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excalisi · 1 day

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Does anyone have any dc actor aus? Not in the sense of acting being a plot device for romance or whatever, I mean it taking more of a place on the central stage. Because otherwise, I'll have to write it myself, and I already have some 8 or so dcu wips from the last month alone.

Okay so that was me being facetious & in denial. I have notes for a bat-centric actors au already.

(Warning: This is wayyy longer than I expected. Brace yourself.)

Bruce is Hollywood royalty. The prodigy child actor son of the proverbial Brangelina of celebrity society. An entire family of beautiful, talented people—and they're not even obnoxious about it. Everyone's eyes are on them, it seems, and it's only further proven when news of their murder is splashed over every paper in sight for months after the fact.

Thomas is a renowned actor best known for his portrayal of a staunchly incorruptible doctor whose wholehearted devotion to the Hippocratic Oath leads him to save the life of a mafia boss, which is a decision that comes to bite him later on in life. Martha is either a fellow actress or a singer with a cult following. Not for any particular reason. I just think her vibes give off "enchanting woman wearing a white fur shawl over a black dress, crooning something smooth and lilting over the complement of the piano, on the stage of a dimly lit bar". Do you see my vision

The Wayne Murders go like they do in canon, except on a larger scale. After all, instead of being Gotham-exclusive celebrities, they're internationally famous. Bruce Wayne disappears from the public eye, the only mentions of him in the news for nearly a decade being his attending some private boarding school and hopping around exclusive performing arts programs. And then one day, he disappears completely.

Alfred Pennyworth, the Waynes' personal assistant/manager/agent, upon being questioned for Bruce's whereabouts, only said he was on "indefinite leave" and declined to comment further. The people take this to mean Bruce is either on some backpacking trip across Europe to "find himself" as rich people oft do (which technically isn't wrong lol) or dead.

Right. So this is the primary draw behind this idea for me: Bruce Wayne isn't Batman. But he is still Bruce Wayne. Ergo, he channels all of that Batman-patented focus and obsession into acting and perfecting his craft. I like to imagine that his identity issues are actually worse than canon Bruce's because instead of having (arguably) three selves to swap around, he has a countless number of characters he embodies absolutely with every role he takes on, because in true Bruce Wayne fashion, he is unable to do anything without putting everything he has into it.

He'd be one of those people with an "acting philosophy" who are like. Very intense about it. Generally because Bruce is an intense person, but also because he wholeheartedly believes it's the actor's responsibility to become the character in order to bring the script to life. He'd enjoy the physicality of it, of every square inch of himself becoming unfamiliar and yet not, as he slips into another person's skin. He'd definitely be the type to dedicate himself wholly to the role, of course; there's nearly nothing he wouldn't do, as long as it wouldn't step over any hard legal lines. One of those actors who would starve themselves for the appearance of emaciation, citing the necessity of authenticity. (He would never impress his personal philosophies on his kids, ofc; not to say that they wouldn't pick them up tho lmao.)

Do you get what I mean by my saying he'd be just as weird in the head, just in a different way?

Re: Bruce's unfailing dedication to becoming hypercompetent crossing even into non-cape aus. Hilariously, this means a lot of his and Batman's skills overlap.

Bruce's life-changing field trip is actually pretty much the same, except with a lot more emphasis on thespian techniques and not on death experiences (not to say there are none, lol). Like, he can still slip out of full-body binds that even Houdini would hesitate at, hit a target dead-on amidst the process of being thrown out a eighteenth story window, and indisputably win a fight even when outnumbered with his back against the wall. He just tends to use his less noticeable skills more often. Being able to hold your breath for eight minutes is a lot more useful than Krav Maga when it comes to filming underwater stunts, did you know?

I'd wondered whether or not Brucie would exist, and I'm still mulling it over. On one hand, Bruce wouldn't need to have a public persona to cover up his vigilante activity, so he wouldn't have a use for him. On the other: the sheer comedic potential of Brucie Wayne.

My reasoning is as follows: Bruce feels that he's given enough of his real self to the public when paparazzi incessantly harassed and tore him to shreds in the immediate aftermath of his parents' death, and doesn't want to let them have more (angsty reason). Or, Bruce just thinks it's hilarious to watch people flounder over this promiscuous, brainless, prodigal son nepo baby (in spirit. bc his parents are dead) being an undeniably amazing actor, portraying genuinely terrifying antagonists that set your teeth on edge and tragic characters who make entire theaters cry rivers from heartbreak (fun reason). Think Robert Pattinson articles, and you'll see what I'm getting at when I think of this Brucie.

