Shino sat down at her desk and put a cup of steaming coffee next to her. She shifted the mouse to get her computer to cancel out of the screensaver and show her the current install progress. Only a few minutes left.

She leaned back and looked down at the Amusphere™ resting on the corner of the desk, connected to her computer by a cable. In the years after graduation, she had been drawn more and more into the world of games, mostly of the full-dive VR variety, enough so to start working a job as a tester, which had eventually spiralled into full-on online journalism, writing reviews and editorials for a few websites and her own anonymous blog.

Receiving test versions of new VR games had become a rare but normal occurrence. This new one, however, was... different. Unlike the shooters, RPGs, and MMOs that kept cropping up everywhere, all trying to be the next Alfheim or Gun Gale, this one was certainly unique.

'Innocent Dreams - Bondage and Kink Simulation' said the name of the file that now finished installing on her device. It wasn't only an oddity for her, it was a bold idea to even try and sell to the masses. No doubt, if it could deliver on what the title promised, it would be popular, but the controversy of it's existence alone was sure to get the publishers in trouble.

Controversial or not, Shino had never turned down a test version before, no matter how terrible they ended up being in execution. And if nothing else, this was sure to be a unique experience. Better interestingly awful than serviceably dull.

All that she told herself, ignoring the heat in her cheeks and the beating in her chest as she disconnected the console and went to lie down with it on her bed.

Taking off her glasses and setting them aside, she put on the Amusphere™ and let it run its security protocol before starting up.




Shino emerged in the generic menu, her social avatar floating in nothingness, faced with a wall of text. She carefully read through the lengthy message by the developers, informing her once again about the simulation she was testing, the fact that certain content had been unlocked for the test version, and that far more content would be available in the full retail version, all framed with formal text and pleasantries.

Moving on from the initial message, the menu around Shino changed, taking on a warm red tone in dim lighting as she was shown - what else - more menus, with a gentle, neutral sound tune playing in the background.

Shino looked over the different options presented to her. Scenario Mode, Free Mode, and Test Mode seemed to be the game modes open to her in this version. Erring on the side of caution, she reached out to select Test Mode first.

Another menu opened up, no longer hiding the main content of the software: There were different forms of restraints; ropes, metal, leather, and gags, all ordered into subfolders. Shaking off her embarrassment over the subject matter, at the very least the menu seemed to be quite assessable.

She had to start with something sooner or later. Starting simple, she selected a rope arm tie from the list.

Almost immediately, her wrists were caught and she gasped in surprise as they were pulled behind her back, simulated rope quickly winding around the lower arms of her simulated avatar. Within a second, they were tightly restrained and the bonds firmly withstood her struggling, only to loosen and despawn again a few seconds later.

Shino took a moment to calm herself down, taking a long breath. She briefly wondered if her real body was taking these steadying breaths with her, but discarded the thought.

"Okay, you knew what you were getting in to. Calm down.", she said to herself, clearing her throat and looking up at the menu again. Switching to a different tab, she hesitated for a moment before selecting a black leather armbinder.

As she had expected, her arms were immediately seized by an invisible force again and brought behind her, where the leather restraint spawned and was slipped over her arms right away, the buckles securing themselves over her shoulders.

Taking another quick breath, Shino strained and started struggling against it. It felt different from the Hold or Paralyse spells in Alfheim, it didn't simply lock her arm movement, it genuinely simulated the restraint itself, leaving her with limited mobility, enough to make it feel like she was really struggling against being tied up.

The armbinder vanished again a few seconds later and she stretched out her arms. At least in Test Mode, each restrain seemed to stay on her for around five seconds before despawning.

A little more comfortable, knowing the simulation would quickly release her again, Shino followed her curiosity and switched over to the gags tab. She scrolled a bit and ended up selecting a small red ballgag. It spawned in front of her and she opened her mouth before the unseen force needed to do it for her, and it lodged itself behind her teeth, the buckle snapping closed behind her head.

She mumbled into it, testing how it would muffle her speech. From what she had seen on the internet, it seemed quite accurate. If this size was small, however, she already knew she didn't dare pick the large sizes.

The gag unbuckled and slipped out and Shino paused for a moment. The Amusphere™, as part of both its VR simulation mechanics and its security procedures, still sent certain physical responses to her mind. For whatever reason, arousal was one of them. Her body in the real world was aroused.

"Well.", she said quietly to nobody but herself, "Let's not mess around all day. Let's try a scenario."