#a long part of this is also about basil so any basil hater is free to scroll as well

[theokusgallery]

I dislike and have always kind of disliked Aubrey so I'm gonna explain why here because I need to put it somewhere

First of all, I've been told that it's because I don't understand her character, but I'm working with a "people" perspective rather than a "character" perspective here -- also, keep in mind that it is my personal opinion that I'm trying to develop here. Aubrey as a character is very interesting to me, mainly because of the way she copes with her trauma about Mari's death but also how her home life affected her, and how her personality changed a lot in four years — but here, I'm making a difference between a character being interestingly constructed and how she is as a "person" in-game. Now that that's out of the way — 90% of my content recently has been Basil and nothing else, so I am very much aware that I am not objective in the slightest lol. But I'm going to try to explain my biased perspective in the least biased way I can if that makes sense.

I'm going to start with the most obvious point that has been stated before (can't remember where): I don't understand (and it's the game's fault) how Aubrey can be a both bully and a endearing character at the same time, like she's represented in the literal game. The game makes the Hooligans look like a bunch of happy, sweet, dumb kids who like candy and card games as a last impression — which is pretty weird considering their first appearance was them gang bullying Basil, 6 vs 1, and the second was them trying to kick him out of a public place that Aubrey knows must have meant a lot to him. Basic bully shit. But the fact that the last day is the day you see them doing dumb stuff also means that it's the impression that's going to last. And that you'll forget about the bullying, most likely. It's very much the game's fault because of how the events are organized throughout the three days in Faraway, but the bullying is just easily forgotten.

In any case, when talking about the Hooligans in-game, the lasting impression is a good one, making the four years of heavy bullying invisible and meaningless to the player (maybe because, you know, OMOCAT fucking hates Basil. Could be wrong) possibly because of the fact that we see Basil waaaaay less than Aubrey, including in Headspace, and the player gets attached to her very easily. And yes, if I'm taking a "people" perspective on this I have to be aware that people aren't unidimensional, but that's just not how it works, and if they do bully Basil and then go live their happiest lives afterwards then I dislike them as well.

Now, Aubrey herself is strange to me. She's mean throughout the real-life part of the game constantly, including to Kel and Sunny, but turns out to be a 'poor sensitive girl' out of fucking nowhere. (re-reading this, I'm using 'poor' as in pity, not her financial situation.) I know that the "though on the outside, soft on the inside" trope is a thing, but she has been quite literally the least 'soft on the inside' character until there.

It doesn't make sense to me how she's set by the game to get all of this pity from the player for being sensitive while, if she were really that sensitive, she probably would've cared about her own childhood friend that she would've ruined the life of if it hadn't already been destroyed a bit more. Or, if she really is that sensitive, it's pretty selfish not to care the littlest bit about him. She's also given an emotional scene where she cries about how Sunny and Kel "keeps coming back" while screaming about them leaving the whole time.

The attention of the player is set on her and her emotions and her, I'm sorry, tsundere behavior while completely forgetting about the guy who's still crying and terrified from her bullying in the background. (I'm. kind of guessing at this point that OMOCAT hating Basil and giving him like, three lines of dialogue probably didn't help with that either). She, again, complains about how "everyone left" when she knows full well that they were all individually alone (or she didn't notice, which would be weird) and even if she didn't, she did way worse to her friend than just leaving him alone and complaining about it seems extremely selfish to me as she visibly didn't reach out to Kel (only available person at the time Mari died) either. To me, it sounds as she was just kind of expecting everyone to only think about her while greiving themselves, when she apparently didn't reach out to anyone herself (she says later in Sunny's garden that she "was the one pushing everyone away").

She only starts thinking that maybe she went a bit too hard on Basil after she's told she was cruel by the other characters, and that's only after almost killing him. (No, I'm not going to take any Sunny-based arguments on that one, because it is emotionally a whole other situation no matter how you look at it.) I'm rambling a bit here because I genuinely don't understand how her behavior makes any sense, but that might be a character-making thing so I'll just move on.

