low key ghosting

Gatekeeping that's done subtly, with plausible deniability — not an outright refusal but a slow fade of enthusiasm whenever the wrong person asks. Low key gatekeep is the art of technically answering questions while making the answer useless: vague locations, outdated info, or responses so casual that the asker doesn't realize they've been stonewalled. It's the polite person's version of keeping things to themselves.

Low key zombieing is the tentative, deniable version of coming back from the dead — watching stories, liking old posts, reacting with emojis but not actually sending a message. It's the digital equivalent of standing outside someone's window without knocking. Low key zombieing gives the person plausible deniability: they're not technically back, they're just... around. It's the haunting before the resurrection, and it's somehow creepier than a direct text.

Mid ghosting is the laziest, most half-hearted version of disappearing — where someone doesn't fully commit to the silence and keeps accidentally undermining themselves. They ghost you but still view every single one of your stories. They stop texting but interact with your tweets. They vanished but their activity timestamp says 'active 5 minutes ago.' Mid ghosting is offensive not because someone left, but because they couldn't even be bothered to leave properly. It's the participation-trophy version of cutting someone off.