The hidden world of London RP [OPEN][INTERMEDIATE]

"The city is almost rebuilt; it will be finished by sundown"
"Excellent, so now we need to find a place large enough to house several hundred people"
"How bout hell"
"No, I would rather cooked pork, not cooked human" Me and Gabriel stood at my desk, going through blueprints from all over London, trying to find a building large enough to house a ball for supernatural creatures.
"How bout this one?"
Gabriel held up a large blueprint; I looked up, and shook my head at the archangel. "That's Buckingham Palace; where queen Victoria lives"
"Do you think she'll agree to this?"
"Please tell me your joking?"

The door opened, Roman and Lucinda stepping inside. "Londain, we need some clothes for the ball"

Londain and Gabriel blink in unison and glance at each other.
"...and we need a place to HAVE a ball!" the vampire mutters looking down at the blueprints covering his desk.
I smile and walk over looking casually over the mess of paper, looking for one in particular.
"How 'bout this one?" I ask pulling one out from under everything. Londain hold out his hand and I pass it too him, Gabriel and Roman crowd around to look over his shoulder.
"Not bad... Good size, just outside of town... Who owns it?" I lick me lips, smiling lightly.
"...me" all noise and movement stop as everyone in the room slowly looks up from the blueprint to me.
I shrug and fidget lightly under their gaze.
"Wait a second..." Gabriel suddenly snatches the paper and walks towards me, "This is where I brought you!" he says waving it in my face.
"This is where you abandoned me..." I scowl in return.
Silence follows as Gabriel awkwardly looks away.
"I guess it'll have to do!" Londain exclaims, breaking the tension; he shuffles from the desk and grabs the blueprint out of Gabriel hands.
"I'm sure it goes without saying that the master bedroom and basement are off limits?" I half tell him as he walks by me, still scowling.
He nods distractedly, going over a list in his hand.
"Right well, this Masquerade wont arrange itself..." he says heading for the door.
"Hey, what about our clothes? Roman asks quickly stopping Londain from leaving. He smiles with a sigh and gestures for us to follow him.

He leads us down a few hallways and some stairs, stopping in front of door and turning to us.
"Charlotte's the Tutors tailor... she and her crew'll take care of you" he tells us with a smile and a nod, then walks back down the hall.
I glance at Roman briefly before knocking hesitantly on the door,opening it and entering.
I looked around the room; materials lined the wall, different instruments used to measure, cut, and sew lying around the room.
"Oh hello, dears" I turn to the voice and find a young, beautiful woman with long white hair. She looks up from her thing and and her eyes are bright red... all eight of them!
"You're and Arachne!" Roman mutters looking her up and down.
"And you're a Warlock... shall we begin?"

40 MINUTES LATER

"Right, I think this will do nicely" I stepped down the stairs, running my fingers over the dusty Banisters. "Just needs some dusting, some cleaning, some redecorating"
"Think you can do that in a day, Dain?" I smile and open a door beside the stairs. Inside was a large ornate dining room, the walls were colored a dark shade of green; a large dark wood table sitting in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs of the same wood. At the end of the room sat a large fireplace, made of white and black marble.
"Of course, there is nothing magic can't do these days." I closed the door and stepped back into the lobby, looking around. "Well, let's get started then"

Vill and his brother sat and watched the building trying to figure out wtf is going on. "mass murder?"
"Naaaa they would not get away with it what about a deamon summoning" vill looked at his brother "really that's your idea how about..."
they both answer at the same time "a massquerade!" they both look blankly at eachother "naaaa."
his brother continues "come on we might as well say hi wonder If he remembers you at all."
(tomyh I will let you deal with them if you could)

Groaning, I rolled my shoulders, the suit the arachne had begun fitting was too tight for my likings, but she assured me that it was what normal people wear, and that I was too used to robes. How she knew who I was was a mystery to me, but she chattered away like we were old friends, asking questions about things I'd done in my...old life. As far as I knew, the tutores were still oblivious to my true identity.
After a while, she moved to go to a back room, where Lucinda had gone almost an hour earlier, "You can be on your way, dresses take a little longer to fit," She said, waving at the door before exiting the room. Shrugging, I left, trying to get used to my new dress clothes on my walk back to my room.

