standwithward

[standwithward]

It's not that difficult to be not disgusting as aos

Just surfed net and watched two episodes of police procedural show:

1. One episode dealt with wannabe cult leader who used ideals of stoicism to brainwash children into stealing for him. Police characters goaded this guy into admitting that he himself never has been a soldier, never heroically evaded capture for 4 months in enemy territory as he told the kids and, most importantly, he said that nothing these kids say can be trusted because they are worthless, street rats.

Of course, police characters were wearing bugs and kids heard every word. Thus, the true nature of their “hero” and “mentor” was revealed and they gave confession necessary to arrest him.

One of the detectives said to kids that they read a good book, they followed the good principles but the guy who showed it to them was using it for his purpose, was using them for his purpose.

2. But the second episode is more relevant:

the guy in his late 20s, who was abused by his father (it was implied not stated), shot with a sniper rifle a doctor whose clinic performed aborts and was planning the second murder.

During the course of the investigation the detectives found out that 10 years ago this guy’s girlfriend got pregnant and decided to have an abortion. The guy was livid and after she left him eventually got mixed up with a cult that proclaimed themselves carriers of God’s will to “save unborn souls”.

The detectives stopped him right before he shot the second doctor. He tried to jump from the window because he failed the mission BUT THEY TRIED TO TALK HIM DOWN and then he lowered his guard they dragged him away to safety. Then they were putting him in handcuffs they said to him that IT WASN’T COMPLETELY HIS FAULT, that it was much more fault of the cult leader who prepared people and convinced them it was God’s mission and they were God’s soldiers. The detectives arrested the cult leader but they wondered how many people he brainwashed.

Make no mistake - the detectives didn’t have even an ounce of sympathy for the guy who committed these murders and showed none for him. They didn’t like him, they didn’t sympathize or emphasize with him, they weren’t impressed with his motive for murders (revenge for his unborn child), they were low-key disgusted with him because he shot the first victim right in front of his 5-year old daughter, they didn’t think even for a second that his (implied) troubled childhood and abusive harsh tyranic father were an excuse for what he did, they didn’t think that the cult leader’s influence excused everything he did

BUT

they didn’t ignore it either.

And they actually told him that part of the blame lies with the cult leader. And they didn’t let him commit suicide. They saved him. Not because they felt sorry for him. But because it’s their job. And so he would stand a trial for his crimes.

But they didn’t ignore his reason. They didn’t let the cult leader get away with his crimes.

Because being fair and just and, you know, “good guys” doesn’t require even having sympathy for “bad guys”.

It just requires knowing what justice means and actually act in accordance with that.

[standwithward]

@lola1b About your post concerning comparison between Wanda and Ward: Avengers didn’t kill Wanda’s parents. Even Tony Stark whom Maxinoff twins wanted revenge on DIDN’T kill their parents. They wanted Avengers dead because bomb which killed their parents was manufactured by Stark industries. Not to mention that Bruce Banner did absolutely nothing (like the rest of Avengers) to Wanda but SHE STILL MADE HIM HURT A LOT OF PEOPLE in that African city because she WANTED REVENGE. Wanda stopped and turned on Ultron NOT “the moment she met Avengers and saw she was wrong”. No, she stopped when she looked into Ultron’s mind and saw that he was going to destroy whole humanity. So, yes, she made a mistake. No, I don’t think she’s evil. I like her character. BUT Wanda and Ward are not comparable because Ward WAS BRAINWASHED. “Ward was adult… no matter how brainwashed he was as a teen” - REALLY? So you acknowledge that Ward was brainwashed as a teen - and how do you think he would have became unbrainwashed as an adult? Since he was brainwashed as a teen and then grew up? Probably magically snapped out of it? Because that’s totally how human brains work. Sure, that’s why there are so many psychologists, therapists. Sure, that’s why psychology and psychiatry exist. And your tag “Bucky was literally brainwashed” would have been beyond funny if it wasn’t worrying that you see and understand and acknowledge that Bucky was brainwashed ONLY BECAUSE it was shown to be done by machine in completely unrealistic way but you fail to understand that Ward was brainwashed as brainwashing is done in real world - as what happens with child soldiers all over the world, victims of cults and what happened to Patty Hearst. But you probably are like these people who sentenced her as a terrorist.

[standwithward]

Society portrays being a trauma survivor as this ‘beautifully’ tragic experience.

Society likes to talk about the survivors that overcame the bad, and came out kind. 

They like to talk about the childhood sexual abuse survivor who became a social worker to help children in their situation.

They like to talk about the rape survivor who now runs a campaign to help others in their situation.

They like to talk about the domestic abuse survivor who took an stand and found his voice. He now speaks out and spreads awareness for others in his situation. They like to talk about the emotional abuse survivor who found her strength and uses a public platform to empower others.

While these are all amazing things, they can leave survivors that are struggling with the messy parts feeling like they’re ‘wrong’ or ‘weak’ because they can’t handle it so gracefully.

Society likes to tell us that ‘everything happens for a reason.’ 

Excuse my language, but it’s bullshit.

I see you. I see the survivors that went through their trauma and didn’t come out kind, but came out mistrusting and hardened. They came out bitter.

