I know this is relatively minor, but:

> gio is the only person that im aware of who tied their personal brand + accomplishments to a homestuck mirror

Didn't this whole thing when the collection was hosted at https://bambosh.github.io?

Bambosh and Gio were contacted when the website looked like this, with Bambosh's name in the URL https://web.archive.org/web/20230424114546/https://bambosh.github.io/unofficial-homestuck-collection/. Gio is only mentioned at the very bottom.

This line:

> bambosh needs time to check with a lawyer and so we’re amenable to giving that time, and again i think andrew is As We Speak instructing his lawyer to get the C&D delayed a while

happens when the website looks like this! https://web.archive.org/web/20231128012930/https://bambosh.dev/unofficial-homestuck-collection/

And at least one other mirror also has the author name in the URL, the kici.moe one. I don't think the C&D has anything to do with a developer crediting themselves.