an erotic parody of the mushroom kingdom. Except with dicks and sex toys with what appeared to be a sexed-up version of Princess Peach. Except the woman was Princess Pussy.

Gus takes a long drink of water before continuing. "We all know how crazy the housing market is her. Meet Trina and Crista two prospective house flippers by day and strippers by night. But the catch is they are broke and need to get the job done. They will need to get more than her hands dirty if they want to get the job done if you catch my drift. Will their flip be successful? Or will they just get Fucked." Gus flips the slide to a picture of a cartoony broken house. Sex noises coming from a widow with a sexy woman wearing just overalls leans over the front porch. The graphics reads "Flip or Fucked". Gus smiles and wiggles his eyebrows.

Michael's mouth is agape in confusion. "How is that game?! That sounds depressing as hell. Who were you thinking would be interested buying this? It sounds like you fell asleep watching the home improvement channel."

Gus is taken back by the comment. "You are always talking about expanding are market demographics. I was thinking about what women in there 30's and crafty people. It could be a bunch of mini games glued together. With the penalties being sex with the general contractors. Eh.! Am I right ladies?" The kaleidoscope of negative responses from the staff was written on their faces. No one was even going to humor it.

Michael and Jeff knew this was going to be another unproductive Gus day and tried to speed things along. Before things got to out of hand Jeff turned to his brother. "Why don't you let us read the rest of your proposals and we can ask questions if we need clarity." The table as a whole agrees to the idea.

An upset Gus crosses his arms. "Fine. If you think that reading would be a better way to get my ideas across then go ahead. But you are missing out on the Gus pizazz. "

The group flips through the rest of Gus's proposals and they go about as well as you would expect. The premises were the equivalent to a bad porno flick built around a kernel of an idea. One was described as "The Ring but hot". Whatever the hell that meant. As well as bad ideas for sequels games they already made.

Michael, Jeff and the others flip past the last page and put it down on the table. They really milk it out to make it seem like they were mulling it over. Like usual, not one solid good idea in the crop. Now the hardest part of this roller coaster was to let him down without him making a scene.

Michael looks up at Gus with a clam scripted composure. "Well, you do have many... Interesting ideas. I don't think they are quite ready yet. I think... If you work shopped some of these a bit further, there is a potential down the road. What does everyone else think?" Most nodded in agreement. Phoebe and Melina looked at each other with "what did we sign up for" expressions.

Jeff starts to stand up and stretches "Well if that is the case lets break for..."

Gus yells in a somewhat panicked voice "Wait! I have one more that I was saving. I did not include it as an... encore surprise! I think this one will do it for you. Meets all criteria and I know will be a banger. You two may know where I am going with this."

Jeff and Michael give each other a side eye. This was probably Gus's pet project he had been working on for years. One that started off as a great idea when they were drunk and broke in college. Well before they formed Twisted Taco. Yet, over time has become a boondoggle that they could never get him to let go of. Michael let out. "God, please do tell me it's..."

Gus boots up this second power point from a folder labeled "Dream Project". A scenic beach with white sands comes on display. Tropical trees, beach chairs, colorful alcoholic drinks and the crashing waves pan through the scene. Then a bamboo flute and an Asian string instrument begin to play. A well-made cut scene of beautiful Asian girls in everything from traditional garb to sexy bikinis pan the screen. Various beach and vacation activities were promoted. Followed by a finally of taiko drums with a stadium of sexy Asian girls fanning both side of a black silhouetted figure in the center. A calibration banner explodes from a large yellow ball with streamers and confetti. A tapestry that reads "Asian Island".

Many of the women at the table were shocked. Considering even the oldest employees have never seen the whole proposal. Outside of bits and pieces over the years. Most can remember Gus rambling about his "magnum opus" project. But never paid much attention. After the shit show of bad and half-baked ideas, this one doesn't seem like a complete waste. An easy laid back dating sim set in the tropics did not sound too bad. Lots of room to explore and grow. Maybe this was going to be Gus's day after all.

The unexpected positive energy was broken when Gus pulled out a heavily bound binder from his briefcase. Plopping it on the table was loud enough to make an auditable "thud". The single binder was three times as large as the proposals they had finished reading. Normally at this stage, most proposals were a few pages in length. Maybe a few concept drawing. This was a soup to nuts project that was heavily completed in his down time.

Gus smiles wide and puts his hand on his hips. "Well gentleman. Ladies. I have painstakingly planed out everything we will need to make. All we need to do is follow tis to a tee and we will have a platinum seller for sure!"

Jeff picks up the heavy tome and moves over so the others can look at it. An unusual crowd forms around the game bible in which Gus made. The pages are printed on heavy cardstock with meticulously laid out. Plans for games, events, and everything in between.

Michael and Jeff spent a good fifteen minutes flipping through the pages to see what the specifics were. They know that they can't do this because of Gus's crazy demands. Unlike other projects, he would refuse to change or compromise anything. There is no way to avoid it without a full-on confrontation. Michael decides to be the bad guy.

Michael looks up at a pleased as punch Gus. "Gus, I know this is your dream project, but there is no way we could pull this off. Maybe in a few years."

Gus at this point has lost it. "What?! What could possibly be wrong with it?! I have spent years of blood sweat and tears putting this together! It is perfection!"

Michael picks up the book and flips a page. "Really? Asian Island. An island filled with the most beautiful and exotic women across the Orient. Seriously?! What are you a British Imperial in the 1800's? Nobody uses that term unless you are referring to a rug. Don't get me wrong I am down for degrading women. But this is way too far."

Gus chews his cheek. "Okay. Some of that I wrote 10 years ago. But come on! Everyone loves Asians, right? It's like half the reason we started this company."

Jeff takes the next blow. "Bro. Some of the things you purpose in this are way out of budget. We can't afford to..." He flips to another section. "Hire some of the biggest Asian porn stars to voice and model the characters. Take concept pictures on real private nudist beach resort." Giving him a hard look. "We have an entire inhouse staff willing to dress up, suck, fuck and do whatever demented shit you had planned. Can't you see there is no way to realistically do this even pre-pandemic?"