--I'm going to address as briefly as possible why I think her situation at the lake is a lot different from Sunny's at the stairs of his house, just to make sure that's out of the way lol. First, Sunny did not bully Mari for four years. He didn't chase her out of her own comfort place that contains all of her childhood memories. He didn't push her around and cause bullying from other schoolmates as well. In, fact, Mari was the one who had unintentionally pushed Sunny too far, which caused him to snap. Mari was yelling at him, mind you, not the other way around. This was the only time that we know of that Sunny even hurt Mari. Second, Mari and Sunny loved each other. Aubrey detested Basil when she pushed him. Finally, while Sunny and Mari were arguing right at the top of the stairs directly, Aubrey had to walk a certain distance to get to Basil, and pushed him as Basil was trying to reach out, telling him to "get away from her" (she was the one walking towards him in the first place??). (I hope that makes sense)

In and of itself, Aubrey doesn't have much of a personality besides being mean but actually soft and sensitive and sad :(, and maybe being friendly with her group of friends -- I'd call it a classic overdone trope but she doesn't actually have enough real world screentime for me to juge that. I can, and will, however, call her emo on the inside. "I'm mean but I'm also deep, actually" lol (And yeah, every character is kind of stereotypical/tropey, except Aubrey's supposed "trope" is meant to induce a feeling of surprise and it just... doesn't. While, Kel being neglected, for exemple, was genuinely surprising to me.)

I'm not going to talk about Headspace Aubrey, simply because from a "people" perspective that's not Aubrey. And, since we're on the "people perspective" business, I'm not saying that Aubrey is a bad "person" (she's doing what she can there she's got like a ton of other issues and Kel sure as hell isn't helping), simply that I personally dislike her. And again I know that like 85% of my explaination/ arguments were about Basil but, well. We don't see a lot from her apart from her business with Basil and the Hooligans (except for her cute, nice little friendship with the sweet, sweet gang of kids who have such a bad reputation for no reason, sob... But I've already talked about that.)

I have no idea how to format this so that it's not just a giant block of words oh god. Apologies

[mlmcompanies]

The business plan is cool…

Selling energy by word of mouth. Breaking away from Big Brother. Getting your basic services from a company you can trust.

And don’t get us wrong…

Stream’s become a real competitor among energy providers. But is it a good MLM opportunity?

That’s the question.

Stream (formerly Stream Energy) is a network marketing company based in Texas that offers energy in some parts of the nation, and wireless, protective, and home services nationwide.

Stream has been selling energy and natural gas to residential and commercial customers since 2004 through a network marketing model. Now, they have a range of streaming products that are available in every state. And they’re killing it.

FAQ

1. What does Stream sell? Stream energy provides energy, wireless, protective and connected life services.

2. What are Stream’s most popular products? The Free Energy Program sets Stream apart from traditional energy providers. Customers earn a Free Energy bonus when they refer family or friends to Stream. The new Budget Power Plan is likely to be a favorite. Customers enrolled in this plan pay the same amount for their energy bill every month, as long as their monthly usage stays within their pre-chosen usage block.

3. How much does it cost to join Stream? To become a Stream representative, you’ll join Stream Ignite, their MLM branch. There’s a one-time enrollment fee of $199. You may also decide to pay $24.95 per month to access the SMS (Stream Marketing System). This gives you the tools, training, and home office support you need to run your business.

4. Is Stream a scam? No, Stream is a legitimate business, providing legitimate services. They’ve been recognized as a 2017 Direct Selling Association Top 20 company. In 2016 they earned the Most Innovative Marketer of the Year award by the Energy Marketing Conference and ranked #14 on Direct Selling News North America 50.

5. What is Stream’s BBB rating? A+

6. How long has Stream been in business? Since 2004

7. What is Stream’s revenue? $8 billion as of 2018

8. How many Stream distributors are there? Stream reported that more than 4,000 independent associates attended the 2018 Ignite event. Other than that, the company hasn’t published any numbers about their reps.

9. What lawsuits have been filed? In 2018, a class action settlement was approved to be paid by Stream in response to a 2015 suit by Steven Basile. who alleged he had been charged higher rates than had been contracted. [1, 2, 3] Also in 2015, a suit was brought against Stream that alleged they operated a pyramid scheme in violation of federal racketeering laws. Stream strongly denied the charges. [4] In 2015, Stream was awarded $346,000 in legal fees arising from a lawsuit by Soavei, falsely claiming misappropriation of trade secrets. [5] In 2014, Stream sued Reshea Toatley and Wendi Lane for contract – consumer/commercial/debt; Kathylyn Applin, Chandra Marcell, Michelle Doherty, Jacqueline Carmichael, and Sharolynne Munson for debt claims. [6] In 2008, Michael Massingill sued Stream for ownership of the Arsenal software he developed for them. The case was dismissed. [7]

10. Comparable companies: Powur, ACN, Enagic

So should you get involved?

