Unfortunately my level head-ness is coming from a place of anger as an artist myself. I hope your artist friends do help you rework all of this and find a solution.
My hopes for you is that we are not at an impasse here.

Asking the artist as well goes a long way also. Like 'Hey, are you ok with me reposting this artwork?' Then you'll truly get an answer and either an Ok or a No.
'No' would mean reblog directly from the artist instead of going against their wishes.

Many creators have expressed that they dislike reposts. I know you've added their @s, but content creators love to see engagement on their own posts and not someone else's -- it makes them feel good about their content as well! Reposting the creator's posts instead would be better.

THOSE SWEET BOYS AHHH