The ending was unfortunately abrupt because I was a pinch-hitter for this exchange and only had a short time to get something together. With a little more time I definitely would have gone for a slower, more built-out reveal (though likely not as slow and chaptered as some of the more skillful writers out there, as I'm more a one-shot kind of fanfic author anyway lol!)

So! Even though it was open-ended and perhaps not the most fleshed-out concept, I'm glad you enjoyed what you read. Thanks so much! ♥