Jolly D. Chris/Personality and Relationships

Personality
Chris' most obviously seen traits seem to be his fun-loving attitude, and his childish outlook on the world. Whenever he feels things are getting boring, or that he and his friends require something to do, Chris is usually the first one to suggest whatever catches his interest right away. And given his childishness, Chris often goes straight into using extreme measures to alleviate his boredom, and is usually too naive to see the dangers in what he does to reach his goals. When he and his crew arrived at a Marine base in the North Blue, where famed swordsman and pirate, Dracule Sakura was being held, Chris immediately decided upon exploring the island and meeting Sakura; albeit he had been previously warned that Sakura was a dangerous criminal and was widely feared for being the niece of Shichibukai, Dracule Mihawk. Regardless, Chris merely pouted and stated that he had always wanted to see the interior of a Marine base, as well as wanting a chance to meet a dangerous criminal (despite already increasing his fame as one himself.)

Chris' child-like demeanor has also caused him to to run into various bouts of both good and bad luck. When inside the base where Sakura was being held, Chris found it fun to dress up as a Marine, and thus, he had accidentally protected himself through a clever disguise. However, when he was growing hungry on Ape Island, Chris stumbled upon Hanuman's lunch that he had prepared for himself. Without a second thought, Chris went straight to eating Hanuman's lunch without any permission; which effectively threatened his and Spike's safety when Hanuman found out (as well as giving away Chris' crew's presence on the island in the first place; which ultimately lead up to a grueling battle with Hanuman.) A running gag that sometimes appears is whenever Chris mentions that he's bored, among other things. This ultimately leads whoever's with him to worry, and immediately scold Chris for trying to do anything rash without thinking it through first. Nonetheless, Chris inevitably ignores the advice he's given and goes off to do whatever he wishes anyway; causing a good deal of grief for his allies and friends.

On more than one occassion has Chris' playfulness and naivety been called out as recklessness and idiocy. While Chris simply responds that he's just trying to have fun, his actions have indeed come off as stupid, foolish, tactless, and impulsive. Combined with this, Chris tends to show an equally large level of childish stubborness as well. When trying to make it back to the Marine ship he stole prior to reaching Sabaody Archipelago, he and Spike were confronted by Marine Admiral Aokiji. Instead of trying to find an alternative route, or simply trying to bypass or side-step Aokiji, Chris agreed to fight his way through the Admiral and his swarm of subordinates. Chris' stubborness also showed up again when he insisted upon Spike being his first mate; even after the latter had explicitly made it clear he wasn't going to join just because Chris asked nicely. Chris would later do the same with his later crewmates, with various reactions and responses afterward. Chris' stubborness was put to the test when he ended up fighting notorious pirate No Beard at Bowl Island, simply because he wanted Forge Mary to join his crew as his mechanic (also considering she was the only one who could thoroughly repair his ship's dial-powered engine.) And later, when he and his crew arrived at Arctica, he desperately tried to convince Chiyome Lys to join him as his second mate. And much like Spike before her, Lys constantly rejected Chris until he had finally worn her down in the end.

Chris has also been noted to be highly emotional at times as well; which further invokes his childish personality. Whenever Chris seems truly happy, he'll either be grinning, laughing, smiling, or any combination of the three at once. Chris has sometimes even sang and danced at the oddest of times whenever he felt overjoyed about something; such as recruiting a new crew member or reaching a new destination. When saddened or depressed, Chris usually shows a saggy, tired expression; complete with a lack of energy in his voice and actions. Even when dissapointed, Chris usually will either sulk on the ground, or curl himself up into a fetal position temporarily, before something or someone else cheers him back up. His most feared emotion is his anger though, which has been noted on several occassions to be explosive, wild, and passionate. While Chris is usually easygoing, and tries to not let every little thing bother him, he has a nasty habit of losing his cool whenever someone or something threatens something near and dear to him. On many an occassion has Chris immediately gone straight for attacking anyone who mocks or threatens his crew, comrades or his friends. Sometimes, Chris has the presence of mind to threaten the offender first, before attacking; or to get them to take back whatever they did and said before Chris punishes them. Chris has repeatedly been shown to be even more careless when enraged, as he doesn't pay attention to the environment around him, and thinks only of harming the offender until the battle is over. Results have varied from Chris dislodging trees and throwing them around like clubs and cudgels, to him demolishing entire blocks of a town or city in his blind rampage. Notably, before the Time Skip, Chris' anger and frustration would eventually reveal itself through his Haki, but later on, after the 2 years of training he spent with Red-Haired Shanks, Chris' rage would only manifest as slight leaks of Haoshoku Haki, whenever pushed too far and he was forced to contain his anger.

