diff --git a/src/iter.rs b/src/iter.rs
index e19c105..7ab57e8 100644
--- a/src/iter.rs
+++ b/src/iter.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use crate::{MutGuard, RawVechonk, Vechonk};
+use crate::{RawVechonk, Vechonk};
 use alloc::boxed::Box;
 use core::marker::PhantomData;
 use core::mem;
@@ -68,19 +68,20 @@ impl<'a, T: ?Sized> IterMut<'a, T> {
 }
 
 impl<'a, T: ?Sized> Iterator for IterMut<'a, T> {
-    type Item = MutGuard<T>;
+    type Item = &'a mut T;
 
     fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Self::Item> {
         if self.current_index == self.raw.len {
             return None;
         }
 
-        let old_index = self.current_index;
+        // SAFETY: We just did a bounds check above
+        let ptr = unsafe { self.raw.get_unchecked_ptr(self.current_index) };
 
         self.current_index += 1;
 
-        // SAFETY: We did a bounds check above, and taken `&mut Vechonk`
-        unsafe { Some(MutGuard::new(self.raw.copy(), old_index)) }
+        // SAFETY: We rely on `get_unchecked_ptr` returning a valid pointer, which is does, see its SAFETY comments
+        unsafe { Some(&mut *ptr) }
     }
 
     fn size_hint(&self) -> (usize, Option<usize>) {
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index bbf2c4e..b6163b8 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ use alloc::boxed::Box;
 use core::cmp;
 use core::cmp::Ordering;
 use core::hash::{Hash, Hasher};
-use core::ops::{Deref, Index};
+use core::ops::{Index, IndexMut};
 
 pub use iter::{IntoIter, Iter, IterMut};
 
@@ -137,7 +137,7 @@ impl<T: ?Sized> Vechonk<T> {
     }
 
     /// Get a mutable guard to an element at the index. Returns `None` if the index is out of bounds
-    pub fn get_mut(&mut self, index: usize) -> Option<MutGuard<T>> {
+    pub fn get_mut(&mut self, index: usize) -> Option<&mut T> {
         if index < self.len() {
             // SAFETY: The index has been checked above
             unsafe { Some(self.get_unchecked_mut(index)) }
@@ -148,9 +148,11 @@ impl<T: ?Sized> Vechonk<T> {
 
     /// # Safety
     /// The index must be in bounds
-    pub unsafe fn get_unchecked_mut(&mut self, index: usize) -> MutGuard<T> {
-        // SAFETY: We can assume that `index` is not out of bounds
-        unsafe { MutGuard::new(self.raw.copy(), index) }
+    pub unsafe fn get_unchecked_mut(&mut self, index: usize) -> &mut T {
+        // SAFETY: The metadata is only assigned directly from the pointer metadata of the original object and therefore valid
+        //         The pointer is calculated from the offset, which is also valid
+        //         The pointer is aligned, because it has been aligned manually in `Self::push`
+        unsafe { &mut *self.raw.get_unchecked_ptr(index) }
     }
 
     /// # Safety
@@ -174,41 +176,6 @@ impl<T: ?Sized> Vechonk<T> {
     }
 }
 
-/// A guard that acts similarly to a `&mut T`, but does not allow any arbitrary value to be written,
-/// instead checking whether the element has the correct size/alignment to fit the space of the old element.
-pub struct MutGuard<T: ?Sized> {
-    raw: RawVechonk<T>,
-    /// Must always be in bounds
-    index: usize,
-}
-
-impl<T: ?Sized> MutGuard<T> {
-    /// # Safety
-    /// The index must not be out of bounds, and `raw` must be mutable
-    pub(crate) unsafe fn new(raw: RawVechonk<T>, index: usize) -> Self {
-        Self { raw, index }
-    }
-
-    /// Write a new element to the location.
-    /// * If the element fits in the space, the old element is returned
-    /// * If the element does not fit in the space, the new element is returned again
-    pub fn try_write(&mut self, element: Box<T>) -> Result<Box<T>, Box<T>> {
-        self.raw.try_replace_elem(element, self.index)
-    }
-}
-
-impl<T: ?Sized> Deref for MutGuard<T> {
-    type Target = T;
-
-    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
-        // SAFETY: The metadata is only assigned directly from the pointer metadata of the original object and therefore valid
-        //         The pointer is calculated from the offset, which is also valid
-        //         The pointer is aligned, because it has been aligned manually in `Self::push`
-        //         We can assume that the index is in bounds
-        unsafe { &*self.raw.get_unchecked_ptr(self.index) }
-    }
-}
-
 impl<T: ?Sized> Index<usize> for Vechonk<T> {
     type Output = T;
 
@@ -222,6 +189,17 @@ impl<T: ?Sized> Index<usize> for Vechonk<T> {
     }
 }
 
+impl<T: ?Sized> IndexMut<usize> for Vechonk<T> {
+    fn index_mut(&mut self, index: usize) -> &mut Self::Output {
+        if index >= self.len() {
+            panic!("Out of bounds, index {} for len {}", index, self.len());
+        }
+
+        // SAFETY: The index is not out of bounds
+        unsafe { self.get_unchecked_mut(index) }
+    }
+}
+
 /// don't bother with destructors for now
 impl<T: ?Sized> Drop for Vechonk<T> {
     fn drop(&mut self) {
diff --git a/src/test.rs b/src/test.rs
index 413b814..cb5838e 100644
--- a/src/test.rs
+++ b/src/test.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ use alloc::boxed::Box;
 #[repr(align(2048))]
 struct BigAlign(u8);
 
+trait TakeMut {
+    fn take_mut(&mut self) {}
+}
+
+impl<T: ?Sized> TakeMut for T {}
+
 #[test]
 fn new() {
     let chonk = Vechonk::<()>::new();
@@ -236,7 +242,7 @@ fn eq_ne() {
 }
 
 #[test]
-fn get_mut_deref() {
+fn get_mut() {
     let mut chonk1: Vechonk<str> = vechonk!["hello".into(), "uwu".into()];
 
     let hello = chonk1.get_mut(0).unwrap();
@@ -246,16 +252,15 @@ fn get_mut_deref() {
 
 #[test]
 fn get_mut_mutating() {
-    let mut chonk1: Vechonk<str> = vechonk!["hello".into(), "uwu".into()];
+    let mut chonk1: Vechonk<dyn TakeMut> = Vechonk::new();
+    chonk1.push(Box::new("hello"));
+    chonk1.push(Box::new("uwu"));
 
-    let mut hello = chonk1.get_mut(0).unwrap();
+    let hello = chonk1.get_mut(0).unwrap();
 
-    hello.try_write("owo".into()).unwrap();
-    hello
-        .try_write("hi, I'm wayyyyy too long".into())
-        .unwrap_err();
+    hello.take_mut();
 
-    assert_eq!(&*hello, "owo");
+    assert_eq!(chonk1.len(), 2);
 }
 
 #[test]