#the stanleys

[doll-elvis]

Oh, I would love to delve into discourse about the Stanley family. I'm not really a fan of them either, but I have empathy for their side of things. And from everything I gathered, I think both they and Elvis would've been better off not knowing each other, lol.

warning: talk of addiction, abuse of prescription medication, and use of illegal recreational drugs

thank you so much for sending this in and oh my gosh I completely agree with you: “I think both they and Elvis would’ve been better off not knowing each other” truer words have never been spoken !!!

to be honest I didn’t have much empathy for the Stanleys boys until I read this quote below for the first time ⬇️

LAMAR FIKE: “In defense of the Stanley boys, it’s well to remember that they didn’t ask to be there. And Elvis was stuck with having stepbrothers, so he made the best of it. I’m very partial toward David because I raised him from the time he was three years old. Or I feel like I did. Those boys have had it hard. What you have to remember is that they were corrupted by Elvis Presley. All of them were. Absolutely. No doubt about it”

excerpt from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

It by no means cancels out some of the things that they have said about Elvis, like David and his accusations about Elvis’ death, however it did make me realize that they truly had no choice in being stepbrothers to someone as famous as Elvis, they were quite literally the only people on Earth who could say they had that kind of relationship with him, and I imagine it was one that was difficult to manage

However… I hold absolutely no empathy for Dee 🤧

Dee has always been predatory in her actions imo, and I’m not surprised he never liked/trusted her. She first tried to hit on Elvis, who was of course not interested, and when that failed, she chose to go after his father, who was likely vulnerable and starved for female attention after Gladys' passing. Dee Stanley was still married while she and Vernon were dating in Germany, which was just a terrible situation to subject her three young sons too

LAMAR FIKE: “Vernon and I were having breakfast in the restaurant, and this blonde came up in a white coat. Vernon introduced himself and said Elvis had been called away. So she made her moves on Vernon. Boy, she stalked him like prize game”

MARTY LACKER: “Elvis didn’t like Dee from the start. He questioned her sincerity, you might say”

BILLY SMITH: “The “Dee thing” turned Elvis away from his daddy. Vernon had been seeing younger women, and it was too damn quick after Gladys’s death. Elvis resented the hell out of it”

excerpts from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

And then, years after Elvis’ passing, Dee came forward with a new book about Elvis (one of several that she wrote for $$) that made accusations such as Gladys and Elvis were in a inc*stual relationship. What is possibly more disgusting than the baseless accusation itself is that Dee only used persons who had already passed away to corroborate her claim like Vernon Presley, Minnie Mae Presley, and Alberta who worked for the Presleys and was very close with Gladys and Elvis

So not only did she disrespect the memory of Gladys and Elvis, but she used people who were no longer alive as her sources because she knew they weren’t here to say otherwise…Whew that woman was unbelievably nasty and the fact that even her own sons wanted nothing to do with that book speaks volumes ⬇️

And like you mentioned, I truly believe that both Elvis and the Stanley boys would have been better off if their relationship ended in the 60s. It is so sad to see what their relationship devolved too (being dependent on one another for drugs) and how all four of them became victim to addiction ⬇️

Billy smith: “Later on, Elvis kept them around for one reason and one reason only. And I hate to say this, but it’s true. To get drugs for him. Ricky and David were on the street. And Elvis, in essence, put them there”

Marty Lacker: “Towards the end the Stanley boys were there for three reasons: One, to procure drugs for him. Two, they would listen to him. And three, Elvis would preach to them and think he was teaching them stuff”

excerpts from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

It’s hard to accept but I don’t disagree with Lamar Fike saying that Elvis and his lifestyle more or less “corrupted” the Stanley boys. I can’t say that Elvis was fully to blame for everything they did but he was asking them to procure drugs, both prescription and illegal, and that in turn led to them having to take the fall for Elvis, even going as far as getting arrested in some cases ⬇️

excerpts from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

And since they were procuring drugs for Elvis, they often indulged in the same kinds that Elvis was using and because of their shared addiction, they became very dependent on one another as almost everyone else in the group was against using “street drugs” like cocaine ⬇️

