Brianna Albers, "The Audre Lorde Questionnaire To Oneself" // Anne Carson, Glass And God // Haruki Murakami,

ferrari and her devoted predestined

the original painting is by Alméry Lobel-Riche, but the colors/lighting idea came entirely from the lovely @/cuarto_sol on twt

one very dapper looking sevika👀

i tried the “ask your mom what she would do if you were a bug” trend

Plant Care 101: The Basics

It’s kind of hard to give a super basic guide to plant care because plants are super diverse and have varying care requirements BUT there are some things that every plant needs and that you can apply pretty broadly to caring for plants. This is going to be focused on container plants and houseplants more than plants in the ground/garden because that’s a whole other can of worms, but yeah, anyway, here’s some quick tips for beginner plant ownership.

1. LIGHTING - Think about where you’re actually going to put your plants

… before you get them (ideally). All plants need light. No plant will live in a windowless bathroom or basement (I mean unless you have grow lights BUT that’s another story). Very few plants will survive in a dark, dim corner.

Figure out which direction your house faces! Different plants do best in different light exposures.  Afternoon sun (west) is hotter than morning sun (east) and can dehydrate plants faster or cause sunburn. Southern exposures get the most direct sun, and northern exposures get mostly indirect sun or no sun. And obstacles like trees or awnings will potentially block light as well.

Full sun is considered 6+ hours of direct sun, part sun is 2-4 hours of direct sun, and shade is less than two hours of direct sun. Keep in mind the sun intensity will vary depending on your location and the time of year.

A lot of houseplants prefer “bright, indirect light”. In a window that gets hot, direct sunlight like a south or west window, this could mean putting up a sheer curtain or keeping the plants farther away from the window. East windows generally get bright indirect light all year and north windows may not be bright enough for most except the lowest light plants.

Get plants to suit your space! Do some research! If you have trouble identifying the plants that you already have, try google image searching using various details about it. Sometimes that works.

2. POTS AND SOIL - Think about your plant’s house

Your plant’s house is its pot. When you bring it home from the store or nursery, it’s a good idea to replant it. The soil that’s best for keeping the plant alive in the store is usually different than the soil that’s best for it in your house. Especially if you’re getting your plants from stores like Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-mart, etc (it’s gross). Taking a look at a plant’s roots is important! A lot can hide under the surface of the soil…

I can’t really recommend a specific soil brand because everything varies regionally and every plant is going to have different soil needs, so really this is just trial and error. Try out different soils! Experiment with perlite which will make your soil looser and drain better. For succulents, I use a mix of topsoil (not potting soil), sand, and perlite.

You generally want your generic potting soil to A) absorb some moisture but B) drain well. Which may seem contradictory, but it isn’t, I promise.

As for your pot….. DRAINAGE HOLES ARE A MUST. If your pot doesn’t drain, you can put your plant in a plastic insert and remove that to water it, you can attempt to add your own drainage holes, or you can doom your plant to slow and inevitable death. If your pot does have drainage holes, test it first to see if it actually drains.

Increase the size of your plant’s pot only a few inches at a time. Tiny plants in giant pots aren’t ideal, mainly because the soil dries down inconsistently. The soil around the edges may be dry but soil at the roots may still be wet. Also, don’t plant your plants too low! The soil should stop about an inch or so below the top of the pot. Planting too low can cause issues with air circulation to the stem/soil which can cause rot issues. (tbh I’ll probably make a specific post about repotting plants because there are a lot of things to know and a lot of tips and tricks)

As for the type of pot, that’s up to you. Plain terracotta pots are helpful for plants that like to dry down between waterings because they wick moisture from the soil…  not as ideal for plants that love lots of water. Also, there’s no shame in plain, plastic pots. None.

3. WATERING - please don’t drown your thirsty boys

This one’s the hardest to do an overview of because different plants and even the same plants in different locations have vastly different watering needs.

Plants (usually) only take up water when the photosynthesize. Less light = less photosynthesizing = less water taken up. Cloudy day? Less water taken up. In the greenhouse, we generally don’t water on cloudy days because the plants don’t take up as much water and because water sitting on the leaves/soil doesn’t evaporate as quickly potentially leading to rot issues.

You can usually visually tell if the soil is dry. To be more sure that the soil is really dry, poke your finger in about an inch. To be more, more sure, you can wiggle a wooden chopstick in the soil and if it comes out dry, the soil is dry. Some plants prefer to dry down almost completely before watering again, some prefer about 30-50%, some like to stay moist but not drowning.

If your plant appears to be wilting, check the soil. If it’s wet, it may be overwatered or sick. Don’t water for a bit and check the stem/roots for rot. If it’s dry, it’s likely underwatered. Very dry soil can take a few repeat waterings to actually absorb moisture again.

It is better to water deeply infrequently than to water in small amounts more frequently. Your goal when watering is to dump in enough water that it flows vigorously out of the drainage holes. When I first started watering plants I thought it was way too much but seriously, dump that water in there. No trickles allowed.

4. PLANT ISSUES - wtf is wrong with my plant

You’re going to run into plant issues when keeping plants, that’s just how it is. Diseases, bugs, rot, etc.

There are WAY too many issues to get into in a basic post like this, but in general…. pay attention to your plant! Look at the undersides of the leaves and leaf tips and the stem. Take lots of pictures! Touch your plant and the soil! Keep an eye out for changes.