As for the rogues, I'm thinking actors who act opposite of him. The most obsessed of them are probs Bruce Wayne super-fans. Like, the Joker is a psycho clown one of Bruce's protagonists act against, but the guy who plays him has been a long-time mod in a 2,000+ member Discord Bruce fan server since the beginning of his career. Thomas Elliot probably founded it, though (for purely intel gathering purposes, he swears).

(started a new block bc tumblr said i was exceeding the character limit per text block LMFAOOOO)

As for his Robins.... Dick is the son of two stunt actors renowned for their aerial maneuvers. He tagged along for a shoot, and watched their lines snap while they were fifty feet above the ground. Tony Zucco had been threatening their agency's CEO in an attempt at extortion, and when Haly had refused to bend, he'd put his money where his mouth was.

The subsequent media fuckfest leads to Bruce (who had been on-site to film the next scene, and had also witnessed the murder) sheltering Dick under his wing. He swears to Alfred it's a temporary situation, but (extremely predictably) gets attached.

Bruce buries Zucco's professional reputation six feet under and salts the grave dirt when he's done, leaving him in prison with no chance of parole.

Just because he's not Batman doesn't mean he doesn't have Connections. Lol.

Dick picks up a few roles, inspired by Bruce's passion for acting. His debut on the silver screen is as a young orphan boy becoming friends and eventually found family with a recently discharged veteran, portrayed by Bruce. The role is one that obviously hits close to home, but disregarding the influence of personal emotions in his acting, Dick is a natural performer. He acts like he was born to have the spotlight shining on him. The movie is a critical success.

They act with each other a couple more times, which is enough for them to garner the reputation as a duo with amazing chemistry in any role they act across each other in.

Enter stage right: Jason Todd.

Jason is an extra turned background supporting character in one of Bruce's movies while he's on the outs with Dick. He has, Bruce notices during one of his few scenes, an impeccable grasp of characters and their motivations.

Bruce talks to this kid who calls him an "overrated big boob" and is like, "What is this feeling..."

That feeling is one you'll become accustomed to, Bruce. It's called the all-consuming instinct to adopt a child you've just met.

He offers a place for him at his agency, and after a great deal of skeptical squinting at the contract he presents him with, Jason takes it back for his mother to sign and accepts. They get to know each other over the course of filming a movie together, and Catherine passes away while Jason is filming one of his last scenes. Bruce offers to let him stay at his manor indefinitely, just until he can find someone who can take care of him permanently.

He does end up finding someone. His name rhymes with Deuce Pain, he has about a dozen golden acting awards his PA/manager/agent/pseudo-father figure insists on placing on a display case, and he has an extremely strange and twisty relationship with his concept of self. Three guesses and your first two don't count.

Jason and Bruce create their own on-screen rapport. Of Bruce's entire career, it's during Jason's tenure as his partner that he films the greatest number of comedy movies: a grand total of three. Jason's not as popular as Dick (who's off having the time of his life experimenting with arthouse films; his first role was as a trapeze artist, and he loved the hell out of it), but it doesn't matter so much. He and Bruce are acting together, and becoming a different person so he can breathe a story to near-tangibility is far more important than any of that.

Bruce and his Robins do all of their own stunts. It's not a problem; his kids have all been trained by Bruce, after all, and if it's one thing that Bruce can't tolerate, it's stupid mistakes that could've been prevented with some care and practice. A resentful fan (posing as a staff member) sabotages Jason's equipment, and Jason is hospitalized for a broken arm, bruised collarbone, and most noticeably—a very distinctive facial wound.

Bruce wasn't on set when it happened.

Neither of them say it, but they don't need to for both of them to know that if he had, he would've noticed the tampering. It's not Bruce's fault, really, but Jason is facing the reality that Bruce is fallible and can't be everywhere at once, and Bruce is Bruce about it. Which is to say, he's crippled with guilt anyway.

It doesn't ruin Jason's career, because he didn't build it on his face. But taking the time to heal from his injuries while miring in disillusionment, boredom, and burgeoning insecurity leads to some simmering resentment, as it turns out. He and Bruce get into a huge argument, and they end up parting ways.

