#extension

[felinefractious]

PL*Forest Eyes l’Bond

🐱 Norwegian Forest Cat

📸 Dorota Biskupska [Forest Eyes*PL]

🎨 Amber Ticked Tabby with White [Amber Coloration]

[amber-tortoiseshell]

I'm really confused about the solid amber cats- are they really not considered to be tabbies despite having tabby markings? I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around that. Would you mind expanding upon that topic?

There are two possible uses of the word "tabby" (and I think both are equally valid and useful and have their places).

One is what you use: when a cat is striped. That's it. In this meaning "solid" ambers are tabbies, yes. This is what people mean when they say "all orange cats are tabbies". This is useful in everyday talk, but can get messy, think of smoke ghost tabbies or ticked tabbies.

The other is what i use on this blog: tabby is when a cat's agouti genotype is 'A_', solid is when it's 'aa'. Unfortunately this means both (genetically!) tabby and solid cats can have bafflingly not tabby- or solid-looking phenotypes and that can lead to confusion.

It's intuitive for black: a black tabby is striped, a solid black is solid. This is why the a allele is called "solid" - in reality it doesn't make the cat patternless per se, it increases the production of the black pigment in the "background" of the tabby pattern.

The only difference between the genetics of these colors is the agouti gene.

For red, genetically solid cats often look identical to genetically tabbies.

Kitten and adult photo of a cat born to a solid black and a solid tortie. He's 100% genetically solid red.

Solid tortoiseshells can show this difference very well:

The black parts of this cat reveal it's genetically solid - but still have stripes on the red patches.

Amber is somewhere in the middle between red and black: solid cats aren't completely black, but still blacker than tabbies.

This is probably a direct consequence of how orange cats doesn't produce any black pigments whatsoever, while ambers do have some, just less than blacks, so being genetically solid has less effect on them.

Another photo of the tabby and solid amber cats from my previous post

In summary:

[arc-hus]

National Theatre, Prague - Karel Prager

Nová Scéna: The Story Behind the Iconic Brutalist Extension of the National Theatre in Prague

Discover the story behind Nová Scéna, the modern annex to Prague's National Theatre.

[thenordroom]

A Victorian House with a Grand Contemporary Extended Living Space | subscribe for weekly home tours

[saywhat-politics]

GOP centrists push Democratic ObamaCare discharge petition to 218-signature threshold

by Sudiksha Kochi and Mike Lillis - 12/17/25 10:12 AM ET

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5652673-gop-centrists-democratic-obamacare-discharge-petition

'I want to get a bill passed': Rep. Lawler blasts GOP leaders over impending ACA lapse

A vote is scheduled Wednesday on a proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson focused on cutting health costs and instituting some reforms favored by conservatives, NPR reports. Speaker Johnson's plan does not extend ACA subsidies. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, joins Morning Joe to discuss calling out his own party for allowing the subsidies to expire.

[remash]

house w/ hidden atrium ~ förstberg ling | photos: © markus linderoth

[peppermintquartz]

Some more Aurora Kinard aka i miss Firefly

***

When Tommy comes home, it's to find Evan and Aurora in the backyard turning over the compost heap to find beetle grubs, presumably for the chickens that the Yang family is rearing. It's barter trade for their excess eggs. Tommy says a silent prayer that they moved here where there isn't an HOA and they have decent neighbors.

"Papa!" Rory shrieks when she sees him, tearing across the backyard to get to Tommy, her gardening boots ripping up bits of grass. "Papa, you're home!"

"I am!" Tommy sweeps his daughter up into a hug and kisses her on the cheek. "I missed you, Firefly."

"Welcome home," Evan calls out, leaning on his shovel. His sweat-soaked tank top is stuck to him, and his curls are limp from perspiration. Tommy takes a moment to appreciate his husband's body, raking his gaze from top to bottom and back up. From the smirk on Evan's face, his appreciation hasn't gone unnoticed.

Tommy strides over to kiss his sweaty and unfairly hot husband. "What are we doing?"

"Hunting for grubs," Rory informs him helpfully.

"For Erika's chickens?"

"No." Rory wiggles and Tommy sets her down. "I'm not friends with Erika anymore."

Raising his eyebrows, Tommy glances at Evan, who makes a quick throat cutting motion. Tell you later.

"Alright, so what are the grubs for?" Tommy asks as Rory goes back to poking around the compost with her trowel. There is a plastic box nearby, and already four fat gray grubs were wriggling about in a shallow layer of dirt. Shuddering, Tommy turns his gaze away. Sure, he'd fly into forest fires and run into burning buildings, but these slimy things fill him with disgust.

Rory sits back on her heels. "There's a show and tell for class tomorrow, an' I wanna talk about compost, an' what kinda creatures I can find in it, an' Daddy says I can bring some grubs to show cuz they won't climb out or fly about an' it'll gross the others out an' I bet Mr Davidson would give me good marks."

Mr Davidson is Rory's first grade teacher and she has a major crush on him. To be fair, he's young and sunny and wears cute, colorful bowties. But Tommy knows better than to comment on the cuteness of Rory's teacher, in case Evan feels like he hasn't maimed ankles recently.

"Well, good luck with the grubs, but don't find too many and definitely do not bring them into the house with you," Tommy says. He ruffles his daughter's dark curls and kisses Evan again before going into the house to grab a shower and start dinner prep.

After Rory's gone to bed, Tommy gets to finishing up some of the last bits of work he brought home with him, while Evan is tucked up against his side on the couch, a documentary on sperm whales playing quietly on their TV.

Tommy puts away his phone after messaging Donato about the new probie. "So what's the deal with Erika?"

"Rory found out that Erika also likes Mr Davidson," Evan says with a sigh, then chuckles. "She was sulking when she told me."

"And what did you tell Rory?"

Evan hums. His fingers trail over Tommy's forearm. "That their teacher likes them both the same and she should be happy that so many people like him."

Tommy smirks. "I hope you did tell her not to try to maim Erika over her teacher."

That smart comment earns him a dig in the ribs, which devolves into a tickle fight that ends up with Evan on top of him, panting slightly, cheeks flushed.

God, he's so beautiful. How did Tommy get so lucky?

With a cheeky grin, he bites his lower lip before he says, "You know, that Mr Davidson is kinda charming and adorable..."

"Oh, is he?" Evan narrows his eyes and then clambers off. Without another word, he bends and hauls Tommy over his shoulders, carrying him towards the bedroom. "I'll show you who's charming and adorable, you manipulative prick."

Tommy's trying not to giggle and fails. "You love me anyway."

"Lord help me, I do," Evan laughs just as he drops Tommy onto their bed. "Now get naked and ready while I lock up the house and then our door. When I come back, you're gonna learn some manners."

"Yes, Captain, whatever you say, Captain!"