@dm3 can you give an example? i.e. close to where you would have this problem

First

(defstate process
   :start (let [v (get-value)] (do-with v)))

(defstate last-state
   :start (atom nil))

(defstate process
   :start (let [v (get-value)] (reset! last-state v) (do-with v)))

if last-state is evaluated after the process, it’s order sequence number will be higher, so if process/start starts without any delay, last-state will still be a NotStartedState