Removing my jacket, I sat down on my bed, books appearing out of thin air, all from the tutores library, Londain's personal collection, all on how to kill a vampire. I just hoped all of Londain's family already knew about this.

"You know that's impossible right?"
Gabriel and I were walking through London, the moon casting a silvery glow to everything. We were heading back from Lucinda's abbey and I had explained to the archangel my plan to bring back my siblings.
"Either they die for good and their souls get destroy, or they actually get brought back to life and then age rapidly"
"Or they could simply come back"
Gabriel shook his head and sighed; once I set my mind to something, realistic or not, I stuck to it.
"What if they did survive and became human again? then What? They'd eventually age and die. And Angels can only grant immortality to those of pure heart and have achieved great deeds; and despite your and your families grate attachments, you all have darkness"
I nodded, knowing exactly what my darkness was. I sighed and looked up at the moon; despite my extreme age and all the things I've seen and learnt, I still look up to at as a great spirit and inspiration.
"Why don't I just turn them into Vampires? It's simple and straight forward"
"That could work, or could not. This has never been attempted before, at least not on creatures so ancient they out-date most written language"
"And that is why I hired Roman"
"You really think he could do this? I mean he is a warlock; no offense to him ad his race but their very blood is corrupted"
"We both now demons, though lying, manipulative and self-serving can work for the forces of good. And despite their magic stemming from chaos, death and destruction they can actually perform miracles"
"Yes, but even this level of dark magic, I don't think a warlock can perform it; I doubt even a greater demon can do it flawlessly"
"Yes, but they is something else I see in Roman; more then just his demon blood and magic"
"What?"
I stopped, smiling proudly. "Humanity; that strong proud spirit that will not break under any condition. Something even angels cannot beat or break."
Gabriel shook his head, smiling; "Human spirit; a creation unto itself"
"And that is why I have faith in Roman; despite his past actions and deeds, he is at the core, strong; he can do anything he puts his mind too, and he will do great things. Dark or otherwise"
We continue walking, smiling. Several minutes passed in silence as we took in the street; I studied the buildings and architecture. We passed a large inn and I realized with a start that this was the inn where I first encountered the warlock; getting attacked by his mindless minions then set alight with his hell fire.
"You're still going to treat him like a child right?"
"Oh defiantly; anyone under 1,000 years is a child to me"

(I think you're forgetting something, Tomyh)

(Like what?)
(Since I had me next post half written in my mind and was TRYING to delay until Bambi signed up, I'm gonna backtrack a little...)

I stared intently into the mirror in front of me; still dressed in my clothes that, now I really looked at them, looked almost like something a pirate would wear.
"Come now, dearie... Strip off"
Blinking, I turned around, tilting my head "Excuse me?"
She smiled warmly at me, setting down a variety of cloth making equipment.
"I can't very well measure you with those loose layers on..." she walked over briskly, measuring tape in hand, and started tugging lightly at my clothes, encouraging my to take them off.
Slowly, and hesitantly, I took off my jacket and sash, before pulling up my shirt and letting my bloomers hit the floor. I wrapped one arm around my waist and the other fiddling with the necklace Roman had given me [I'd like an explainer on that, BTW] and kicked my clothes to the side with my still-booted foot.
Charlotte chuckled, unrolling the tape, then reached up and pulled my arms down to my sides.
"You have a beautiful body, Lucinda, don't be ashamed of it"
"I-I'm not it's just-- I mean--"
"No, this isn't how most tailors do it" she says while measuring around my waist, jumping in and answering my questions before I could ask.
"Most tailors just ask you to strip down to your undergarments... but then, most customers WEAR undergarments!" she smiles slyly up and me and I can't help but smile back.
"Regardless, we are the best of the best here and the only way to make a perfect fitting dress is to measure a naked body..."
"I guess that makes sense..." she lifts my arm and measures close to the armpit, just above the elbow, just below the elbow, and the wrist, before moving on to heights.
"You really do have a beautiful body... Girls today are all, tight corsets of already stick thick bodied, but you... You have curves!" I narrow my eyes and she rants about how women shouldn't have to where corsets to 'create the illusion of curves and breasts'.
"Of course, curvy bodies are more difficult to make dressed for, but that just makes it more fun!" she finally put down the measure and handed me back my clothes, which I immediately and gratefully put back on.
"Now, for the fun part..." she says, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into another room.
"Fun part?" I ask, almost in fear.
She pulls back the curtains and I see rows and rows of materials covering all four walls, and in the middle of the room a table, with a pile of book, full of dress designs!
"Oh... No no no no! I know nothing about dresses! I can't pick something out my self!"
She smiled, half pushing, half guiding me into the room and seating me at the table "Don't worry, dear, I'm here to help you" she pulls a large book closer and opens it too just beyond half way.
"This style is very popular right now" she tells me, pointing at an ugly brown dress with an enormous skirt, long sleeves and lots of ruffles.
"This..." I start, tapping the drawing with my finger "THIS is exactly why I have't stolen any dresses in the passes 20 years!"
Charlotte smiles and flicks back a few pages.
"Somehow I see you as... more simple!" she continued flicking through pages as she spoke "Something elegant, that shows your shoulders and has a laced up back"
She stops to look me up and down.
"I'm thinking... something baby blue, to match your eyes and contrast you hair" she continues flicking and suddenly smiles as she comes to a stop.
"Something like this!"
I look down at the dress she was showing me and smiled...
"Perfect"