Not a bad company at all but if it’s just the income opportunity that excites you, there are more sustainable options out there…

Click here for my #1 recommendation

Either way, here’s the full review on Stream Energy.

Overview

Energy is a gray area product due to federal regulations — energy MLMs can only operate in certain states that have deregulated energy markets.

That said, they are expanding. Stream Energy has expanded its energy territories to include Ohio, Illinois, and Delaware, in addition to their deregulated territories of  Texas, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and D.C.

This limitation is probably why they’ve worked hard to launch other product lines that can sell nationwide. In 2012, they launched a “Clean Nation” Energy Program that sells Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) [8] In 2015, they released mobile services starting as low as $30 a month.

  Needless to say, this isn’t your typical MLM. No fun parties, no sexy products — their associates arrange local meetups called “Business Presentations” to try and sign on new customers, so it’s pretty much as boring as it gets other than maybe Tupperware and vacuum cleaners.

However, it seems to be working for them. They’ve earned over $8 billion since they opened up shop.

While the reps for energy MLMs will tell you signing on makes more sense and saves you more money, it’s not always the case. Some people claim they’ve been ripped off and scammed by energy MLMs, and in a market that’s not transparent or easy for consumers to understand, it’s definitely possible. [9]

Back in 2011, they even had a lawsuit filed against them alleging that they were a pyramid scheme (yawn, them and every other MLM). While Stream won the lawsuit, it was found that in 2008 more than 30% of their energy customers were also distributors.

Kinda shady, but nothing new for MLM.

But even if you can get over the shady deals, can you make any money?

Products

So, they’ve got energy products. What does that mean?

AC and heating

Lighting and electricity

Natural gas

They claim their energy is clean, produced (at least in part) through wind and solar power (see: Powur). [10]

The only discernable difference between their energy and whatever energy company a person would normally deal with is price. But is it any cheaper?

That’s where it gets iffy. The advantage their distributors have is that it’s hard for customers to know if the product they’re buying will be cheaper until they’ve seen their first bill. Their distributors are actually trained not to discuss rates with prospective customers.

It’s obvious why. Some sources state that Stream Energy costs as much as 2 or 3 times state-owned energy companies. [11]

Reviews from customers give them only a 2.37 out of 5 though, with a lot of them complaining about the costs. [12]

But, if you sign on as a distributor and manage to make enough sales to recoup your costs, you definitely save money. You earn 25%-100% off your energy bill — if you’re really good at pimping yourself out to friends and family. That’s how they reel people in, and that’s why they’ve been accused of pyramid-scheme-like activity. [13]

In addition to energy services, they offer:

Wireless services

Protective services

Home services

Compensation Plan

Sign-up is pretty hefty: a one-time $199 registration fee, plus a monthly fee to maintain a website.

They do give some good bonuses starting out, with the chance to get up to $400 in bonuses in your first 90 days if you enroll enough new customers.

After that, the profit may start to plateau if you aren’t really hustling.

The compensation plan is super confusing, but compensation on customers you personally enrolled paying their bills (Monthly Earned Income – MEI) seems to boil down to about $.50-3.00 a month for each customer. Chump change. Basically, you have to be able to get a ton of people signed up to make any money off MEI.

You can make money off your recruits, but they have to close a sale within the first 30 days. You also have to meet a certain amount of customer points each month to qualify for team bonuses (or for money on personal sales).

Team bonuses range from $25-100 depending on your rank, but for all the bonuses, your team member has to enroll a handful of new customers (up to 15 for some of the higher bonuses).

You can earn a bit more by enrolling commercial accounts if they use enough power (some of these larger accounts pay out $10-20 a month). Still not rollin’ in the benjamins.

Basically, you really have to build an empire to see any significant income, and that isn’t easy.

