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TrollBrutal Since: Nov, 2010
2024-12-05 03:53:38

I'd say not really, any amount of time can apply, even days as long as it's apparent and plot relevant (it can be implicit, context dependant, etc)

It's just a deliberate jump from the linear narrative to indicate that some time has passed usually to showcase offscreen changes (or stagnation) and such.

Edited by TrollBrutal
BeerBaron Since: Mar, 2012
2024-12-05 05:18:25

Three years is completely arbitrary and silly, I didn't even realize that was in there. I've definitely used (and seen it used) for far less than that. As long as time passes ("apparent and plot relevant" as Troll Brutal says above), it should count.

CanuckMcDuck1 Since: Sep, 2023
2024-12-05 06:55:34

It looks like the “no less than three years” comment has been there since the page was created. I don’t know why, because it’s not even a good average because skips can range from weeks to decades.

Do not mess with creatures which you do not understand.
Ngamer01 Since: Oct, 2010
2024-12-05 07:48:53

Unless this is something for the Trope Repair Shop, you can try asking the Trope Description Improvement thread if it's just a simple matter of adjusting the description and cleaning any needed examples (anything deeper would require the Trope Repair Shop though).

Edited by Ngamer01
BeerBaron Since: Mar, 2012
2024-12-05 08:18:44

The word "usually" leads me to believe it was intended as a guideline (misguided and arbitrary as it may be) rather than a hard rule of the trope, so I wouldn't think TRS would be necessary to remove it. Other takes?

Amonimus (Sergeant)
2024-12-05 09:01:25

"usually" means that part is subjective average. Time Skip is pretty straightforward, the next installment/arc is set in a different time frame than the previous one, meaningfully for the setting. It can be very short, as long as it's not a jumpcut of a travel montage.

TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
Mrph1 MOD (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
2024-12-05 10:37:10

I think "plot relevant" is the key thing here. If there's a six month time jump and it's a key part of the arc, that's one thing.

If it's just "there was a gap between adventures and something happened offscreen" , I'm not so sure.

I think the example that started the discussion was All-New Venom, where the first issue of the comics is set three months after the end of the previous Venom series, whereas the Real Life publication gap was much shorter.

For me, that also gets close to People Sit on Chairs - "time has passed" does not, by itself, seem tropeworthy, and initial publication dates are largely Trivia rather than things we trope on a work page.

Arawn999 Since: Dec, 2013
2024-12-05 10:43:38

Re. Mrph1

Admittedly All-New Venom was what kicked off the discussion, but it was moreso me being confused by you seeming to treat the "three years" remark as a hard-and-fast rule in your editing reason when a not insignificant number of the examples on the Time Skip page span a matter of months—if not weeks—which made me concerned it needed a TRS for rampant misuse. I wasn't sure, so I figured I'd ask ATT to get a consensus of what should be done first.

Edited by Arawn999
BeerBaron Since: Mar, 2012
2024-12-05 12:25:45

I stand by striking the "three year" line. It's arbitrary and plenty of examples qualify for the "spirit" of the trope (plot relevent development happens in between) with much shorter skips. Plus, nothing else needs to be changed that way.

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