What sets Chris over the edge can sometimes vary, but there have been constant pet peeves that show up time and time again. A major annoyance for Chris has been his constant farting in public, and after the 2 year Time Skip, his belching too. While whenever he does these actions, it simply embarasses him; what truly upsets Chris is whenever someone addresses it, or brings it up with Chris in clear ear-shot. Thus, an obvious running gag involves Chris flatulating against his will, with some unwitting bystander making a simple remark about it; where-upon Chris instantly flies into pure irritation and threatens to attack or injure the commentator. Another running gag involves the fact that he constantly refuses to admit that "Stinky Chris" is the official epithet he was given by the Marines. On another note though, is the care he has for his crew and anyone he has come to accept as a friend. Whenever anyone Chris has come to like is endangered, threatened, or outright mocked, Chris tends to be one of the first people to defend them, and dosn't show any hesitation to attack whoever has badmouthed his loved ones. In fact, probably as a result of his immature personality, Chris often believes fighting to be the simplest and best way to resolve any arguement or conflict; and so he is always willing to trade blows with someone he doesn't like.

In battle, Chris tends to act differently than he normally does. Chris seems to abandon his jolly demeanor that he usually has, and tends to wisen up and think more clearly than normal. It's a fact that his crew has witnessed countless times, and has become a calling card for when Chris decides to get down to business. In fights, Chris rarely laughs and smiles like he usually does, and tends to act more cautiously and think more sharply. This more serious half of Chris' personality is a dark contrast from his usual light-heartedness, as Chris isn't afraid to fight dirty (such as hitting below the belt, biting his opponent, or using cheap shots and broken moves,) shows a level of great understanding of what is going on around him, and generally behaves more maturely than what would be typical of even himself. While this side of himself more commonly shows itself during fights and battles, Chris has shown himself to be serious whenever he thinks it's necessary; leaving many people, including his own allies, to wonder if Chris' childishness and levity is all an act, or if he has a split personality of sorts. Chris always responds in the purest of ways, by saying that he prefers having fun, and that being serious all the time is too boring for him. And so his recklessness, carefree attitude, and idiotic actions can be easily explained away as a lifestyle choice of sorts, where it's implied that Chris is actually much smarter, cautious, and in complete self-control at all times, but denies himself of these attributes in favor of the complete opposite; only showing these traits when he's left with no other option but to rely on them.

Since Chris bears the middle initial D., he shows the usual characteristics that come with being a D. One being that like most D's, excluding the villainous Marshall D. Teach, Chris doesn't show an innate fear of dying. Whenever he's confronted with the possibility of dying, or someone makes note of his fearless attitude regarding death, Chris likes to assure himself and those around him that he's made sure he had the most fun in his life that he could ever wish for; and so by dying, he'll have no regrets, knowing that he's enjoyed life up until the point he were to die. Albeit from time to time, Chris usually shows shock and worry over possibly being killed or executed, he doesn't seem to let it bother him too much, and comes to accept it soon enough. On the contrary however, Chris always has a great fear regarding the deaths of those he cares for, which leads him to make many constant selfless moves and actions at the expense of those he wishes to protect. And by doing so, Chris always puts himself in a position where death is very likely to occur.