In 2008, the average take-home pay for an entire year for a distributor was $174. Not even good side money.

In fact, the company banked a whopping $9 million in fees just from distributors who never made a single penny. So, basically, they’re profiting off you while you’re making nothing.

Recap

So, their product is definitely legit but overpriced.

And they’re a little shady — a little too close to pyramid-shaped for comfort. In 2008 they were adding distributors at twice the rate they were adding customers. [14]

But who cares if they’re shaped like a pyramid, an octagon, or a star, as long as you’re raking in the commission checks, right?

Well, with the average annual income for their distributors being $174, this gig isn’t even enough to buy you a dollar menu breakfast every day, let alone provide you with financial freedom.

I’m not a Stream Energy hater, by any means. But when it comes to the income opportunity, it’s not hard to see that your time could be better spent elsewhere.

Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.

After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:

Click here for my #1 recommendation

[antionetterparker]

Stream Energy: Growing Opportunity or a Waste of Your Time? [Review]

The business plan is cool…

Selling energy by word of mouth. Breaking away from Big Brother. Getting your basic services from a company you can trust.

And don’t get us wrong…

Stream’s become a real competitor among energy providers. But is it a good MLM opportunity?

That’s the question.

Stream (formerly Stream Energy) is a network marketing company based in Texas that offers energy in some parts of the nation, and wireless, protective, and home services nationwide.

Stream has been selling energy and natural gas to residential and commercial customers since 2004 through a network marketing model. Now, they have a range of streaming products that are available in every state. And they’re killing it.

FAQ

1. What does Stream sell? Stream energy provides energy, wireless, protective and connected life services.

2. What are Stream’s most popular products? The Free Energy Program sets Stream apart from traditional energy providers. Customers earn a Free Energy bonus when they refer family or friends to Stream. The new Budget Power Plan is likely to be a favorite. Customers enrolled in this plan pay the same amount for their energy bill every month, as long as their monthly usage stays within their pre-chosen usage block.

3. How much does it cost to join Stream? To become a Stream representative, you’ll join Stream Ignite, their MLM branch. There’s a one-time enrollment fee of $199. You may also decide to pay $24.95 per month to access the SMS (Stream Marketing System). This gives you the tools, training, and home office support you need to run your business.

4. Is Stream a scam? No, Stream is a legitimate business, providing legitimate services. They’ve been recognized as a 2017 Direct Selling Association Top 20 company. In 2016 they earned the Most Innovative Marketer of the Year award by the Energy Marketing Conference and ranked #14 on Direct Selling News North America 50.

5. What is Stream’s BBB rating? A+

6. How long has Stream been in business? Since 2004

7. What is Stream’s revenue? $8 billion as of 2018

8. How many Stream distributors are there? Stream reported that more than 4,000 independent associates attended the 2018 Ignite event. Other than that, the company hasn’t published any numbers about their reps.

9. What lawsuits have been filed? In 2018, a class action settlement was approved to be paid by Stream in response to a 2015 suit by Steven Basile. who alleged he had been charged higher rates than had been contracted. [1, 2, 3] Also in 2015, a suit was brought against Stream that alleged they operated a pyramid scheme in violation of federal racketeering laws. Stream strongly denied the charges. [4] In 2015, Stream was awarded $346,000 in legal fees arising from a lawsuit by Soavei, falsely claiming misappropriation of trade secrets. [5] In 2014, Stream sued Reshea Toatley and Wendi Lane for contract – consumer/commercial/debt; Kathylyn Applin, Chandra Marcell, Michelle Doherty, Jacqueline Carmichael, and Sharolynne Munson for debt claims. [6] In 2008, Michael Massingill sued Stream for ownership of the Arsenal software he developed for them. The case was dismissed. [7]

10. Comparable companies: Powur, ACN, Enagic

So should you get involved?

Not a bad company at all but if it’s just the income opportunity that excites you, there are more sustainable options out there…

Click here for my #1 recommendation

Either way, here’s the full review on Stream Energy.

Overview

Energy is a gray area product due to federal regulations — energy MLMs can only operate in certain states that have deregulated energy markets.

That said, they are expanding. Stream Energy has expanded its energy territories to include Ohio, Illinois, and Delaware, in addition to their deregulated territories of  Texas, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and D.C.

