I know why you're here.
You searched "TheBalishChannel" on Google and clicked on this expecting some cringe-y fanfiction by someone who you've probably never heard of, or are an older watcher of TBC and came back here to reminisce. For all the people coming back, I've kept this fanfic as is as opposed to wiping it completely, sans the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger. Those here for the fic itself can stop reading this message, as the rest is mostly just a history lesson that you likely already know and a message for newbies. But for anyone new, you'd be right about the cringe aspect: it is pretty cringe-y looking back at it. But it's not so much about that: more about that this fucking thing is engrained in both Balish's and my search history. Speaking of which, who am I and why did I make this?
I'm C3po345, preferred name C3 but called C3po often. I used to be a pretty regular watcher of TBC back in 2015-16, and I could be seen as one of the "originals" of the stream. I was pretty fervent with catching streams: staying up until 12 to catch a late night BotW stream, struggling with throttled cellular speeds whenever I went out, all sorts of escapades. I've also been one of the more supportive of the streams; I've actually taken a DDOS attack for Balish when he got raided by RF on one of his return streams, and I was also one of the first subscribers on his Twitch account when he became partnered. But I'm not watching the streams anymore. I left every single group he was affiliated with, deleted or shopped every image that I ever had in relation to him, deleted the Twitter account I made just for talking with TBC watchers, and blocked anyone who wanted to follow me to where I went to next. Why would I have such a turn? Over the last months of me watching the stream, Balish started acting probably the most hostile towards his fans that I had seen at the time.
If you've heard anything in relation to "TBC history," you may know there was an unofficial Discord server ran by fans where people would come in and talk with each other. I was the one who started this Discord, owning and operating it until a little after it closed. I wanted there to be a more relaxed feel to it; when I made it, the Twitch chat was fairly restrictive both from Twitch's own rules and Balish's own rules upon the chat. Was it a good idea to allow people to talk about divisive subjects? Probably not. Was there a market for this sort of area? Absolutely. The problem though was that due to the laxness, there was more space for vitriol to freely overthrow the current conversation. Arguments about really petty topics were seen almost daily, and afterwards it would be my responsibility to clean up the cards. It got so bad that it bled over to both Twitter and the stream itself. This was also during a part of my life where I had to really focus on things that wasn't moderation, so eventually I decided to throw in the towel and give up the Discord to highest bidder. SonicYoshi, another TBC original who I had known for a while, stepped up to the plate for a little while, but it eventually got too out of control when doxing threats became commonplace along with harassment towards a LGBT watcher, and he eventually deleted the Discord from existence.
After being pelted with more bullshit about a Discord server that I wasn't even a part of much less one that existed, I moved to a different server where a lot of my friends who were related to Balish still met but it wasn't actually involved with the stream. But that didn't stop Balish; from what I found out from leaked private discussions, he was still posting things related to me behind my back, and encouraging people go out and attempt to antagonize me. Because of this severe lack of respect in relation to someone who didn't want to deal with him, I pulled the plug on everything. Discord servers, YouTube, Twitch: literally everything that was affiliated with him I disconnected from. And my life hasn't been the same since.
Which brings us to now. It's been nearly a year since I decided to pull the plug on this whole thing and go out to find better places to spend my time and effort on. And boy howdy have I; not only are the new fandoms I'm in a hell of a lot nicer in quality, but I don't have to deal with stupid fucking drama about a song from Mario Odyssey or other petty crap, and people aren't flinging death threats at each other every 12 seconds. Meanwhile, from what I've seen Balish's streams have still stagnated as they are. In fact, I'm pretty sure both his follower count and his viewer base has actually shrunk since I left, and Balish's temperament has gotten far worse. Balish has also continuously "booted off" other people, such as Swampert_Tube (who actually DM'd me to try and get him on his side in an issue I didn't need to be involved in) and Feroxy Louis. So not only did I make the right choice to get the hell out but letting the place rot in its own shit was really the only way to deal with such a hopeless circlejerk. So, to everyone watching his stream now: Don't say I didn't warn you when Balish eventually instigates shit with you. It doesn't matter how loyal you are to him, because everyone who watches him is on a tightrope: saying one thing wrong will likely end the same way as everyone else. And it's not just the Aboms and the Ih8s that have this issue: GallaDuke, SonicYoshi, Cruzin, and many other TBC loyalists who wouldn't seem to act as rash as Balish makes the "mutineers" out to be have all been subject to something like this once, if not quite a few times. And I'll be damned if it doesn't happen again and again to newer people coming into the stream.
Anyway, rambling aside, here's the fanfiction. Be prepared to cringe by the way, because there's bound to be quite a lot of it.
P.S. : Balish, if you're reading this, I find it ironic that you posted a tweet saying "if you don't like me leave me be and I'll do the same," when you and your "fans" haven't been able to shut the fuck up about me or any other person who left because they were fed up with your dumb shit. I'd say to go back to the glory days, but from what I see you're so far gone that trying to do anything will get you nowhere; neither in reputation nor in popularity. I'll enjoy my food, you enjoy your small numbers, kid.