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“It’s in New York, on Long Island.” He squeezed her hand back, smiling slightly.

Man, they were really close together. It felt familiar, though. Really familiar. She unconsciously squeezed his hand, growing slightly more corporeal. Were they really just friends? ”Where’s the camp?”

“What was that?” He stepped a little closer so their shoulders were brushing. He was still trembling, though he made an obvious attempt to hide it.

“Cool! Whe-“ She flickered. ”camp?” Her calmness was starting to fade. She didn’t like being confused, apparently. Jenny was glad Edgar was here to help her sort things out. Dealing with this alone would be tough.

“We met at a…summer camp. And I’m glad you think I seem nice, I try to be.”

“That’s great! You seem really nice.” Jenny flickered again. Briefly, the serene expression on her face flashed to terror then back. ”How’d we meet?” Perhaps she could trigger a memory based on some details of her past. Not knowing much about yourself wasn’t very fun.

“I…we…used to…” he trailed off. “We’re friends.” What was happening?

“No, it’s alright. I don’t like disappearing. How do we know each other?” Edgar really did seem so familiar. She couldn’t recall knowing anyone before, though. She couldn’t remember anything about her past. Maybe she didn’t have a past. But Edgar said they knew each other, and he didn’t seem like a liar. Had she just forgotten?

“I think it’s helping you stay here. Earlier, you disappeared for a moment, so I’m trying this. I can stop, if you want.” His voice was calm, but his entire body trembled.

“Huh. Those are nice names.” Jenny looked down and cocked her head. ”Why are you holding my hand?” She didn’t try to pull her hand away. For some reason, letting go felt scary. Why was she here? Where was here? Who was she?

I’m probably gonna start a debate or say an unpopular opinion, but I never understood takes like this. To be honest, I blame it on the infamous “Kelsier is a psychopath” WoB. Kelsier is not sickeningly destructive. He doesn’t blow up cities or kill people for fun. He legitimately cares about his crew and the skaa, tried to save the world from Rashek’s tyrannical stagnation and Ruin’s destruction, loves Mare, and hates Ruin even though he’s very Connected to Ruin. Kelsier is flawed, not destructive. One good noble doesn’t prove that Kelsier’s slaughter of nobles wasn’t justified. His approach towards skaa who worked for nobles is iffy, but it’s still justified considering… well, their employers. I like that aspect of The Well of Ascension too. But the destruction of the Final Empire was objectively worth it. Power struggles and vacuums will always exists after the fall of an empire. But Rashek killed way more people than Kelsier could ever hope. A good being, no matter how much they wanted to protect people, wouldn’t allow something like the Final Empire. Granted, I think Rashek was part of Preservation’s Plan. But that still does introduce messed up things about Preservation. Hell, Rashek could use the Well’s power because he was Connected to Preservation’s attributes. Anyway, I am absolutely in love with the concept of Preservation being the antagonist of Era 1. I love Sanderson but he did a piss poor job implying situations Ruin could be the good guy while Preservation is the bad guy. Even after reading Secret History, I was pretty disappointed by the lack of nuance within Ruin and Preservation’s conflict. I’m honestly in the mood to write fanfic where Preservation is the bad guy or antagonist, and Ruin is the good guy or protagonist. My friend is actually writing an AU with this idea. He was sharing ideas yesterday over on the 17th Shard Discord server. My friend’s username is Fox. These are his messages describing the AU:

“I have…met you. You don’t seem to know me though. You’re Jenny. I’m Edgar.” He didn’t let go of her hand.

She looked confused. ”Are you alright? I-“ She flickered again, her hand almost fading away from within the guy’s, but it was more like a blink than a disappearance. He seemed to help keep her anchored there. ”Oh, that’s not good.” She then squinted to inspect the guy in front of her, apparently having forgotten her worry immediately. “You look familiar. Have we met?”

Edgar didn’t speak, instead grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. Something was very wrong.

“Nice to meet you, Edgar!” She flickered out of view, disappearing for a few seconds. When she returned, she noticed that there was a person. She liked people. Introducing yourself was always a good first step when you met someone new. ”Hello! I’m… huh. I don’t know my name.” She looked mildly puzzled for a moment. ”Ah, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. What’s your name?” She stuck her hand out for a handshake, smiling brightly.

“You…you don’t know me?” Could I…restart everything? Not get her hurt now? “My name is Edgar.”

A person. She liked people. Introducing yourself was always a good first step when you met someone new. ”Hello! I’m... huh. I don’t know my name.” She looked mildly puzzled for a moment. “You said Jenny? That must be me! I like that name. What’s your name?” She stuck her hand out for a handshake, smiling brightly. She didn’t seem to notice anything beyond the fact that a person was there.

Edgar was in a small house, sitting on a bed, face streaked with tears. He was shaking uncontrollably, and his neck was slightly red. ”J…J…Jenny?” he sputtered.

Jenny was faint. Why was she faint? And why was everything so dark? Where was she? She wasn’t sure if she was in pain or not. There wasn’t enough of her left for that. Maybe she was asleep. Sometimes her dreams were weird. They hadn’t been like this before. But this was still so familiar, somehow. There was a familiar presence, too. Odd. It seemed scary. Terrifying, actually. She couldn’t see it, but she knew that it was bad. She needed to run. She needed to get away, go somewhere else. Reaching out, she could faintly feel something familiar. It felt safe. She shattered the ground beneath her and fell into the other place. Jenny landed in Ed’s dream. She looked transparent, like a ghost.

Ding ding ding. You’ve got it.

Terrance looked uncertainly and the two unconscious people.

Jenny heard talking. She couldn’t understand it, but it probably didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she could do anything about whatever people were saying. ”Don’t wake.” She mustered up every last scrap of power she had left, and magically put herself to sleep. She would be stronger in her dreams, if this stunt didn’t destroy her.

Even after reading Secret History, I was pretty disappointed by the lack of nuance within Ruin and Preservation’s conflict. I’m honestly in the mood to write fanfic where Preservation is the bad guy or antagonist, and Ruin is the good guy or protagonist. My friend is actually writing an AU with this idea. He was sharing ideas yesterday over on the 17th Shard Discord server. My friend’s username is Fox. These are his messages describing the AU:

As toothless. @Anguished_One I imagine you as this one actress in a show, tho a little older.