I had this idea yesterday and I wrote it down and I’m posting it today. It’s kinda long bear with me.
I once read a fic where Cal did embroidery, and I love that so I’m stealing that hc. Bro is very artistic (and autistic lmao). He’s great at drawing, he doodles during meetings to help him focus and not kill Texas someone. He’s an okay painter but he doesn’t have time to practice, and he can’t sculpt, wants to learn but clay is expensive and he has nowhere to store or fire it.
During meetings he tends to doodle the other states bc they’re on his mind and he’s got references right there. Usually they’re just silly little doodles in the margins of his paper but if he has his sketchbook with him he will sometimes draw more detailed artwork. He’s drawn one of New York, a couple of Texas/Austin, one of Flo and Loui (together bc it’s wrong to separate them), and one of Alaska. He’s only shown New York his sketches (and only the sketch of him) bc York “asked” why he was staring at him during The Table meeting.
I feel like Cal also has tattoos and piercings. He doesn’t have very many tattoos, and they’re all small and easily hidden, so most people don’t know about them. (I’m still deciding what and where they’ll be, but I kinda wanna do something with bluebonnets bc I LOVE friends/lovers to enemies/rivals to lovers TexCal). He’s got normal earlobe piercings but he also has 2 more. (I also don’t exactly know where or what, maybe a standard?) but I feel like he also has a nose piercing (he thinks he was stupid for getting it but also likes it lol) (I was going to say he has a septum piercing but there is a thing called an Austin piercing (doesn’t fit him tho I feel like)) I’m thinking of maybe giving him an eyebrow piercing? He doesn’t usually wear most of them except the normal earlobe piercings bc he’s in the statehouse and both doesn’t want to get bullied for it and also just doesn’t feel like wearing them to work. (Maybe Gov also told him they were unprofessional)
I was going to say he doesn’t wear them bc he’s a loser but I feel like he’s honestly getting less loser-y (just a bit) recently (Gavin Newsome’s actions against the trump administration and LA protests and stuff). I kinda want to have him start wearing more of his jewelry to The Table meetings (bc he’s more confident rn and also wants to piss Gov off) maybe also show off some of his tattoos? (He always wears his flannel so he could have some on his arms)