AUSTIN ABRAMS, CIS MALE, HE / HIM | who’s that? oh it’s CALVIN CUNNINGHAM. i hear they’re 21 and are known as THE PRODIGY around HAWKINS EMS. they’re also a SENIOR at NOTRE DAME. they’re known to be PRAGMATIC AND LEVEL-HEADED and CUNNING AND DISTANT. some people say they remind them of FINALLY LEARNING WHEN TO HOLD YOUR TONGUE, TIRED EYES AND LATE NIGHT CUPS OF COFFEE, A CLEAN BEDROOM WITH A PERFECTLY MADE BED, OLD TROPHIES FROM HIGH SCHOOL COLLECTING DUST ON A SHELF, THE CONSTANT OVERWHELMING NEED TO PROVE YOURSELF.
the basics
FULL NAME: calvin michael cunningham NICKNAME(S): cal, cal cuntingham ( rip high school bullies ) AGE: twenty-one DATE OF BIRTH: january 4th HOMETOWN: hawkins, indiana CURRENT LOCATION: hell GENDER: cis male PRONOUNS: he / him ORIENTATION: bi romantic / demisexual OCCUPATION: emt with hawkins ems, senior at notre dame
the basics
Calvin Cunningham was a delicate child if you asked his mother. Smaller than Chance, and always the first one in the family to bring a cold home from school. He was never going to be athletic like either of the siblings he was closest to in age; he certainly didn’t have the strength or stamina. Cal was tiny, with a weak constitution, a thin frame and a lack of coordination. So instead of trying to embrace sports, Cal decided to look for his strengths elsewhere. He paid attention in school, asked plenty of questions and always raised his hand to give an answer. It wasn’t long before his teachers noticed how truly smart Cal was - and it went entirely to his head.
When he was young, Cal had a knack for running his mouth off and getting himself in trouble with much bigger kids. It wasn’t uncommon for him to say something rude and get himself beat up throughout elementary and middle school. He thought of most of his classmates as idiots, especially the school jocks. Any time someone asked a question that Cal thought had an obvious answer, he had a hard time keeping a straight face. He certainly was not popular with his classmates, which only fueled his belief that it was because he was too intelligent for them.
But he wasn’t the only smart kid in school; not by a longshot. Cal knew Beth Richards through their families - their siblings had dated for most of high school. She was just as smart as him, although he refused to acknowledge that at first. For years in school, he did everything he could to one up her in classes. If Beth got a 98 on an assignment, he had to get a 100. If she answered three questions in class, he had to answer four. He was obsessed with beating her, until he realized that maybe he was just obsessed with her. Not in a creepy way, but….well, Cal liked her a lot. She was smart and artistic and sweet and completely in love with Chance, which made Cal want to scream. When he realized that the one girl he’d ever felt strongly about loved his dumb jock older brother instead of him? Well, he sulked about it a lot. But he did what he could to get her to notice him. He tried harder in art class, he asked her to study together for tests. When she missed school for a week in sophomore year because she got the flu, Cal brought her her books so she wouldn’t get behind. He fell for the middle Richards child, but she never noticed him.
By the time he got in high school, Cal knew he wanted to get out of Hawkins, Indiana. He wanted to go to a prestigious school, somewhere where his intelligence would actually be challenged. So, he made it his mission to take the hardest classes and join the most activities he could. Captain of the Debate Team, Model UN President, member of the Hawkins High newspaper staff, Anatomy Club President, Art Club, anything and everything he could do to add to his college applications. It didn’t matter if he liked it or not - if it would help him get noticed, he did it.
And it paid off when he got a partial scholarship to Notre Dame, one of his first-choice schools. He was going to study History and Pre-Law; this would be a stepping stone on his way to the White House. Cal was smart, successful, a great public speaker, and had a pretty face - how could he not be president one day? If Reagan could do it, anyone with half a brain could. So, he threw himself into classes, coming home seldom and ignoring calls from his family most of the time. He had to get ahead - checking in on them could wait, especially since his mom only cared about him now because he was going to such a good school.
When he got the news that Chrissy had died, Cal had locked himself in his dorm room for days. All of a sudden, everything that he’d been working towards felt so meaningless, like a switch had flipped. Who gave a fuck about him staying up until 3 am to practice for Public Speaking class? Who cared that he had straight A’s? What did any of it matter anymore when Cal couldn’t even remember the last time he’d spoken to Chrissy? He didn’t know what their last words even were. He couldn’t even guess.
He spiraled for a bit, working through his grief as best as he could. Cal switched majors, feeling like there was just no point in being a politician. Not when he saw how shitty of a job they were doing with Hawkins following Chrissy’s death. Cal felt sick with himself for how ambitious and fake he’d always been - how cruel he’d been to people he didn’t even know. Becoming Pre-Health was the only thing he could think of that seemed like it might be penance for the way he’d always treated people growing up. Maybe he could use his intelligence to become a doctor, help others who needed it since he couldn’t be there for his sister anymore. Cal worked just as hard as always, but now he channeled that ambition into doing something good for others for once.
When he’d heard Chrissy had come back from the forest commune, Cal had been confused but happy. He doesn’t remember that she died, so while the story is weird, he believes it. He’s come back to Hawkins now to be with her, and he’s working as an EMT to help get practical experience before he applies for med schools next year. Cal is no longer the biggest dick in Hawkins; he’s grown up and matured a lot. That doesn’t mean that he still won’t have a sarcastic comment or two though, nor is he suddenly on the best terms with his older brother. Maybe things can get better, though. Cal will just have to wait and see.
the headcanons
this man is left handed
his parents virtually ignored his existence growing up because their dad is aloof at best, and their mom was so focused on chrissy. that, plus cal not being a jock and being an overachiever, meant that he was firmly feeling the middle child syndrome.
cal used to be such a fucking asshole in high school. like, he’s heavily inspired by ben from never have i ever in that he was an overachiever who belittled those around him, unless he had a soft spot for you. i’m not sure he had many friends, he probably referred to people as his acquaintances mostly.
just at his core a very, very lonely boy growing up who always felt like he had to prove that he deserved to take up space in the world.
he was involved in a million clubs and activities. if hawkins offered it, he probably tried it for at least a semester to put it on his college transcript.
barely came home during college before chrissy’s death, but made the effort to more for his younger brother’s sake after she died.
when chrissy died, cal became a slightly better person. he’s still sarcastic at times and quiet and condescending, but now he’s also a lot more thoughtful.
working as an emt so if you get hurt, hit up cal. fuck max mayfield for stealing his ambulance at the carnival.
used to want to go into politics but then went ‘fuck that’ when chrissy died.
he’s currently dating ginny driscoll but it’s rocky at best.
still has a very strained relationship with chance and doesn’t make an effort to make it better.
wears contacts but used to have glasses. they still make an appearance every now and then.
demisexual as far as sexuality. in terms of who he finds romantically attractive, he’s bi !! had things with guys and gals !!