JOE ESPOSITO: “For a brief time, Elvis even dabbled in illegal hard drugs. One day, I discovered that despite his professed concern for his stepbrother’s drug habit, Elvis had sent Ricky to Nashville to buy cocaine. “I want to see you,” I told Ricky when he returned. I hustled him into a private corner of Graceland, “Give me that bottle,” I said. “I can’t,” he whined, “Elvis will be mad”

excerpt from “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Joe Esposito

excerpt from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

excerpt from “My brother Elvis” by David Stanley

excerpt from “Elvis: my brother” by Billy Stanley

Them being around each other was just a recipe for disaster in terms of their drug use, Elvis simply couldn’t keep up with them and his health suffered as a result. And so long as the Stanley boys worked for him, Elvis would have access to more prescriptions than what was actually prescribed to him, and I don’t believe that they would have ever told him no or tried to stop him as they suffered from addiction as well. So how could have Elvis gotten better when they were always there to get him what he wanted? Infact it was Ricky Stanley who gave Elvis his final pill packet the early morning of his passing

One of the biggest disasters Elvis’ dependency on them caused was the incident where Dave Hebler and Red West threatened to assault Ricky Stanley for supplying cocaine to Elvis. Dave and Red saw how Elvis was becoming more and more erratic because of it, and decided they had to go to the source to stop it

This incident ended up being one of the reasons that they got fired alongside Sonny West as they were trying to stop Elvis, who was in active addiction, from doing what he wanted which of course didn’t bode well ⬇️

MARTY LACKER: “When Ricky started bringing cocaine to Elvis in Vegas, the sparks started flying. He got it from some of the guys in the vocal group. I think they got it from some pusher in Nashville. And Red and Sonny found out about it, and they told Dave Hebler. Dave went to Ricky and said, “If you bring it to Elvis one more time, I’m going to break both your fuckin’ legs.” And Red went in and said the same thing to the guys in the vocal group. So what did Ricky do? He went back and told Elvis. The next day, Red tried to talk to Elvis about trying to get off pills. This was up in the suite. Red was sitting up at the bar. Elvis was at the bar, too, and somehow the conversation got on that. Red said, “Elvis, this stuff is really bad for you. I wish you’d stop doing it and go get cured. I can tell it’s really getting to you.” Elvis sat there, and he said, “Yeah, yeah. I know what you’re saying. But don’t worry about it.” He was real calm. Well, a few minutes later, Elvis went to bed. And “he said, “Yeah, yeah. I know what you’re saying. But don’t worry about it.” He was real calm. Well, a few minutes later, Elvis went to bed. And brooded about it all night long. When he got up the next afternoon, Elvis came out of that room screaming. He just went nuts. If I’m not mistaken, he pulled an AK–47 [automatic weapon] on Red and threatened to shoot him. Sonny was there, too, standing right next to him. Elvis screamed, “Goddamn, Red, mind your own fuckin’ business! Telling me how to run my life!”Everybody always says, “If you guys really cared about him, you could have done something about him.” These people have no idea what went on. They have no idea of how Elvis was”

excerpt from “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia” by Alanna Nash

This quote from Marty is why I try to have sympathy for everybody in Elvis’ group, they were put into an impossible situation as they either had to watch their friend suffer or try to put it a stop to it, which often led to Elvis having an outburst and threatening to fire them. Essentially they were damned if they did, and damned if they didn’t ⬇️