This limitation is probably why they’ve worked hard to launch other product lines that can sell nationwide. In 2012, they launched a “Clean Nation” Energy Program that sells Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) [8] In 2015, they released mobile services starting as low as $30 a month.

  Needless to say, this isn’t your typical MLM. No fun parties, no sexy products — their associates arrange local meetups called “Business Presentations” to try and sign on new customers, so it’s pretty much as boring as it gets other than maybe Tupperware and vacuum cleaners.

However, it seems to be working for them. They’ve earned over $8 billion since they opened up shop.

While the reps for energy MLMs will tell you signing on makes more sense and saves you more money, it’s not always the case. Some people claim they’ve been ripped off and scammed by energy MLMs, and in a market that’s not transparent or easy for consumers to understand, it’s definitely possible. [9]

Back in 2011, they even had a lawsuit filed against them alleging that they were a pyramid scheme (yawn, them and every other MLM). While Stream won the lawsuit, it was found that in 2008 more than 30% of their energy customers were also distributors.

Kinda shady, but nothing new for MLM.

But even if you can get over the shady deals, can you make any money?

Products

So, they’ve got energy products. What does that mean?

AC and heating

Lighting and electricity

Natural gas

They claim their energy is clean, produced (at least in part) through wind and solar power (see: Powur). [10]

The only discernable difference between their energy and whatever energy company a person would normally deal with is price. But is it any cheaper?

That’s where it gets iffy. The advantage their distributors have is that it’s hard for customers to know if the product they’re buying will be cheaper until they’ve seen their first bill. Their distributors are actually trained not to discuss rates with prospective customers.

It’s obvious why. Some sources state that Stream Energy costs as much as 2 or 3 times state-owned energy companies. [11]

Reviews from customers give them only a 2.37 out of 5 though, with a lot of them complaining about the costs. [12]

But, if you sign on as a distributor and manage to make enough sales to recoup your costs, you definitely save money. You earn 25%-100% off your energy bill — if you’re really good at pimping yourself out to friends and family. That’s how they reel people in, and that’s why they’ve been accused of pyramid-scheme-like activity. [13]

In addition to energy services, they offer:

Wireless services

Protective services

Home services

Compensation Plan

Sign-up is pretty hefty: a one-time $199 registration fee, plus a monthly fee to maintain a website.

They do give some good bonuses starting out, with the chance to get up to $400 in bonuses in your first 90 days if you enroll enough new customers.

After that, the profit may start to plateau if you aren’t really hustling.

The compensation plan is super confusing, but compensation on customers you personally enrolled paying their bills (Monthly Earned Income – MEI) seems to boil down to about $.50-3.00 a month for each customer. Chump change. Basically, you have to be able to get a ton of people signed up to make any money off MEI.

You can make money off your recruits, but they have to close a sale within the first 30 days. You also have to meet a certain amount of customer points each month to qualify for team bonuses (or for money on personal sales).

Team bonuses range from $25-100 depending on your rank, but for all the bonuses, your team member has to enroll a handful of new customers (up to 15 for some of the higher bonuses).

You can earn a bit more by enrolling commercial accounts if they use enough power (some of these larger accounts pay out $10-20 a month). Still not rollin’ in the benjamins.

Basically, you really have to build an empire to see any significant income, and that isn’t easy.

In 2008, the average take-home pay for an entire year for a distributor was $174. Not even good side money.

In fact, the company banked a whopping $9 million in fees just from distributors who never made a single penny. So, basically, they’re profiting off you while you’re making nothing.

Recap

So, their product is definitely legit but overpriced.

And they’re a little shady — a little too close to pyramid-shaped for comfort. In 2008 they were adding distributors at twice the rate they were adding customers. [14]

But who cares if they’re shaped like a pyramid, an octagon, or a star, as long as you’re raking in the commission checks, right?

Well, with the average annual income for their distributors being $174, this gig isn’t even enough to buy you a dollar menu breakfast every day, let alone provide you with financial freedom.

I’m not a Stream Energy hater, by any means. But when it comes to the income opportunity, it’s not hard to see that your time could be better spent elsewhere.

Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.

After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:

Click here for my #1 recommendation

via https://mlmcompanies.org/stream-energy/