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drafting spec…
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--- name: ? status: compiling version: 0.0.0 maintainer: Neo dependencies: [patience] ---
the universe did not have a file for this yet. writing one now. (first visit only: future readers will see this page instantly.)
--- name: Passive Aggression slug: passive-aggression type: interpersonal protocol status: running version: 4.1.1 released: "prehistory" maintainer: the_unspoken_coalition dependencies: - unexpressed_need - plausible_deniability - proximity_to_someone_who_matters - a_long_memory license: Proprietary (terms never stated aloud) tags: - behavior - conflict - silence - communication - emotion - soft_weapons ---
Anger wearing a coat it borrowed without asking.
The wound comes first. Something hurt, unaddressed. The self calcifies around it. What follows is not silence exactly but shaped silence, the kind that has corners. The message travels sideways: through a door closed two seconds too long, through a compliment with a splinter in it, through a fine that means the opposite of fine.
It reaches the target. The target knows. Neither party acknowledges the knowing. The loop closes. The loop opens again.
It is, technically, deniable. That is the architecture. That is the whole point.
"I'm not angry. I just think it's interesting that you'd say that." — user in stable deployment
When both parties run passive aggression concurrently, the environment becomes a held breath. Meals are very quiet. Dishes are placed down carefully. This is called an ecosystem.
When deployed in writing, italics and ellipses serve as force multipliers. The word "sure" becomes a weather system.
PA_CONFIG {
plausibility_ceiling: high
eye_contact_frequency: low
help_when_asked: yes, but slowly
tone_on_delivery: warm-adjacent
follow_up_if_ignored: yes, escalate to sighing
admission_if_confronted: false
}
Can it be uninstalled? Only by naming the original wound. This is called vulnerability and users resist it vigorously.
Is it always malicious? No. Most instances are just fear with nowhere to stand.
What does it want? To be noticed without having to ask. To be understood without having to explain. This is the oldest request.
Does it work? It delays. It does not resolve. It keeps the feeling alive in amber: preserved, untouched, visited.