JOE ESPOSITO: “Even the the Memphis Mafia occasionally tried to intercept drug shipments from various doctors. One night Red West accidentally broke a delivery boy’s toe, he threatened to break the kid’s entire body if he didn’t quit delivering to Elvis, but Elvis heard about it. He called me, Red, and Sonny into his bedroom, “I need it,” Elvis finally said with a piteous look. If anyone pushed to hard Elvis’ stock response was “If you don’t like it, there’s the door! Get the hell out of here! I don’t need you!”. He was manipulating us and we let him. “God, I’m going to straighten out my life but I need this right now,” he would intone fervently, his blue eyes wide and sincere, and we believed him”

excerpt from “Good Rockin Tonight” by Joe Esposito

Addiction takes no prisoners and I think it’s important to remember that those who suffer from it are victims themselves. My heart breaks for Elvis, for the Stanley boys, and everyone who loved them during this time, it’s an impossibly difficult situation to deal with

To finish this I want to include a quote that really shows how addiction can destroy a person, and make them become someone they aren’t. I think Dave Hebler, who was fired alongside Red and Sonny West, captures it perfectly ⬇️

excerpt from “The Elvis Experience” by Dave Hebler

[neverendingparable]

Who’s Who: Stanley Edition

The Stanleys

#the real stanley: Stellan Sommers. A real human Stanley who didn’t cooperate with his Narrator, so he was placed into a 3 year coma and used to ‘power’ an illusion Stanley. He was rescued eventually by other employees and now has no ties with Narrators anymore, in fact, he dislikes them greatly

#stanley: Stanley Sommers. An illusion Stanley turned human in some verses / a tulpa in other verses. He is modeled after Stellan, but changed to be a perfect, obedient Stanley, which is why he is nicer, more cheerful and understanding towards Narrators than Stellan. 

#backwards!stanley: Bradley (or Brat-ley) Spencer. An alternate Stanley who wasn’t kidnapped by aliens, but forced into an illegal government experiment and suffered greatly. He’s rebellious, flat out refused to do the Story correctly and therefore wasn’t treated very kindly. Eventually he managed to overthrow his Narrator and take his powers. 

#deaf!stanley: A Bradley Spencer, but one who had a much easier backstory. He’s deaf and close to being blind due to a condition. He’s generally less depressed and more positive than most of his alternates. 

#remote!stellan: An alternate Stellan who disappeared not too long ago. His Narrator is dating a Stanley from another blog. 

#plain!stanley: An alternate Stanley Sommers, also from the same dimension as remote!Stellan. He’s pissed that his Narrator doesnt narrate anymore, so he tries to find a Stanley-less one who’ll adopt him as his Protagonist.

Stanley Nero: Younger brother of Alice Nero at @thegrimdarknarrator. He never played the Parable and lives at home with an alternate version of Alice

The Ships:

Steneil: Standard Stellan Sommers met Neil de Grammont at @curiouscompanions. Thanks to Neil he managed to get out of his alcoholism and has gained maturity and knowledges. He also has 'magic’ or ‘Narrator’ powers and his own Office given to him by a friend. 

Harellan: An alternate Stellan who doesn’t have his own tag other than this ship tag. He met Harold @obsolete-parable and bonded with him over drinks and bandaging nasty wounds. 

Stannison: Standard Stanley Sommers who fell in love with a scientist / architect Frank Maddison @employee425, got engaged and moved to live with him in Maddy’s dimension. He visits occaisonally. 

Fradley: Standard Bradley Spencer. Fell in love and married a former employee, Frank Meier ( @employee425 ). They moved out of the Office into their own little home and are preparing for their first child. They never visit the Office due to putting the past behind them, but Bradley keeps in contact with Stellan. 

JimStan / JimBrad: A Stanley who fell in love with his coworker the mysterious employee 432 ( @desk-of-employee432 ). They have a parable / post parable verse. There’s also a Bradley who started dating an alternate Jim. They too have a parable & post parable verse

Stanlise / Bradlise: While Bradlise is a crack ship, Stanlise stemmed from two polar opposites bonding and fulfilling needs. Stanleys usually get along well with Marlise ( @employee-210 ) and in some verses, they just grew a little closer to her. 

Why do you have so many Stanleys?

