John Kesselring

> Yes of course I feel remorse! There is not one night where I don't think about Giannistan. NOT ONE!
>
> —John Kesselring

John Kesselring is a major character in Thorns and is the founder of Giannistan. After Yannis' suicide, he went back to his motherland, Ruthnier, and became its monarch to declare war on Norway due to his grudge against Bana Ahiga.

When he found out that Yannis is still alive, he tried to capture him, blaming him for what happened in Giannistan. In the end, the two former best friends team up to defeat Jörmungandr and Harold Beowulf. During the fight, Kesselring dies and is remembered as a hero in Ruthnier until the coup d'etat organized by Manfred von Bismarck, the head general of the Ruthnierian army.

## Appearance

John Kesselring is a young man with an average build. His haircut is similar to Levi Ackermann from Attack on Titan except it's brown. He wears a red uniform with a black collar and black shoulder pads. In Season 2, he grows a beard and wears a more regal outfit after his coronation.

## Personality

Kesselring is generally a chill person who is slightly introverted though he talks to lots of people during meetings. He is dead serious when it comes to trivial matters such as business and politics that he's willing to outcast his best friend for his cause and for Giannistan. Kesselring is also a clean freak and gets easily angry when something is not properly cleaned, especially a city of his.

In Season 2, Kesselring loses his chill side and becomes more angry and depressed. He leans more into the dead serious side of his personality and suffers post-traumatic stress disorder after the Gianni Civil War.

## History

### Backstory

Johnathan Albert Kesselring was born as a high nobleman in Kalakura, the capital city of Ruthnier. Ever since he was a child, he studied military strategies and grew up to join the Ruthnierian army and even graduated in the Ruthnierian Military Academy. In the RMA, he met Hans Cromwell, his only friend at the time. Together, they studied military plans and were even in the same division. Hans tells Kesselring about an area in North Africa that is not owned by any nation, the Nile Delta. They made plans on invading the area, but they were scrapped due to the Nile Delta not having any benefit to Ruthnier as a nation.

Kesselring's future as a nobleman in Ruthnier would be ruined by the 500 Years' War. The war was a devastating one, killing many soldiers from the Ruthnierian side. One of the casualties of this devastating war is his friend, Hans Cromwell. After Ruthnier's devastating loss in the war, Kesselring flees Ruthnier and moves to the Nile Delta to start over.

## Trivia

* John Kesselring is Gabo's character and was originally named Gabriel Kesselring because he played this character.
* His backstory was originally supposed to be a traveler from another dimension. However, this backstory was retconned due to it being forgotten by Gabo and Giann (also for being really fucking stupid).
* His death was changed multiple times. First, he was going to disappear in the Nether. Second, he was gonna get suicide bombed by Yannis to show that the curse cannot allow him to kill himself. Third, he was gonna get assassinated by Arlius Shevada.
* He was named after Albert Kesselring, a German commander during WW2.