Buying Time
is a sci-fi cyberpunk romance Flash webcomic. Set in the future megalopolis of Hyperion City where all forms of entertainment, including our own personal social lives are regulated by a micro-transaction monetary system called Daily Leisure Credit.
When Vinnie Smalls, a lonesome welder working for the Hyperion City Core, finds he has a crush on a fellow co-worker, he finds he must break away from his usual loner lifestyle and dive headfirst into the inner workings of the Daily Leisure Credit system. Our story deals with the ups and downs of his relationship in the midst of system that makes staying in contact with someone a financial battle.
This webcomic contains examples of:
- After the End: Hyperion City is located in a giant meteor crater, surrounded by the mostly-deserted ruins of previous civilization.
- Artificial Limbs Are Stronger: Galvin's arm, and Fridge's whole body. In the regulated parts of Hyperion City their strength is limited.
- Cyberpunk: The high-tech setting with a gritty underworld.
- Kaleidoscope Hair: Vinnie constantly colors his hair to different colors over the course of the story when meeting Galvin. By the end of the story, when both go steady, Vinnie washes back to a natural brunette.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Both Vinnie and Galvin had appeared naked in some scenes from the comic.
- Post-Cyberpunk: The main characters are getting by instead of rebelling against the limited interaction system within the city. Citizens can freely take time to interact at the underground or at the outskirts.
- Uptown Girl: Gender-inverted. Vinnie lives in level 12 of Hyperion City, which is dedicated to lower class citizens. Galvin, on the other hand, lives in the high-class level 192.
- We Can Rebuild Him: Fridge, who went through "100% Synthetic Body Part Replacement" to avoid dying from a terminal illness.
