Bella, any update? Your tests are incredibly convincing, they look positive to me.
Re the batch all dented and stuff, send them photos! Usually with the ICs (One Step) I order from Amazon there are a few with dents and scratches and stuff but usually isn't the whole pack. Generally I expect a few to be like this but if yours are all like it then they should replace or refund for you.
Thank you for posting all that info on what can potentially cause lines, I had so many faint lines and shadow lines within the timeframe on my ICs but af arrived yesterday and they didn't progress in strength so clearly something else was causing them, unless they were all indents. But this is fascinating, and I will be researching into this further because it's good to know.
I hope you have answers soon, but I see clear progression with your ICs so I hope this is a positive sign for you