Meetings

**Link to chapter on Archive of Our Own**

Published June 9, 2021 on non-profit fanworks website Archive of Our Own.

***Content Warning for blood, violence, warfare, and references to enslavement***

## Author's Summary

*“His opponent successfully subdued, Phil hovers for a mere few moments—just long enough to watch red droplets speckle the earth beneath him—before he lands. His knees give out instantly from beneath him, his weapons clattering to the earth, and with a ragged gasp, he catches himself on his wrists, grimacing as the pain in his abdomen burns anew.*

*“‘Ghhhh…’ He presses his hands to the gaping wound, swallowing back the instinctive reflex to gag against the nauseating pain. ‘G-good one, mate… got me good…”’ His fingers feel oddly cold and stiff, his hands shaking as he struggles to apply pressure, gritting his teeth as hot crimson continues to flow out from beneath his fingers, staining his clothes and the ground below alike.”*

## Featured Characters

Philza

Technoblade

## Chapter Summary

The twenty-seventh [27th] chapter of the story but first [1st] in terms of chronology, *Meetings* recounts Philza and Technoblade’s initial encounter and set on an unspecified battlefield. The chapter is written from Philza’s point of view, set in a time when he is already attempting to shed his reputation as the “Angel of Death”. At this point, he is described to be more suited to leading or advancing alone than following orders, yet he places himself in a follower’s role and plays the part of a complacent soldier in an effort to change who he was and leave his past behind. However, his dislike of doing so is hinted at.

On said unspecified battlefield, Philza comes face-to-face with Technoblade as members of opposing sides after the latter has already left a trail of bodies in his wake. He offers a few quips and asks for his opponent’s name, which Technoblade doesn’t answer. After trading a few blows, both appear to grow excited at the prospect of a harder match than their usual fare, and Philza notes that it’s been a while since he last fought without holding back. They trade blows for a while, seemingly equal in battle even if their strengths lie in different areas, and Philza questions why Technoblade allows himself to be subservient to others, seeing his past self in his present opponent. This enrages Technoblade, who’s strikes grow sloppy, allowing Philza to shatter Technoblade’s mask. He is caught off-guard by the latter’s youth, and Technoblade takes advantage of the moment to deliver a would-be fatal wound to Philza’s abdomen. Philza responds by taking to the air for a well-placed arrow that would take down most men before landing badly and collapsing into the dirt.

To his surprise, Technoblade removes the arrow and gets back up. Philza assumes a protective position and asks for a quick death. However, instead of being finished off like he expects, Technoblade offers his name and states that, “Nobody’s ever asked me that before.” Before Phil manages to speak more, he blacks out from the blood loss.

When he comes to, it’s with Technoblade’s scratchy cloak as a pillow on the hard ground. Technoblade offers him some water and brings attention to Phil’s words from their battle, which Philza correctly takes to mean that Technoblade wants out of his current life. He takes some pins from his pack and picks the locks on Technoblade’s shackles, verbally poking Technoblade for his future plans to the piglin hybrid’s annoyance. Technoblade offers to join Philza’s side due to fighting being a constant in his life, to which Philza states that Technoblade is more than just a weapon. This acknowledgment of humanity is what causes them to “click” and the chapter ends with Philza’s offer to “go on an adventure”.

## Status

**Philza**

At this point in time, Phil has already lived centuries and is self-aware enough to judge himself as “[not] the brightest, impulsive and reckless, and acting frequently on his instincts even when the situation calls for thought”.

It’s likely that Phil had longer hair before this chapter, as his hair is described to have been cut free from his ponytail, but still long enough to catch and tangle in the wind. His wings are dark in colour, intact, and healthy enough to get him off the ground in one flap. He wears a cloak over them (presumably on a daily basis) before unclipping it to meet Technoblade in battle, and his main weapon is a sword. It should be noted that this sword is unlikely to be Philza’s *hiasobi benihime,* as the weapon is described to be steel and may be a standard-issue soldier’s sword.

**Technoblade**

Technoblade is described from Philza’s point of view as a broad-shouldered, masked piglin hybrid, with cloven hooves, pointed ears, and a rose-coloured mane. He wears a mask, a cloak, and metal shackles on his wrists, though not by choice and it is unclear if these shackles are connected by a chain, trailing chains, or void of chains. At this point in time, Philza describes him as looking to be in his late teens or early twenties at most.

Technoblade dual wields a battle-axe in one hand with a shield in the other, with a dagger on his belt and another in his boot. His eyes, which are visible despite the mask, are “blood red” and “distinctly human”. He also has a humanoid nose, but non-human tusks.  Like Philza’s sword, his battle-axe is described to be made of steel.

## Wounds/Injuries/Scars

* Technoblade already has a lot of old scars littered all over his hands, which hint at Techno having been fighting for a long time.
* A shallow but long axe wound on Philza’s shoulder, from Technoblade’s battle-axe.
* A wound on Technoblade’s inner thigh from Philza’s sword.
* Split skin on Philza’s jaw from the edge of Technoblade’s shield
* A hard strike to Technoblade’s head from the pommel of Philza’s sword, shattering the former’s mask.
* A deep wound to Philza’s stomach area, from Technoblade, although whether this is a hack by his battle-axe is unclear.
* A deep arrow wound in Technoblade’s shoulder from Philza’s bow in the armour’s unprotected joint, rendering the arm useless and confining it to a sling in the aftermath.
* A bad landing for Philza’s knees, due to the pain of said abdominal injury

## Addenda

* The fletchling on Philza’s arrows is green! Bun has also stated in her Discord that the fletchling is, in fact, made of dyed feathers, but not Phil’s own.