If your plant does develop what you think is an issue, google is your friend. I’ve googled so much of the stuff I know about plants, even when I’m working with very experienced growers. Google is good. Don’t rely solely on one source of info.

And if your plant unfortunately kicks the bucket? No, you don’t have a black thumb. There is no such thing. That’s especially a time to google the shit out of that plant and re-evaluate your growing conditions. I’ve killed LOADS of plants and that was usually because I put a plant in a less than ideal location and then didn’t give it the right care. Or because of bad luck.

There is NO SUCH THING as a black thumb.

I think that’s about it really for the basics. There’s also stuff like pH and humidity and temperature, etc etc to consider but that’s way too much to get into in just one post. Hopefully this makes some kind of sense and isn’t just a wall of text? And is helpful? If you have any other questions, feel free to message me if you’d like. Or add onto this post with other tips if you have them.

I'm literally looking at myself like you dumb bitch it’s a gd lego animation why are you writing this

but like The Inherent Gentleness of Landoscar

the gentle little voices they use in so many of their challenges compared to the Big Loud Fun Times With Loving Alphas that Lando's challenges with Carlos and Daniel had and with Oscar and the Prema boys !

the fact that Oscar never even properly raises his voice at all around Lando like he would with previous teammates and some of the Alpine videos. even when they're playing a big fun loud game of cricket outside and it merits shouting and yelling, Oscar never raises his voice at Lando. Lando is an absolute tiny terror, bellowing and shouting and whining at Oscar - and Oscar just giggles and ribs him gently in return. 

like, Oscar would fully allow himself to yell and get exasperated (jokingly) and make fun of all the other guys in his life - he’s Australian, it’s what he does! It would be weird if he didn’t!

but in the same way that even non fandom F1 fans picked up on Oscar’s accent softening and sounding more similar to Lando’s when they’re in videos together, Oscar massively softened the genetically and culturally coded sarcasm and ribbing when he noticed it didn’t always land the right way with Lando. and how even tho they have a perfectly healthy natural sense of competition between each other, Oscar never used to be at all shy about being competitive and a little cocky… until Lando, where Oscar now ducks his head and turns pink with embarrassment over the Sprint win being brought up and how Lando was always the one to bring it up and never Oscar. and it even turned into that gentle repetition of Lando’s expressions thing which he even does in a silly Lego video “team work makes the dream work” ??

and the thing is the more Oscar has specifically wanted to accommodate Lando’s preferences and quirks and habits, the gentler and quieter he’s become with him - which goes against every aspect of bromance logic that we as fans love so much ?? normally the best thing about Lando’s quirks and habits and contrariness is when his friends roast him about them or use them strategically to whip him up into hysterical giggles or screeching and possibly nearly break something or hurt himself in unserious ways.

but then there’s the fact that Lando is also a naturally shy person and he has as many quiet moods as he has hyperactive or excitable ones. and while he can have the more excitable ones with all of his friends and we get such great media content from them, it’s really only guys like Oscar and Max F who can also bring out his quieter and gentler moods on camera. 

and it’s literally fascinating to me that as a result that’s actually become more the default when Lando and Oscar are together - even down to never broadcasting when they spend time together outside of F1 commitments apart from mentioning it in passing. their time together is A Gentle Vibe and would feel weird to document bc it's at once so warm and friendly but also not A Big Deal!

and idk the fact that Oscar also doesn’t show overt bromance gestures of affection to Lando on camera or when specifically prompted by the media - but then he shows a consideration and attention to Lando that not even joking we only rly notice him do when it comes to Lily. and that most of Lando's other friends don't tend to show him apart from Max. and Oscar’s even like that w Lily where he doesn’t do the typical PDA or getting overly sentimental about her but he mentions her all the time to show how much a part of his life she is and isn't that more significant !! they’re his go-to for any question about himself that isn’t about racing - what Lando and Lily like and don’t like, how they tease him or give him a hard time, what he finds exasperating in a fond way about them. something about Oscar not rly caring if he’s a dynamic or at all fan popular person outside of racing and then being a mirror to reflect the much more interesting qualities of these two unique people who are in his life more than anyone else something something !!

but mainly it’s how the youngest and most closely competitive pairing on the grid are also the least overtly Manly Aggressive Men and don’t honestly seem at all concerned with trying to be so ! even the way they treated the usual mind games/fighting talk thing by just finding the whole concept amusing !! same with team orders where they just say ‘oh it was fair!’ and they’re both just so effortlessly What Is Gender that it rly is like they are watching The Men* from a distance most of the time and peacefully sharing silent communication with each other and speaking in voices so soft that The Men cannot even hear and like they just exist in this aura that makes us think they’re twins when actually their looks and their personalities aren’t twinning it’s just that they inhabit this wavelength exclusive to themselves and they do frighteningly well at pictionary and they coo these little thoughts at each other and it’s sometimes creepy but endlessly intriguing !!!

and how as fans there’s never any Top/Bottom Dominant/Submissive laws or even popular tendencies we literally all enjoy writing and thinking of them in fanon in every possible way and it always fits !!

just cool to me !

*with special exceptions at times for Lewis and Charles here - sometimes

STOLE THIS FROM TWITTER LOL BUT

photopea.com

^ free photo/shop directly on your browser oh yeah oh yeah B)

"is there anything so undoing as a daughter?"

ambessa and her undoing daughter, mel.

sources: arcane (2021) / love of the wolf / an oresteia, anne carson / unknown / maia baia, mother