I think nodejs broke Linux Mint after it was about 50% done with updating: E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

So there's a lot here probably best explained by copy-pasting what happened on the terminal but the problem is I currently cannot open any windows that are already minimized, except Discord since it has an extra button on the bottom panel. This includes the terminal everything happened on. Things are not good! Luckily, though, I already copy-pasted and searched SOME exact text from the terminal, and still have those searches open, so I will copy those here. I will try to explain anything else as best as I can, but Im still relatively new to Linux so it probably wont be the most thorough. Basically Ive been trying to completely uninstall nodejs, nvm and npm from my system, theyre not working for me. However, now whenever I try to install something from the terminal with apt, I get this message: nodejs : Depends: libnode72 (= 12.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.1) but 12.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.2 is to be installed This is despite the fact Im pretty sure I followed the exact instructions of the second answer in https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32426601/how-can-i-completely-uninstall-nodejs-npm-and-node-in-ubuntu (I know because I tried to rm -rf everything he said, but none of it was even there, so I must've done so a while ago. HOWEVER, I may not have gone to /etc/apt/sources.list.d and deleted all my node lists there, as the first guy said. This may be part of the problem. Im pretty sure my .nvm, .npm and .node home folders are all gone.) Whenever I try to install nodejs, as I believe it suggests right after that line, I get a whole list of dozens of node programs (I remember a "node-abab" for example?) that need *something* installed, I cant remember, but it may have, ironically, been nodejs which I was... trying to install. Now having used which node, which nodejs, which npm and which nvm, as suggested by the first answer in the thread I linked, to find bin/node and bin/nodejs (if I remember correctly, one of them may have been bin/npm or bin/nvm instead, but I think it was node and nodejs) I deleted those too. Only after this did I decide to actually look up the error message itself to find this answer: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1362719/error-upgrading-nodejs I was able to do every step without fail until sudo apt dist-upgrade. I believe at around 8% or 13% my entire screen started flickering, it went between fine, to all black, to all black except the terminal, to all black except the terminal and Linux, back and forth until it got to I believe around 50% and I got this error message: Errors were encountered while processing: /tmp/apt-dpkg-install-EgLtvN/48-libnode-dev_12.22.9~dfsg-1ubuntu3.3_amd64.deb E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) Now the bottom panel is broken- I can open the app list with the Windows key on my keyboard, I can open a new terminal with a keyboard shortcut but I cannot open any minimized windows. All windows and the app list dont display their images on the panel, only a thin strip below them if theyre open and the number of windows each app has open. Of the buttons to the side of the list of apps, only Discord, the time, the "show the desktop" button, and a lone 9 display. I am afraid to minimize anything, as I minimized the terminal I input all this on and now I cant open it again, only new terminal with a new keyboard shortcut as I said before. Some extra info, it's at all helpful: Firefox was updated and was able to restart and apply the updates with no issues, opening back up after restarting and everything. Another weird thing that happened after uninstalling bin/node and bin/nodejs is, when searching something on DuckDuckGo, the magnifying glass button in the search bar is replaced with a captial "S." The button to delete your search was also replaced with a capital "X." (Though, it looks kinda familiar, it may have happened before for unrelated reasons, and I only noticed it now because I was nervous something wrong was gonna happen.) I havent noticed any glitches on any other websites. Also, I dont think I have snap on my desktop at all, and I dont have anything downloaded via snap. I know this is a bit of a non-sequitor but it seems to come up a lot in anything revolving around problems installing nodejs so I thought I'd mention it. According to my new terminal window, my version is Linux Mint 21.2. Please help!