Scratch

Just buy a good 3d printer for your first. Sure, it’ll cost money, but the heartache of constant troubleshooting and tweaking can just suck the fun out of the hobby if you just need this print to succeed.

Prusa Mini+ (I think) Bambu A1 Mini (this would be my #1 starter printer before the security updates they done)

Practice, imo. You can begin interactions with the mindset of “I want to make friends” and get used to that idea.

“making it unclear why he was shot.”

Palestinians dress as civilians all the time and get shot, but that’s not a mystery.

If you are open to friendship with this person, then you could still go for a drink. It can be nice to have someone who has experienced similar negative things to talk to.