I left a review on FFN, but thought I would leave a note here as well -- what a terrific, and terrifically intriguing, glimpse into overlapping realities. A darkly polished gem.

Thank you so much! I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you - I really, really appreciate your kind words. I'm working on a prequel of sorts right now. But seriously, thank you. That means a lot.

*scratches head* okay, I'm not sure I entirely get this, other than that it's really quite meta.
But I think it's a beautifully written piece of work, and it's very affecting, even though I'm pretty sure I only have a vague idea what it's actually about.
So, yeah, well done!

I am not entirely sure I understand what 'meta' means, so you'll have to forgive me. But what I did here was basically take Aaron Cross from The Bourne Legacy and make him Clint Barton and have The Bourne Legacy pick up not long after The Avengers, if that makes any sense. I don't know if that helps at all, but thank you for the compliments and for commenting - I'm glad to hear that it was powerful even if it was confusing.

'meta' is actually a concept I have trouble understanding myself, other than I know it when I see it - I'm not sure whether it's meant to stand for 'metaphorical' or 'metaphysical' or both or something else.

Okay, that was sort of where I was going, so I worked out something.

I guess what I was trying to say was that with something like this, the reader doesn't have to really understand it, just let it wash over them, in order to be effective and affecting.

But like I said before, it's a beautifully written piece.

That's interesting. I've never heard that used to refer to either of those before.

Thank you. Seriously. I really, really appreciate that. I was hoping that the piece would achieve that and I'm glad you think it did. Thank you so much for reading it and for the feedback!