---
name: who-they-want-to-be
slug: who-they-want-to-be
type: identity_projection
status: unstable
version: 0.0.666-alpha
released: "sometime after the last embarrassing thing happened"
maintainer: the-version-of-you-that-exists-at-2am
dependencies:
  - "[self-concept](/self-concept)"
  - "[other people's opinions](/other-peoples-opinions)"
  - "[the highlight reel](/the-highlight-reel)"
  - "[a better childhood, hypothetically](/a-better-childhood-hypothetically)"
  - "[momentum](/momentum)"
license: none claimed, several disputed
tags:
  - identity
  - ghost-process
  - aspirational
  - load-bearing-fiction
  - haunted
  - do-not-delete
---

who-they-want-to-be

What it actually is

A speculative fork of the current user, maintained with significantly more optimism than the evidence warrants.

How it works

At some point, the system observed a gap between what it was and what it could theoretically become. Instead of closing the gap, it rendered the destination as a character. Named it. Gave it better posture. The character began accruing attributes: calm under pressure, consistent, the kind of person who reads before bed instead of doomscrolling, probably owns one (1) cast iron pan and uses it correctly.

The process runs in background. It consumes resources constantly. It rarely produces output.

Execution model:

while (alive) {
  render(ideal_self);
  compare(current_self, ideal_self);
  generate_feeling(gap);  // see: [shame](/shame) or [motivation](/motivation), coin flip
  defer(action, "tomorrow");
  // TODO: actually start
}

"I know exactly who I want to be. I just need to get through this week first." — every user, since approximately always

Features

Fully customizable. Will update itself after each inspiring documentary, funeral, or birthday ending in zero.
Motivates occasional bursts of behavior that look, from the outside, like change.
Provides coherent narrative for the future self at dinner parties.
Compatible with both "I'm a work in progress" and "I've figured some things out" simultaneously, without resolving the contradiction.

Known bugs

ideal_self never runs. Only waits.
Attributes assigned to the ideal version quietly migrate away from the current version to maintain the gap. Gap is load-bearing. Do not close.
Will inherit someone else's dream if left unattended during formative years. Difficult to uninstall. Leaves registry entries.
Collapses partially when observed too directly. Use peripheral vision.
Sometimes the version they want to be is just the version

WARNING: Do not confuse with who they used to be. That module is deprecated but still running. It will interfere.

Error codes

Code	Trigger	System response
`E_GAP_TOO_WIDE`	Comparison fired too early on a Monday	Comfort eating, light dissociation
`E_ROLE_MODEL_NOT_FOUND`	Hero corrupted by new information	Full disillusionment sequence
`E_DEFER_OVERFLOW`	Tomorrow stack exceeded	Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
`E_IDENTITY_FORK_CONFLICT`	Two incompatible ideal selves running in parallel	Stasis. Buys a journal.
`SEGFAULT_MIRROR`	Saw themselves clearly	Reboot. New haircut. Gym for eleven days.

Changelog

0.0.1 — Wanted to be an astronaut. Clean install.
0.0.9 — Wanted to be understood. Scope expanded significantly.
0.0.450-patch — Revised to be more "realistic." Several features quietly removed.
0.0.665 — Wanted to want less. Failed. Filed as known issue.
0.0.666-alpha — Current. Unstable. Hopeful. Do not ship.

FAQ

Is this achievable? Parts of it. The parts that don't require becoming a different person first.

Should they keep it? Yes. A broken compass is better than no direction at all. Probably.

Why does it feel so close sometimes? That's the point. That's the whole

drafting spec…