I was becoming more and more doubtful the more I set up the ritual. I'd allocated a ritual chamber in the depths of the Dark Magic Research sector of the Tutores underground labrynth. I'd gotten the tables, the chalk, candles and all of the items I would need off the top of my head. The problem was, calculating the variable, the strength of each vampire, the depth of their darkness, and the power of their souls.
After a long period, the soul begins to degenerate, decay, if you will. It is more common and more potent in dark creatures and those who come in contact with dark forces, which is why I spend many hours in the kitchens, grabbing the souls of the slaughtered animals and giving them a peaceful death, to maintain my own soul, and keep the degradation at bey. The more degraded a soul is, the harder it is to keep a grip on after death, which means that if I cannot keep the vampires' souls in this world until I can purify them and place them back into bodies, they would be lost to hell, and the endeavor would turn into a summoning. And summoning a decayed soul was something no human warlock had ever done.
Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to place the souls back into their rightful bodies, not because I didn't want to, but because I was not capable. After the ties with a body were severed, and the soul was gone, the soul would not be able to return, at least not by my experience, it would instead, find a new host, and another soul could take up residence in their old body, which left another issue. By removing the soul, I would also have to prevent another soul from taking the body, the only two ways to do that would be to either hold the incoming souls back with my own will, or destroy the bodies the moment the resident soul is gone.
I had the bodies necessary, all of the correct age, and I'd changed their appearances to match the vampires themselves. So it already looked like I'd killed them in that room, their bodies laying on the tables, suspended in a state of healing and regeneration, preparing them for their new hosts.
"I need more power," I said softly, scribbling on a piece of paper, going over the arcana of the process. I stopped, remembering something I'd given Londain, Lucinda, and Thomas. A necklace, a ring, and a gem. Each with a piece of my old soul in them, all with such power. Soul division was not something that was done lightly, and when I'd done it, I intended them to be destroyed if Satan every took hold of me, the destruction of each would leave my soul as a wisp of ethereal, floating through time, and the connection they bore to my old body would destroy it, sending the occupying soul to oblivion. Swearing, I kicked a stack of books. This was bad, I could use them, but it would exhaust what little of my original soul was left, and as far as I had researched, when a piece of an original soul is gone, its gone for good. One of the charms, only one and I'll have the power I need for this.
Turning, I lifted a hand, runes burning themselves into the floor, a trick I learned from Thomas (Speaking of, is he dead? I haven't heard from him since the incident with the egyptian warlock). Standing on the circle of runes stood a demon, his black wings flexing as he looked around.
"Remember me?" I asked, walking over to stand in front of it, in the center of the room.

"I remember you, swine!" He screamed, lashing out with his claws, but he stopped a few inches from me, his claws caught in mid-air.

"There's a shield charm around you, even a demon like you can't escape it," I said, walking around him, his eyes following me.

"What do you want, Marvarak?" He growled.

"A hundred years ago, when I stuck a deal with a young demon," I started.

"You tricked me, Marvarak, you tricked me into serving you," He hissed, trying to strike out again.

