childstar touya who started acting when he was way too young and went through a very messy, very public burnout in his late teens, before he'd even gotten his toes over the cusp of adulthood. who burned his own reputation to the ground and every relationship he'd built in the industry along with it.
then new adult touya who does the work, even though it's hard and messy and ugly. who gets clean and healthy, and really doesn't ever plan to come back to acting. who doesn't know if anyone would accept him, a washed up problematic childstar burnout, even if he tried.
but mid-20s touya who does try. who finds an agent who's willing to take a chance on him and get him some auditions. who reads his audition scripts in the waiting room of his therapist's office, in the little park down the road from his apartment, and in his parked car while he waits to go into his 12-step meeting he attends three times a week.
try-again actor touya who learns how to accept 'no's and 'we've decided to go in a different direction's and 'best of luck to you's. who eventually picks up little roles in indie movies and some minor characters on TV shows. who is shocked when people like him in them. when people are excited to see him again.
comeback touya who gets his first big role on a major TV production, a secondary antagonist but with decent billing in the credits. who knows that people are still leery of him and his stained reputation. who hears the whispers that circulate on the production sets he's working on even if he tries not to listen to them.
touya who sits in your makeup chair for sometimes 8 hours at a time. who has never heard a single thing come out of your mouth that wasn't friendly and welcoming. who finds himself dreading the process of going from touya to dabi a little bit less every time he opens the makeup trailer door and sees your smile when you say good morning. who feels more grateful than ever that he got a second chance, because it brought him to you.
