Disbandment
January 2, 2023. Monday.
The day I had been waiting for so long.
Even today, major events were lined up without fail. At this rate, was I actually getting addicted to dopamine? My eyes were still ringed with deep dark circles from prowling the communities until two in the morning. I had genuinely startled myself looking in the mirror that morning. I kept scolding myself to go to sleep already, but how was anyone supposed to resist the Decrescendo discord rumors?
Haha. I really was a hopeless community addict.
And yesterday was only the opening skirmish. Today is the main event.
The dopamine was already surging so hard my head felt foggy. The Decrescendo crew’s disbandment announcement, the fan café going inactive, and the grand finale of Seol Pyo-woo’s public sniping plus Elsa’s response. On top of that, the next dawn would bring Park Na-na’s notice trying to clean up the mess. A perfect batting order with not a single weak link.
It was, without exaggeration, the most shocking incident in the first half of 2023 on the Pangea TV virtual scene.
The only crew that had actually looked like it might grow got cut down. None of the crews that came after ever showed that kind of potential again.
It was the moment you could glimpse the limits of 720p virtuals. Honestly, it left a slightly bitter taste. In a way, even Lucy was closer to the 720p virtuals than to the pure-bloods who would later migrate over from Rabbit TV.
In the end, the weight class difference is unavoidable. The pure-blood monsters who come later transfer with four-digit fixed fanbases already in tow.
From the start they felt like a completely different species from the 720p virtuals who had clawed their way up from nothing. Of course the pure-bloods had their own small-time days too. But from the perspective of Pangea TV’s virtual kids, that was how it felt.
Wait—there are this many virtuals averaging four-digit viewers?
After that, the 720p virtuals were shoved into the back rooms and had no choice but to hand over the throne. That was the history and the current of the Pangea TV virtual scene.
Not this time. Why should the hosts get pushed aside by the guests?
The ones who had crossed over in the early days, suffered every hardship, and pioneered the Pangea TV virtual scene were the 720p virtuals. And now the latecomers who only showed up because Rabbit TV Korea shut down its service were acting like they owned the place? Besides, if I wanted to win the bet with Ju-ttak, I was going to have to compete with them anyway.
I have to work harder than now… and keep growing.
For that, one element was more essential than anything else. What was it? Eye-catching content? Trickle-down from a big-corp streamer? Or a YouTube channel blowing up?
None of those. In a capitalist society, money is king.
It might sound vulgar, but the truths of the world are never as pretty as the stories in fairy tales. There are things money can’t buy? Then maybe you just don’t have enough money. Raise the amount and, like magic, the problem solves itself.
And today is exactly the chance to make that money.
Pangea TV’s stock price, which had soared and then steadily fallen for the past month under the aftershock, had returned to the level it held before the climb. A solid support line. And as a regressor, I already knew: starting from today’s low, Pangea TV’s stock would rise nearly 40 percent over the next month.
This is the opportunity. An opportunity I absolutely cannot miss. I’ve been waiting for today alone.
The carefully scraped-together 57 million won in my stock account was practically screaming at me. And that wasn’t even the end of it. Pangea TV stock would keep climbing steadily through all of January. That meant every time I received Candy donations, I could just keep buying more. January was the absolute peak boom of Rena World—Park Na-na hitting the million club, five different virtuals pulling over 800,000 Candy in donations. The whole board was going insane. If I timed my chances right, I could massively grow my capital and keep investing.
If I play this well, I might even be able to move.
Getting out of this cramped little hole would make full-tracking streams run a lot smoother. Late-night broadcasts would stop being a soundproofing nightmare too.
“Finally!”
Nine in the morning. The market opened. To avoid unnecessary aggro I kept the stream off and focused. Today’s Pangea TV opened with a green candle. But I already knew: today’s candle was going to turn a deep, ugly blue.
“It’s dropping!”
Buyers and sellers put on a show of fierce WWE-style combat, then the price suddenly got spiked straight into the ground. The stock traders who had dipped a toe in because they thought it had already fallen too far freaked out and started panic-selling. The drop only accelerated.
I watched it happen, then began quietly accumulating from the 68,000-won range. I remembered that the day’s low before the regression had been 67,000 won, but butterfly effects could hit anytime, so I was playing it a little safe.
“Nice! Done.”
Thanks to that I became the proud owner of 841 shares of Pangea TV at an average of 67,700 won without any trouble.
I’ll keep steadily collecting for the next month.
I remembered cleaning up around the 95,000-won line. O stock sage of Pan-beo-gal, you will never hear this, but once again I offer my thanks.
The new year of 2023 was glittering with hope.
Hello, this is Decrescendo.
We have held many discussions with the members regarding Decrescendo’s identity and direction, and we carefully considered which choice would be best for both the Decrescendo members and the Crayons who love us.
From the moment Decrescendo was founded, it was a crew built from the individual identities of its members, and the members’ opinion that all five must be present for it to be Decrescendo has never changed.
We have decided that Team Decrescendo will disband as of today.
Only the name Decrescendo will disappear. Just as always, we will continue to support one another and show you our best selves.
We offer our deepest thanks to every fan who has loved Team Decrescendo, and to all the staff and managers who have given us so much help.
The notice that dropped without warning on the Decrescendo fan café on the afternoon of January 2. The moment a full day of anxiety became reality, the Decrescendo fans fell silent. But the silence did not last long.
Denial. Betrayal. Grief. Rage. Every emotion swirled together. Had the bond they had built with their fans over two months really been something they could abandon this easily? There was no clear explanation… no process of seeking the fans’ understanding. And so countless fans poured out their disappointment.
Posts flooded the fan café without end. The scariest thing of all, they say, is a fan who turns into an anti. Among them were more than a few posts sharp enough to pierce the lungs. The café moderators were going out of their minds just trying to manage them.
Before long the fire spread to the FM Community. There was no reason for the communities not to feast on a bait this big. Endless arguments flew back and forth. Who was responsible for a crew that had been flying so high suddenly collapsing overnight?
The fans were not fools. They had all watched the Decrescendo members’ streams and their actions up to now; they could roughly guess the situation. The fact that members had even voiced their thoughts on stream only made it clearer.
[Photo] — Decrescendo full roster fan club joins + sub clips
For two whole months I loved them so much, got completely immersed, watched revolving-door streams all day and never even felt tired… and it was only this much? Disbanding the crew in one or two days? I feel so betrayed I don’t think I can ever trust streamers again
The Decrescendo fans were completely losing their minds. Then, at some point, a single post with a title that seized everyone’s attention went up.
The Decrescendo disbandment crisis was racing toward its end.