Even after the years fade the vividness of the scar, it remains quite prominent. Jason ends up being typecast for villain roles quite often. It's the opposite of the roles he got at Bruce's side, so he's not too pressed about it; he enjoys the opportunity to give what would've been one-note characters some depth. If he feels any regret at his circumstances, or his refusal of Bruce's offer to minimize the scarring, he doesn't show it.

Bruce, for the first time in his career, goes on a hiatus. It makes headlines and everything; Bruce Wayne, notorious for tearing through project after project like he'd die if he wasn't acting for even a second, going on a break? Shocking. Especially shocking to young Tim Drake, who is an avid fan of Bruce Wayne and his sons' acting. He's a child model and the heir to his parents' fashion design kingdom, and they're his primary mode of escapism.

He locates Dick Grayson's apartment, marches on up to the front door, and demands for him to take a role acting opposite of Bruce again. Dick, who'd been expecting a stalker and had been faced with a kid who just barely came up to his chest, asks what the hell he's doing here at five in the morning. They have a conversation, and Dick somewhat sarcastically tells him to do it himself; he's swamped with filming promotions for his latest movie.

Tim rolls up his sleeves, and thinks, Yeah, okay. Fine then.

He uses his parents' connections in the industry to get a role in a short film and offers his house—which sits right down the road some miles away from Wayne Manor, and has only a road connected to the Manor as a route there—as a set, so Bruce will have no choice but to notice the familiar trucks and feel the impulse to investigate.

Bruce crawls out of whatever cave (lol) he skulked off to, drawn by the noise of an ongoing filming. He's watching, Tim notices, feeling his sharp eyes cut through him.

Showtime, he thinks, and gives the performance of his life.

Tim didn't have much in the ways of professional training, his only experience being advertisements that were more attracted to his name value and status as the face of Drake, a fashion brand co-founded by Jack and Janet Drake. But he was a natural actor; he understood the process of becoming like Bruce did, the minute shifts in body language and expression that sold the illusion of transformation.

Bruce doesn't stand a chance.

(third text block. this is getting embarrassing for me at this rate LMFAOOO)

As for Steph, her dad was a small-time director whose movies flopped, so he reduced to embezzlement. Steph thinks this is quite possibly the lamest crime anyone can ever commit and get caught for and thus pretends he doesn't exist. She doesn't treat him as a nonentity because of the effects his arrest had on her mother and her social relationships. Really, she swears. She'd have to think about him to resent him, neither of which she does, obvio—

Like Jason, crawled her way up from being an extra to a supporting character. Her first big break is a coming of age romcom starring her and Tim as the main leads, and they become friends over the course of filming. That's why she has his contact saved as "Ex BF (Do Not Answer)" on her phone.

She becomes a family friend of the Waynes, acting a few roles in films with them and joining their agency, and attends a performing arts college on the side. It's the same one Bruce attended in his youth. She claims scout's honor on it completely being a coincidence, once it's pointed out to her. No one really believes her.

Cass is raised from birth to become the "perfect media darling", except in the most fucked way possible. She never says anything in public, only smiling an unnervingly perfect little curve of the lips that looks like it would be more suitable painted on a doll's face, as David Cain speaks for her. In private, where there are no cameras, she's even more reticent, dropping the smile. She only really seems to come alive when she's acting, but those occasions bleed out of the scenes when Bruce catches wind of the abuse she suffers at the hands of her father and manager, Cain, and ahem. Gives him The Tony Zucco Treatment.

When Bruce steals her away to his agency, Cass gets to choose her own roles, which she really enjoys. Cain usually handed her scripts after he'd accepted them for her. She decides her favorite movies to act in are those coming of age, mildly fucked up, artsy movies about cutthroat ballerinas dancing until their feet are ruined in the pursuit of becoming the principal dancer. She finds them cathartic.

Anyways. I have no idea how Damian would be received. Wait no, I do; media shitstorm, of course. Or would it be? Considering it's Brucie Wayne, of all people? And also accounting for the fact that he already has like five obscenely talented actors for children already, a sixth wouldn't be that surprising, honestly.

Anyway, I'm tired and it's 4 AM. In case it is not patently obvious, I know pretty much nothing about acting, save from what I've gleaned from acting manga. This is all I'll write for this au, probably lol

#dcu #dc #dc universe #dc comics #batman #bruce wayne #batfam #batfamily #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #damian wayne #excalis rants #lord help me but this ran away from me like usain fucking bolt #superbat have this thing where they're friends offscreen and have intense sexual tension whenever they're onscreen #they def have rpf of them fucking nasty lmfaoo

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