"And you foolishly fell for it, and signed yourself away to me," I laughed, an ache in my chest starting at the memory of my old life, but not an ache of lost love, but pain at the memory of the horror, "I'd like to offer you your freedom," I said, "I just need some help from a powerful demon such as yourself. I'm humanizing a family of vampires, killing the evil embedded in their soul, and purifying them,"

"None have been able to do it, not even the Creluean Council," the demon replied. There was that name again, Creluean, I would have to find out what this was about, and why all of hell's occupants feared them, I'd have to ask Londain later.

"I am to be the first," I said, "Just as I was the first to entrap a demon in a Pact Curse,"

[Just killing time, whenever you want to do the ball, go ahead]

[The new bodies are simply bodies Roman dug up and altered using magic to make them identical to the vampires.
Reasoning behind soul transitions: When a soul leaves a body, it it normally because the body has died, to keep powerful warlocks' souls, such as Roman's, from reentering the body before it can be sucked away for judgement, the founders of the arcana put in place laws, limiting how a body can be re-inhabited and reanimated. The laws are unknown to anyone, and you can only really discover the laws if you experiment. Should someone discover all of the rules of magic, they can literally rewrite how magic works, in their own favor. I figure there'll be a tome somewhere written tens of thousands of years ago by the founders of the arcane, explaining stuff; Killer will threaten to go after it, inSYNC will shoot him down, and it'll be forgotten.
And that is my reasoning, everything can't be that straightforward, I figure magic is like Physics, in this alternate universe, there are limits and rules.]

"Londain!" I said, appearing in front of him in a burst of black smoke, Gabriel was next to him.

"I'm a little preoccupied, Roman," the vampire said, frowning.

"Its about the soul cleansing," I said, stopping him in his tracks. We were in the Tutores headquarters, in the hall, almost to Londain's office.

"I thought I said you weren't doing anything until AFTER the ball," Gabriel said, frowning.

"I don't intend on doing anything until afterwards, but I'm getting things set up, performing calculations, etcetera," I said, turning back to Londain, "I'm almost ready to begin my first experiment, I got a weaker vampire from the dungeons and am about to test the process,"

"And if this goes wrong? He'll die, right?" Londain frowned, "I don't think we can be killing our pri-"

"He was about to be executed when I got him, his name is Arnen Fierea, he killed a couple hundred people over the last ten years," I explained.

"Alright, and what do you need from me?" He asked, his frown deepening.

"I wanted you to come watch the first test run," I said. I'd commissioned a few of the darker magi from the tutores to help me, but for the actual process, I would use a piece of my soul to power the ritual, so that there would be no doubt the power needed was there.

"Prisoner 17-42-C: Arnen Fierea; A vampire from Scotland circa 1792, he killed an entire village for sheer fun and another just to see if he could. Moved to lower England, slaughtering his way to London till he arrived in 1801. He then proceeded to slaughter at least 5 dozen men women, children and goruwchnaturiol; was finally caught in 1819 after the Tutores Latet found him in a inn; everyone in the inn having been killed before hand"
"Sound pleasant" Gabriel and I stood with stone faces at the man strapped down to a large table; next to it another with a corpse tied down, it's eyes starring empty at the wall.
"Altough I can't say he doesn't deserve this" Gabriel nods in agreement; one of the creatures Fierea had killed had been an angel from a lower circle, but an angel none the less.
"Roman, you ready?"

[goruwchnaturiol (Welsh) = Supernatural)

"Yes, let's begin," I said, motioning for the mages standing about to come closer. They were the darkest of the mages the tutores had available, but they weren't full dark magi.
Each of them placed their hands on the table, the vampire tied down with magic, his eyes bulging as he tried to get at us. Slowly, I placed my hand over his neck. There was a metallic clink and without a warning, the vampire's decapitated head rolled off of the table. Before anyone could say anything, there was a flash as the soul was trapped inside of the barrier the other mages and I had created. The soul, a long, greyish silver ribbon, bounced around inside of the now glowing barrier. Slowly, I lifted a hand, runes on the table glowing fire bright, and the soul was sucked into the fresh body, which gave a twitch before taking a gasping breath and began to struggle. Two of the mages passed out, the others simply staggering to a wall or chair to keep themselves upright. Slowly, I turned to Londain and Gabriel, the energy exertion had been greater than I'd expected, I'd put in twice as much energy as the others, something I thought I would have no problem doing, but now I found myself weak and almost.
"I feel mortal," I laughed, stepping forward slowly, trying to get a feel for my feet again, "What a strange feeling," Gabriel grabbed my arm, keeping me upright, "Wow, what a spell," I glanced back at the once vampire, "I'll run some tests in a moment to see if his souls has been truly cleansed; almost on que, I blacked out before coming back, "Or maybe I'll rest tonight and run the tests in the morning," Gabriel laughed, but it sounded hollow in my ears, almost echoing, "And Londain, he shouldn't have any of his vampire powers, let him up and have an arm wrestling contest," I then nodded to the vampire and angel and walked slowly back to my room.
What I wouldn't give to see Lucinda right now, I thought, flopping down onto my bed. I would have to write about this in the morning, after all, no one had purified a vampire before.

