timeskipped

A timeskip, or time skip, is a narrative technique that moves the story forward by a period of time, without depicting all the intervening events in real time. It is commonly used in serialized fiction, comics, animation, film, and video games to advance character development, situation, or setting between arcs or chapters.

Timeskips are often categorized as soft or hard. A soft skip implies the passage of time through brief montage, dialogue, captions, or a few quick scenes, leaving much of the intervening events to the reader's or viewer's imagination. A hard skip jumps forward with little or no on-screen hint, summarizing the intervening events after the fact or showing the consequences of what happened during the skipped period.

Purposes include accelerating pacing, skipping mundane or repetitive events, allowing characters to age, train, or change relative to one another, and creating new narrative possibilities or conflicts that could not exist in real-time continuities.

Common devices to indicate a timeskip include explicit date stamps, captions, chapter breaks, fades to black, or a montage that quickly conveys new circumstances, such as changed appearances, settings, or relationships.

In practice, timeskips appear across media. They are a standard tool in long-running series to bridge major story arcs, to reset stakes, or to refresh the cast. The choice of soft versus hard, and the amount of implied detail, shapes reader or player engagement.

While useful for pacing, timeskips can confuse or frustrate audiences if the skipped period contains important information or if the transition feels abrupt. Effective use relies on clear signaling, purposeful timing, and sufficient consequences for the characters and setting.