No, you can't become Full Member without 100 Merits. You still need to get 93 Merits. If you want, you can purchase Copper Membership, it allows to have bigger signature, but it doesn't allow to wear avatar
97 merits is it not?
You're not special here, dude.
No one is special here (except maybe Theymos).
No. There might be another donation rank that includes avatar permissions though, waiting for that, if it ever happens is your best bet (though it might be faster to earn merits)
Maybe a membershi a bit higher than copper membership, 20$ or 10$+copper membership might be a good idea.