I've stuck with Ubuntu for 20 years. I like Debian's way of doing things, but I prefer 6 month release cycles. Ubuntu is the only game in town for those requirements. All the others are really just customisations of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu's default DE is built upon Gnome 3. All you should have to do upon install is install the gnome-desktop package, and switch to the Gnome session (instead of Ubuntu session) in GDM for a vanilla Gnome desktop. I think you can skip that step, but some of the Ubuntu extensions are insistent.
From there, you can use the gnome extension manager to customise it however you like. Dash to panel and ArcMenu are my must-haves for a more traditional desktop. But as mentioned, there's many extensions to make it work exactly the way you want.
I would argue to keep it .It's historical and iconic. But It's a symbol of oppression, not liberty. Just change it a wee bit. The local nations should ultimately be the deciding factor though.
There's only a couple of main endings. One is just a variant of the other. You keep all your stats when you start a new game, and there's a path opened to the final boss that you can take at pretty much any time. The other endings are based around WHEN you choose to beat the game, rather than how you play the game, as your actions through the game alter the timeline.
I could pop the cart in to check if you're super curious, but I'm pretty sure it was a selectable option whether you wanted the game to wait or not in combat on the original.
Handwriting was invented for fountain pens. It's not surprising that your writing would improve. I stopped handwriting and went back to printing a few years after being taught. I found it was just as fast (or faster I suspect), far more legible, and eased the pressure on my wrist. It was never intended for ballpoint pens.
I liked it. I haven't seen it since becoming full blown communist. But I loved that it didn't shirk at all about showing the US as the blood sucking empire that it is. You have mindless murder for the sake of it. Needless cruelty. And a principled communist woman who would rather die than be a part of it.
I'm so happy for you! Congratulations! I'm so sorry I've not been able to help recently.