Regarding Lithops, here is the way I calmed down on the overthinking. However, I’m only one and a half years since I learned of the existence of Lithops. Mine look healthy, but it could be another 40 years of this. Search “Great Karoo” or even “Lithops in the ground” and you can see how gnarly they can look in their desolate South African fields. You’ll also see how flat they sit; those who survive have 0 need to reach for the sun because it’s blasting all day. You can see I’ve tried to follow the “keep them flat” with mine (especially the five-pack), even occasionally adding a little more top layer. The attached photos (no clue how to attribute those, but they are mostly from a Wisconsin edu excursion) show that rough “quartz field” terrain mentioned in advice on Lithops potting mix. Side note that this area is home to a huge number of the odd Haworthia, Baby Toes and all those with windows/eyes on top of their various heads. It is a spot that is highly irradiated due to whatever makes the sun feel like there is a hole in the ozone; that analogy comes from living in a Caribbean country where one town’s concentrated heat made me feel like the Sun was aware of me and friends, and the sunburn pain and heat fever were the worst I’ve ever endured. The illustration is from Wiki and visually answered, for me, what’s going on under these dudes. Here are the “long roots” etc. After seeing them outside of the indoor beauty standards, you get a better idea of their resilience.
