#kayneth

Take the scene at the hotel, Kayneth starts berating Diarmuid about not finishing Saber off, but you can vaguley see something else in his expression too, he’s studying Diarmuid, trying to wrap his head around this person who’s in his control, what exactly the lovespot can do. This is sort of a contemplative gesture as he’s trying to figure out his role as a Master, and Kayneth being Kayneth he resorts to a feigned indifference and superiority.

Sola-Ui walks in, and his expression upon seeing her is sort of difficult to pin down, I can very easily see how it could be read as nervousness, but I see it more as a relief to seeing her. He goes from a tense forward position to relaxing back into his chair. Her entrance almost jolts him out of his anger, and that’s very telling for someone like Kayneth.

Her tone drips with condecension as she recounts that the fight actually went well, and they have a good tactical advantage. However, the actual content of her message is reassuring Kayneth that they haven’t lost yet. She might think she’s actually helping here instead of putting in salt into the wound.

She also goes into immediatley praising him for his accomplishments, and talking about them as if they were a team, because they are. He has an advantage in the war because she’s providing his servant with magical energy, and she reminds him that that was possible because he’s talented at evocation. She’s propping them both up as ideal Masters, and maybe she views it as sort of a power-couple thing? Despite the “pathetic” line, I genuinley think she was trying to cheer him up, reminding him that even though he made a mistake he’s not out of the race yet. From the way he looks to the side he’s genuinley listening to her. 

Her next line, the line Diarmuid pops in at, is “So you’ll hide while Lancer takes all the risks.” 

This is one of her harsher lines, but her body language with how she drapes herself across the back of his chair implies she’s trying to get a rise out of him. It implies familiarity, and while it’s not exactly comforting, Kayneth’s thinking more of the implications of her words instead of them as slights against his character.  If Diarmuid hand’t interupted, he might’ve said something along the lines of that being true and would adjust his plan accordingly.

This is where the “I don’t think they realize how weird they are.” comes in.

They both looked surprised as Diarmuid speaks up, like they were shocked that anyone would say anything about it (or that Diarmuid spoke up). I fully think they forgot he was there. Diarmuid, coming from a time where both members of a marriage treat each other with a certain amount of civility enforced by society, is unaccomsted to a relationship where harsh words are doled out so passivley, so he takes it as an insult to Kayneth and tries to defend him. Then is where we get the shift in dynamic

Sola-Ui’s body language changes immediatley, almost going into a submissive tone of voice, and an apology. She didn’t mean her words in a harsh tone, but she responds to Diarmuid as if they were regardless. If she had been clearer minded she might’ve said said something about speaking the truth. It’s only after this display that Kayneth develops an actual bitterness towards Diarmuid. The dynamic he was familiar with coming from her has been broken, he hasn’t seen this side of her before and doesn’t like it, and it can be blamed on one person.

The next scene, it’s Kayneth’s turn to be smug. As the fire alarm is triggered and he finds out he’s being attacked, he’s back on familiar territory because magics involved now, and it’s him acting cocky towards Sola-Ui as he explains how exactly he’s going to defeat Saber’s master, giving Lancer orders accordingly. Then we get this scene:

“I’ll make you retract the statement that I’m pathetic shortly.”

“I look forward to that.”

They both have smirks on their faces now, back to a familiar dynamic with each other now that Diarmuid’s gone. This would be the back and forth that probably was natural to them before the Grail War. Sola-Ui giving him insults, him retorting back, changing the thing that she insulted.

Of course, its hard to know exactly how they were before the war, given that even in this scene Sola-Ui is affected by the lovespot, but given the changes in body language and behavior when looking at Diarmuid vs. not you can see her actual personality. This scene is where the dynamic is most normal, because giving the Grail War being what it is, it only gets worse from here.