Additionally, while Chris rarely shows it anywhere else, he tends to eat more than his own fair share of food during meals. Like other D's, Chris is rather gluttonous when hungry, and shows a great love of candy, snack foods, cola, and anything sweet tasting or full of flavor; much like any child would. Chris' love of sweets and snacks is so great, that he often regularly makes promises to pillage whoever he meets of their candy and snacks, thus invoking the image of a child pirate. Despite Chris' eating habits, and his poor habit of eating nothing but junk food, he seems to always retain a slim figure throughout his adventures. Though later on, Chris has begun to show signs of having gained an overgrown stomach, and sometimes mentioning that he has eaten too much. However, possibly due to the energy he burns on a daily basis, and from the excercise he puts himself through by running, fighting, and various other activities, Chris tends to return to his original shape in no time.

Chris also shows complete devotion to those he's befriended, and seems to have a personal philosophy regarding the rights of others, as well as each person's ultimate right to live. Having grown up with having his parents taken away from him, and presumably killed, Chris has come to adopt the idea that killing is the ultimate perversion of life itself, and that people must respect the life they're given, as well as the lives of others. This sometimes goes at odds with Chris' fearless and impulsive acts, as it usually appears that he isn't respecting the life he's been given. Chris sometimes doesn't realize this until it's pointed out to him, and usually has it revealed to him how reckless he's being after he's done something in which a chain of events has already occured; such as when he ate Hanuman's meal, and caused him and his crew to be the targets of Hanuman's violent wrath. When Chris realizes his mistakes, he usually makes a simple bow and apologizes, which can come off as rather insulting at times, if not outright rude or unapologetic.

Chris' devoting personality often leads him to befriend anyone he deems interesting, or anyone he's come to like. Once Chris has decided who will be his friend, he usually begins sticking to them like glue; often sharing with them things of interest, such as what his favorite types of candy are, what he wants to do for fun, or even tales of his past adventures. And if the person is of exceptional quality to Chris, he'll even attempt to get them to join his crew. A common running gag involves Chris making numerous tries to recruit as many fascinating people as possible, since he believes having a large crew will inevitably cause more fun for himself and his crewmates. Naturally, the crewmates he already has with him at the time will object to this, and warn him that they may not be able to support such a large and unruly crew of diverse people at once. This care and dedication for those Chris has come to like and befriend is often the driving force behind some of Chris' more audacious actions; such as when he lead his crew in the invasion of Marine Branch G-6, all in the hopes to save his crewmate, Peabody Karen. Also, when he learned both Karen and her older sister, Peabody Rune, were actually working as members of Pan the Centaur's crew against their will, Chris actively challenged and defeated Pan in a heated confrontation aboard Pan's ship (thus putting him and Pan at risk when the ship began to sink.) And when Wyatt was seriously injured after the crew had escaped the base Sakura was being held at, Chris instantly declared a Davy Back Fight against The Valkyrie Pirates, in the hopes of winning their doctor, X Aphro.

When dealing with those he doesn't like however, Chris can come off as cold, uncaring, and merciless. He tends to easily hold grudges against those that have threatened his loved ones in some manner or another, and often will easily get upset upon simply seeing their faces again. When Chris ran into Tombstone Grim at G-6, Chris wasted no time in savagely attacking Grim, with the only reasons being that Grim had previously threatened his crew and showed complete disrespect for Chris' crewmates at Amazon Lily, and that Grim was standing in the way of rescuing Karen. When faced with the prospect of helping or aiding former foes, Chris usually scoffs at the idea, and decides against it. However, there have been some certain circumstances that forced Chris to help his enemies against his will. In the case when the slave traders he had unwillingly met and helped near Ape Island had kidnapped Hanuman, and planned to sell him, Chris was asked to save Hanuman on the behalf of Skookum and the people of Ape Island. Chris eventually gave in to Skookum's wishes, and sided alongside the beligerent Hanuman as the two sides fought their way back to freedom. And even though Chris doesn't easily forgive his enemies, when given the right circumstances and enough time to do so, Chris can end up lightening up around old enemies, so long as he feels that there's some redeemable aspects to the person in question; or if the person has wholeheartedly asked for forgiveness in some way, and is willing to come clean from now on. This is how Chris ended up recruiting Titan Bach and Hanuman, respectively.