"I must say, I'm impressed" I sat across from Arnen Fierea, writing down notes on his appearance. I could hear his heart beat, the air whistling in and out as he breathed; his eyes darting everywhere as he adjusted to the lower senses.
"Completely 100% human and alive" I jotted that down in my book and dropped my quill, holding out my hand. Fierea stopped and looked at it hungrily, as if biting me would turn him back into a vampire.
"Let's test your strength and speed" I darted forward, faster than he could see and grabbed his hand. I placed my elbow on the table, following Roman's suggestion.
"Ready?" Fierea seemed to realize what I was bout to do and started shaking his head vigorously, trying to pull his hand out of my grasp.
"Too bad" I brought my hand down, shattering the table and every bone in Fierea's arms and shoulder. He followed, tumble downwards into the floor, the bones in his skull cracking as he hit the ground hard. I snorted blandly, letting go of his hand as blood began to pool under Fierea's head; his face starring up at me. Dead.
"Subject shows no sign of vampire strength, speed, durability or healing factor. Experiment resulted as predicted. One less monster in this world" i said, writing down my notes. I might have used too much power in that swing, but I personally didn't care. One of his victims had been a daughter of mine, and I was glad to see him dead one way or another; overjoyed that it had been at my hand.
I smiled and closed my book, handing to one of the mages. "Transcribe and archive this please"
I stood up, smoothing my shirt as I went. I turned to leave, going over the planning for the ball in my head. "Oh and have someone clean the mess."

I tossed and turned in bed, only sleeping for a few hours I was now completely awake.
"Soft and warm and safe from harm, the baby sleeps so sound.
Creatures come and creatures crawl, but none dare touch his skin.
For the baby's mother was cursed by the touch of sin," Came a soft, haunting tune from the hallway. I sat bolt upright, the song resonating deep within my heart. A mother wicked, cursed from birth, her child carries on her plight.
I thought, just as the exact line drifted through the air, the voice that of a young girl, of a cursed girl, of Hell's Mistress.
"Oh no," I whispered, for her to be in this world without having been summoned?! I threw on some pants and burst out into the hallway, the lullaby, now muffled and distant played on, drifting farther away into the halls of the Tutores catacomb like depths. The girl, more powerful than satan, for powerful than any I'd ever seen, loosed upon the world? The very fruit of knowledge tainted by man, she was the worst of demons, a god even to the ancient Zuess.
"Maybe I'm imagining things," I whispered to myself, dashing down the halls, trying to catch a wisp of the song she sang, but she was gone. I rounded a corner and ran face first into Lucinda, who was speaking to one of the vampires. Just before I ran into her, trying desperately to stop, the vampire acted, moving forward and catching me in place, the sudden stop jolting me.
[Pick a vampire, I don't care which.]

[Ivan! Always Ivan ]

I lost my breath as my brain caught up to what just happened.
"Slow yourself, Warlock" Ivan growled, slowly removing his hand "Assume you may collide with someone a little more vulnerable than we are"
Something wasn't right. The look on Roman's face was as though... Well the saying goes; "You look like you've seen a ghost"

[Sorry... just woke up, have things to do (IF I can get Tomyh awake somehow) and can't think of anything else to do... I'm sure you were going somewhere with this?]
[Just don't forget Lucinda's turning evil soon]

"She's here," I whispered, glancing around as a maid walked out of a door and walked away.

"Who's here?" Ivan asked, glancing around, a smile spreading over his boyish face.

"Her, you know, HER," I hissed, "She doesn't leave hell unless summoned by someone she loves, if she's come here on her own," Ivan held up his hand, squinting at me.

