silly me, thinking note holders who rule OTC would enlist the help of shorts so they can convert more shares at lower prices
That is silly. And not factual.
The opposite is true - the toxic death spiral holders don't need lower prices. Their constant conversions at a fraction of the market price and immediate dumping drives the stock price down all by itself. Instead, what they need is people to convince investors to ignore the facts and buy the stock they are dumping. They need to support the price, not undermine it.
They don't hire shorters at all. Instead, if they hire anyone, they hire PROMOTERS. They pay for the promotion campaigns to find buyers for the stock they are dumping.
These toxic holders make money regardless of price, since their death spiral notes convert at a fixed percentage. The only limiting factor to their profit if VOLUME. They need more volume to dump into.