I have poor impulse control when it comes to creating new characters + sometimes with memes and plot twists/holes I end up making an alternate dimension. Like Stellan was a plot twist Stanley who just became his own character and spawned in his own alternates who are completely seperate from Stanley Sommers, who was the first Stanley of this blog. 

This __ doesnt make sense with this ___!

I have a problem of sometimes overlooking basic flaws and then when it gets pointed out, I quickly create a new idea to put over the first plot hole, which might create another plot hole and then I’m left with trying to stuff holes and make them all link together. 

Molly, remote!Stellan, and plain!Stanley are good examples of muses born out of closing plot holes. 

[the-haunted-office]

[the-haunted-office]

Cyrus: (watching the group of Stanleys through the monitors; he turns on the mic to address them) And what's the matter with you lot? You look like someone just died.

The Stanleys: (all look up at the ceiling with expressions of varying degrees of exasperation; their friend is missing and not around to show them any funny tricks or light things on fire anymore, so of course they're looking rather glum)

Cyrus: ...Right, yes, I suppose making any sort of comment in relation to death around here is rendered immediately moot by the fact that half the people around here are already dead to begin with. (he sighs) Fine, go about your funeral, then.

The Stanleys: (all shrug and go back to just... sitting there, waiting for something to do)

[the-haunted-office]

Oh god. I just realized. There are the Days. And there's the Stanley horde. Combined, they are probably causing all kinds of damage... >>;

[the-haunted-office]

The Stanleys

Age: All roughly between the ages of 35-40

Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them

Sexuality: Every last one of them is bisexual.

Species: Human. Aren't they?

Personality: They're all a little bit different, and you'll notice these differences the more time you spend with each one.

Physical Appearance: All look pretty much the same - average height, light skin, dark eyes (varying from lighter brown to black), dark hair (in varying shades of medium to dark brown, to black), and average weight and build. Most are just sort of your typical Guy™.

Abilities: Can follow directions fairly well. They are experts at pressing buttons. And incredible at playing Solitaire.

Office: From Offices all over the multiverse

About: They're... They're just a mixed bag of Guys™. They all have different backgrounds, and for the most part they're all fairly average. They appear that way, at least. To get to know more, you'll sort of just have to pick one and go with it and hope for the best - or worst, if that's what you're into. Hopefully he doesn't turn out to be a bad apple. But you just never know when they come packaged together with a group, do you?

There are currently 24 of these Stanleys, and because there are so many of them they have opted to go by their surname. You may choose to address them by their first name, but when referred to in text, it'll be by surname.

1.Stanley Anderson 2. Stanley Peterson 3. Stanley Wilson 4. Stanley Williams 5. Stanley Jones 6. Stanley Davis 7. Stanley Miller 8. Stanley Jackson 9. Stanley Moore 10. Stanley Thompson 11. Stanley Taylor 12. Stanley Smith 13. Stanley Martin 14. Stanley White 15. Stanley Brown 16. Stanley Green 17. Stanley Ford 18. Stanley Walker 19. Stanley Young 20. Stanley King 21. Stanley Hill 22. Stanley Harris 23. Stanley Baker 24. Stanley Stephens

BONUS!

One of the Stanleys has Nicholas Cage as a faceclaim. But which one is it? The only way to find out is by roleplaying with them!

[the-haunted-office]

Cyrus: (watching from the control booth) ...Doomsday, are you juggling flaming motorcycles?!

Doomsday: Pipe it down up there, old man! The Stanleys are loving it! Ahahahaha! (cackling while she indeed juggles three motorcycles that are on fire, with her booted feet)

The Stanleys: (just standing there watching, enraptured)

Cyrus: Ohhh, for heaven's sake! Move it to the roof, at least!

Doomsday: Ehehehehe, come on, boys! (she blows out the flames on the three motorcycles, the hops on one, and gestures for them to hop onto them with her, before speeding off through the office, up the stairs and up to the roof to continue her shenanigans up there)

Cyrus: ...I don't know how this building is still standing.