"You say 'her' like we should know what you're talking about," Lucinda said before Ivan could speak.

"You mean...you don't know about Hell's Mistress? Daughter of Lucifer by Right? The Dark Sister? Any of these ringing a bell?" I asked, astounded they didn't know who she was, "She's worshiped by dark mages more frequently than Satan. No one knows when she came into existence!"

"This woman, she's here?" Ivan asked, glancing around, ready for a fight.

"How do you know her so well?" Lucinda asked, watching me carefully and I fidgeted and glanced around nervously.

"When I was young, she appeared to me and told me she was my little sister, we grew up together, until I was seventeen, and she told me she had to go watch after our father," I only learned the truth about who she was a dozen years later when she came to me again and taught me the hellfire magic I use," I explained.

"Did you see her? Where did she go?" Ivan asked, giddy from the ghost story.

"No, but I heard her lullaby, I could have sworn she was moving in this direction,"

[Ehhhhh, I don't really like it... Lucifer having a daughter? Don't really buy it, and with Lucinda so often being compared to Lucifer (like his heir or progeny or protégé or whatever)... It's just the bit about HIS daughter that bugs me... I liked it when little was known about her! In fact I don't think even you should know her origin]

"Sir, I need you to sign for this"
"Sir, the decorators need you to sign for another 50 tonnes of material"
"Sir, the bakers need more flour and eggs"
"Sir, the wolves are requesting they bring several hundred freshly killed game"
"Sir, the fae are having a difficult time clearing the abbey in time. Lucinda is keeping a watchful eye on them whenever she is present"
"Sir!"
"Sir!"
"Sir!"
"Sir!"

I was walking down one of the hallways of the Tutores Latet, surrounded by people with books, papers pens, quills and inkwells. Behind them all stood Thomas, watching everyone is shock.
"How da bloody 'elll do yew keep up wiv all deese Londain?"
"Centuries of practiced, innovating and willpower" I was signing everything put in front of me, after quickly scanning the words so I didn't sigh for some dark nefarious object or deed. I had learnt that the hard way after the Black Death.
"Besides Thomas, despite the fact that I am funding, organizing and hosting this ball, the Tutores Latet council should be helping me with these, notably you"
"Me? I 'ave no 'ead fer deese fngs. I can barely keep track ov what's goin' on 'ere!"
"Thomas you are the head councilor of the entire order; you surpass me in rank. The days where you were my assistant are long over."
"If I knew what dis is what I was in fer I would never 'ave agreed ter da posishun"
"Thomas, my friend; that is why I am here. To teach you; that's why I asked you to come with me now."
"Uncle" I paused for half a step; It was rare when he called me that. It only meant he was seriously doubting himself.
"I can't-"
"If you utter the words 'I, can't, do, this' I will have you placed in charge of the rebuilding on London as a whole; the alteration and eradication of all non supernatural memories concerning the Attalah-Seth and Lucifer events; the installation of the new 'glamour wards'; and the hunt for any remaining Seth cultist, daemons, fallen or my siblings. Without my help."
Not a single person around me stopped for a second, but Thomas froze in his tracks.
"You wouldn't! You can't! I'm not ready fer dis!"
"Then quit doubting yourself, shut up, and, Pay Attention!" I hated when I treated him like this, I promised his grandfather I wouldn't, but I learned that harsh words and threats work as equally well as good words and treats.

[Glamour Wards are something I'm adding from now on. This means that through a large spell the Human, normal world will not be able to see or perceive in anyway the supernatural world. There is one exception to this rule however: if the supernatural creature wishes to be seen then he will be seen. Also this is Fae (fairy) magic, so Roman, no need for you; you rest/]

[Not to contradict you inSYNC - (I seem to be doing that allot. You should be made Admin so we have the whole triumvirate thing... don't mind me just shouting ideas) - But I like this idea, a custodian of creation. I like it, and approve of it.]

[Also]

Spoiler:

[I have absolutely no idea what you just said... and why does no one ever agree with me? ]

(hay untill you liked through of day with foot in mouth desies you have noting to complane about and i actually have to agree with insane person it wont make her as scaryif we know every thing about her)

[So, does that mean we're scrapping the backstory? If so, Div, I'll let you delete my own post...]

[Edited my post to remove backstory. Carry on.]