Chris' selfless actions, and his genuine love of life and others has drawn him many allies and admirers over the course of his adventures. Most, if not all of his shipmates eventually joined The Jolly Pirates with this in mind; such as Spike's admiration for Chris' reckless and stubborn attitude, as well as Dracule Sakura's appreciation for Chris' devotion and passion, and some of the others' amusement from Chris' less insane, yet still playful antics. While Chris' actions against his many opponents have been noted as being heroic, Chris seems to bear a striking similiarity to Luffy's belief that while they both like heroes, they also both don't consider themselves heroes. But where Luffy's choice of not playing the hero comes from his more selfish personality, Chris believes that while heroes are fun to hear about, that being a hero would be too lame, stupid, and boring for his tastes. Chris believes that he'd rather live life his way, and by his own choices and rules, and not have to follow the traditional roles and codes of honor that most cliched heroes normally do. This is most likely due to Chris' dominant playful and childish personality, and his more subdued logical side rationalizing the choices he wishes to make for himself.

Despite his wishes to not be considered some larger-than-life hero, Chris still seems to abide by his more rational belief in respecting anything deemed "important," and has a set of ground rules that he follows, regarding combat. Chris often painstakingly goes out of his way to protect anything important to those he's come to like or befriend, such as when he agreed to participate in No Beard's No Beard Games for the sake of helping The Valkyrie Pirates save their kidnapped captain, Dieu-le-Veut Veronica. Though this might have also been because Chris ended up becoming a close friend of Veronica's, as well as ending up as a potent rival of her's. In a fight, Chris believes that a person must try to remain as honorable as possible, or risk their dignity and respect forever. This has been seen time and time again, as Chris never attacks a fallen opponent, never performs a sneak attack, or for that matter, he never attacks with poison or other debilitating materials. Chris also tries to keep all other outside forces at bay, if at all possible. Chris has constantly protested against ganging up on others, or allowing anything else to get involved in his fights. And so whenever an opponent (or in some cases, an ally) disrupts the honor of Chris' fight, Chris will usually threaten to beat the perpetrator senseless, no matter who they are.

Aside from fighting, and everyday stuff, Chris is very passionate about art and any field of entertainment. Having come from Pleasure Island, where the world's most reputed artists and performers were born and raised, Chris grew up from an early age to actively pursue a career in the arts, and as a result, has grown quite fond of, and even sometimes, protective of art and other artists. When not fighting, playing, or going on adventures, Chris will usually be found working on some kind of drawing, painting, song, or even a comedy routine. Chris believes his Nendo Nendo no Mi fits him as an artist perfectly, as it can allow him to be as creative as he wants with his very own body, without losing any practical sensibility at all. When explaining his love of art and entertainment, Chris likes to mention that it provides a healthy mental and spiritual release for artists, and provides a good deal of fun for those who are either reading, listening, watching, or participating alongside the artist. Chris also highly enjoys seeing people relax and calm themselves after enjoying his showcases, as that's when he truly feels alive as an entertainer.

This goes to show that Chris highly values the happiness in others, and goes to great lengths to please those around him; which also means he tries his hardest to deter any dissapointment or other negative feelings within others. Enjoying the sensation of making other people happy is what fuels Chris' primary dream above all else, as he believes that if the whole world can feel better thanks to the power of art itself, then the world will become a much nicer place to live in. And as a result of this level of passion and care for art and entertainment, Chris highly frowns upon the mockery and disrespect of those towards artists and their work. Believing that a great artist must be respected for their effort, and that every piece of art, even something as simple as a few dance steps, or a joke, should be accepted for what they are, Chris isn't afraid to get into a fight over something as simple as a joke regarding an artist's failures (so long as the joke wasn't mean-spirited in any way.)