Hot take. Chapter 4 light segment doesn't characterize Kris as"stupid and not caring about the mission" but rather as someone "who is prideful, tired, conflicted, overwhelmed, overworked and has an issue of underestimating their enemies just because their enemies haven't done anything drastic yet."
Now listen, is what Kris did in the light segment objectively stupid? Obviously. There were a million ways of handling the situation however there is no indication that Kris doesn't outright care about their mission.
Their reaction clearly implies they were actively listening and paying attention and the fact that they are playing the piano immediately after the call probably means that they were feeling so strongly about it that they used the piano as a way to process their feelings something that is playing into any potential guilt they might be feeling.
Furthermore this character not only snipes the Soul like crazy but has actively erased their calling history to not let anyone especially the Soul catch them.
Regardless of what people might say or think Kris is very much invested in the mission and is doing everything in their power to do things right.
So why are they like this in the Holiday Residence? Because that kid is overworked.
No. I am being genuine. It's very much implied that Kris's physical health is taking a toll on them to the point of almost collapsing. Like, realistically speaking. Kris is barely eating anything barely sleeping and is also having complicated feelings about their relationships and their goals. Like do you expect them to work flawlessly in the scene.
Like i dare you to work flawlessly without eating or sleeping properly while also having conflicted feelings about your morality and relationships. Trust me you won't survive.
The guitar scene to me clearly reads as a person low on sleep just reading what's in front of them without thinking about it too much at first until the realisation hit them like a train where they quickly have to scramble to shut their goddamn mouth because they messed up.
AND EVEN THEN this kid didn't wait a single second to inform someone of what was happening so again they are clearly invested in the plan.
And also i know not everyone thinks about Kris's psychology as much as i do however Kris having OCD is a popular idea in the fandom common so I'll say this to everyone in fandom. Do you genuinely think that an OCD person could function properly under a lot of stress with little support? Because if so, then pal i have news for you.
(For people who are interested in Kris's psychology like me. A little note for you guys. One of the things Kris is implied the most is them having a Bipolar disorder ((longer read here if you wanna see my full take on it)) and this makes their whole situation even more difficult because this section heavily implies that Kris was going through a depressive episode at this current moment which they were trying to sooth from by doing things that could possibly uplift their mood like playing the piano or drinking hot chocolate because it was becoming difficult for them to function properly in a depressive episode and they couldn't afford to get depressed now when they were clearly required and obligated to be working at that moment. Making their lack of attention towards the Soul all the more justifiable because Kris was literally battling themself mentally and didn't have much energy to do their 100% in that moment because of just how exhausting it was to work under those conditions.)
Personally speaking regardless of how invested you are in Kris's psychology you have to agree that the kid is overworked and is clearly tired, no person especially a mentally ill character would function flawlessly in those conditions. Physical health plays a huge role in mental health and acting like "Kris is stupid" or "Kris just doesn't care enough about the assignment given to them" is kinda icky. Like i know you guys are not trying to sound like high school teachers but you do come across as sounding like high school teachers who are pointing out the pitfalls and "what they could have done better" about a student's work rather than recognising or even trying to understand why someone is clearly struggling and why they aren't able to give their one hundred percent in something they are clearly trying to make it work or have personal investment in. In other words try to be a bit more sympathetic about these things, this fandom has a problem of making jokes too far and making the joke overtake the actual reading of the character and i do want this fandom to be careful of what they might say because there is genuine danger. There are a lot of people like Kris don't make them feel like they are stupid for relating to their situation.
With all that said. Here is a pill that's hard to swallow for most deltarune fans.
"Kris underestimates the Soul in the normal route."
I feel like this fandom kinda forgets that in the normal route Kris is actually a complete ragebaiter and a goddamn troll. Doing everything to make the situation the least helpful as possible and i feel that's enough to make at least if not most people genuinely angry with their antics but it is through these very antics that actually helps us understand their dynamic with Soul a lot more clearly. As in Kris clearly to some extent in the normal route doesn't really think or even cares about anything the Soul could potentially do because they haven't gone through the horrors of the weird route.
So realistically speaking what reason is there for Kris to take the Soul seriously? It has no mouth to tell anyone the truth, it has no hands to write the truth or something so like is it really that hard to imagine that Kris just didn't think that highly of the Soul because from their perspective as someone who hasn't gone through the Weird Route the Soul is nothing more than someone who influences them without them the Soul is just nothing more than a floating heart so realistically it's not hard to imagine that Kris just views the Soul as a nuisance that they have to manage and rather than a threat they have to genuinely be afraid of. I mean this character literally decided to beat the Soul up with a hockey stick like i honestly don't think Kris actually cares or even is afraid of the Soul in the normal route at all. They probably just consider them a necessity and an annoyance more than anything else honestly.
Which is a little stupid I agree but i think this is more so the case of Kris actually being a prideful asshole than them being braindead. Kris is clearly a lonely teen with not much control over a lot of things in their life so the idea that they became a bit more egotistical when having the Soul under their control isn't that far fetched. They were probably feeling a sense of high euphoria over finally having someone else be under their thumb for once that they completely underestimate their opponent which led to their downfall.
It's Kris's ego that caused their downfall not their stupidity.
They are not stupid. Their ego that makes them stupid. I hope that makes.
Anyway yeah just wanted to say that because i don't really agree with a lot of people's opinion of Kris in the light segment to me that was just a overworked yet still prideful kid getting drop kicked by the one person they underestimate rather than someone failing just because they were being stupid or didn't try hard enough.
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