@chamwue
@A.B.Galaxy
@jinxed_peach
may i implore a resurrection of the first of these forums i ever created ;-;
cw: unlikeable character, entitlement, poor parental figures
Joan " Joanie " Zuzanna Church-Hammersmith (33) is the aforementioned bratty hotel heiress, and older sister of Mirielle’s friend. A life of being pampered, spoiled and indulged in her every whim has led to Joanie being quite the entitled young woman, worsened by the fact her father - the legendary hotelier Lionel Hammersmith - ignores every single display of bad behaviour his “precious jewel” displays as she goes through life putting her whims first. Named for her paternal grandmother - a woman who died when Joanie’s father was young, and he tends to idolise on account of this hole in his life - Joanie has never really liked her name on account of it’s stuffy vibes, however she is comforted by the fact her younger sister got a similarly clunky name, as pettiness is built into her core being. She knows she isn’t going to take over the business - that honour’s reserved for Lionel’s eldest child, born to his first wife [Joanie and her sister are the daughters of his third, the current Mrs Hammersmith] - but her status is what matters so much, and it will always last on account of her name.
At school she had a troupe of minions who catered to her every whim, and she tends to collect friends who will acquiesce her antics, usually fellow wealthy young women with an immature approach to life and belief they deserve everything money begets [and then some]. While Joanie usually takes the lead, she prefers strong personalities now, the sorts who embolden her own nature and encouraged the shenanigans she gets up to. Everything has to be her way - often overly complicated, verbose and pretentious - or else her signature brattiness emerges, petulant displays of annoyance and an insistence she deserves the very best. She frequents only the most expensive places - as her father has encouraged all his children to do - and doesn’t care if the staff look on the verge of pulling the fire alarm at her arrival: she is Joanie Church-Hammersmith, and they’re paid to cater to her every whim and want. There have been several unflattering articles written about her demeanour in gossip magazines, but Joanie doesn’t pay them mind as she only really wants approval from her peer group and parents, having crafted quite the bubble for herself.
Deep down, Joanie does feel a lot of pressure and inferiority. Her father treats his late mother like a saint, and sharing her name means she never felt good enough to this image growing up [something only her mother is aware of]. The irony is the late Joan Hammersmith was not a perfect woman by a long shot: she drank to excess, dumped her son on babysitters whenever possible, and was far more invested in pursuing lovers rather than caring for Lionel himself. If she had lived, Angela Church [Joanie and her sister’s mother, stepmother to their older half-brothers and third wife] is certain her husband would want nothing to do with her, but the sudden nature of her cancer diagnosis and its quick spread throughout her body has memorialised her with a veil of absolute perfection - one which Joanie often feels suffocated by, not that she’d dare tell her dad: she absolutely adores him and knows it would break his heart.
What surprises many people - Mirielle included - is that Joanie does in fact have a job. She’s the main buyer for the hotel chain, overseen by her brothers, but this isn’t something acknowledged by the family. Ironically she’s incredibly professional at this and does an excellent job at sourcing ethically, but she goes by the alias Erica Spruce when carrying out work, as she doesn’t want her two lives crashing into one another. Recently Joanie turned down her on-off boyfriend’s suggestion of an engagement, as while she may live in the world of rich demands, she knows it would be an absolute disaster for everyone involved.