I see the tears. And I don’t mean the ‘beautiful’ crying that you see shown, but the ugly ones. The heart wrenching sobs that take over your entire body and leave your eyes a bloodshot mess and snot coming out of your nose. I see the sobs that consume and can even leave you throwing up uncontrollably. 

I see the angry survivors. I see the screaming and the angry outbursts. I see broken glass. And then there’s the quiet anger. I see the bloodied knuckles, cuts and burns because someone has so much anger but internalizes it to not ‘disturb’ others.

I see you. I see all of you. And there is nothing wrong with you. Society tries to portray us all as these beautifully tragic individuals. No one wants to believe something so terrible could happen in our world. So they deal with it by saying ‘everything happens for a reason, just look at how it changes these people for the better.’

Rape is ugly. Abuse is ugly. Your healing does not have to be beautiful poetic. Don’t let society bring you down. You ARE strong. You survived. And don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed because you didn’t do it the way society thinks you should.

[standwithward]

About a week ago I posted this.

I’ve been getting horrible messages like this in my ask for months, including:

and my personal favorite

After getting the message saying “Just go kill yourself” I was completely done dealing with this person’s horrible messages and replied with just an “Okay.” and logged off tumblr.

About a week later I logged back on with 17 messages in my ask, most of them from the anon. I scrolled down and at first when I logged off, the anon messaged me things like

I scrolled up more and all of a sudden they started sending me more and more messages like

This was extremely surprising to me. I thought “After all those horrible messages you sent to me for MONTHS about hating me and wanting me dead, you say ‘sorry’ and that you ‘cant be responsible for someone’s suicide’?”

But I guess the lesson goes like this:

DONT TELL ANYONE TO KILL THEMSELVES UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED FOR WHAT MIGHT ACTUALLY HAPPEN

[standwithward]

Aka six months of St Coulson and team confirming an abuser's lessons to his victim and becoming 100% complicit in the continuation of a victim blaming society and culture that enables predators and manipulators like John Garrett.

Just like Ward!!!

JUST LIKE WARD!!!!!!!!

YES!!! JUST LIKE WARD, FITZ!! BUT YOULL BE FORGIVEN AND WARD WILL BE CONTINUALLY CONDEMNED!!!

DO YOU FINALLY SEE IT FITZ? DAISY? DO YOU SEE THAT GRANT WAS BRAINWASHED? THAT NO ONE IS INHERENTLY BAD BUT THAT EVIL IS CULTIVATED?!?!!! BECAUSE IF YOU CAN FORGIVE FITZ THEN YOU CAN GIVE WARD A SECOND CHANCE!!

OH WAIT! NO YOU CAN’T BECAUSE YOU KILLED HIM!!!

God this fucking show…..

[standwithward]

James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes was brainwashed by having his mind wiped over and over until he was ready to comply and do Hydra’s bidding for more than 70 years! Grant Douglas Ward was physically abused by his parents and his older brother and forced to abuse his younger brother until he reached his breaking point and burned down the house trying to kill one of his abusers in the process. Then he was kidnapped by a crazy person who,I don’t really even believe, chose hydra because he felt S.H.I.E.L.D. abandoned him, but he took a 15 year old who had been emotionally and physically abused his entire life and tried and brainwashed him into believing that he could help people and make the world safer and at the same time was also abusing him emotionally and physically. And not only that but Ward was never loyal to Hydra, he was loyal to Garett because he believed he owed Garett his life because he was brainwashed to believe Garett saved him. SO EXPLAIN TO ME WHY BUCKY BARNS GETS A SECOND CHANCE TO BE A HERO AND BE SAVED BUT WARD GETS LOCKED IN A BASEMENT AND TOLD HES A MONSTER BY THE FRIST PEOPLE WHO WERE EVER REALLY KIND AND FAMILY LIKE TO HIM I MEAN COME ON IF BUCKY BARNES GETS A SECOMD CHANCE THEN SO SHOULF WARD!!!!!!!! GRANT DOUGLAS WARD DESERVED BETTER AND I WILL DEFEND HIM UNTIL MY DYING BREATH

[standwithward]

I’m getting rather tired of fans who freshly discovered their love of Grant Ward but feel obligated to stress how much they still hate the original character, lest the fandom police descends on their heads or they go to hell, one assumes.

Bashing real Ward while squeeing over au Ward is still character bashing and it would be great if yall could keep that stuff out of the tag, thank you.

Also, please rewatch “Ragtag” in full before you keep waxing poetic about all those choices you think Ward had. (Hint: Garret made him believe he’d work for Shield not Hydra. He had no way of even knowing he made the wrong choice at the time. And after years of brainwashing… there was no such thing as choice any more, there was only loyalty to Garrett. But I bet yall would’ve been able to resist that because you’re just that much better, amirite? :/)

[standwithward]

[standwithward]

EMOTIONAL ABUSE

Lots of people talk about physical abuse, but what about emotional abuse? Emotional abuse AKA mental abuse, is when a person or people treat someone poorly enough to create the same psychological feelings as physical abuse. (Fear, depression, trauma…)

Some examples of emotional abuse are: ~ degrading comments/insults towards you ~ constantly pushing aside your opinion like it doesn’t matter ~ using sarcasm and jokes to put you down in harsh ways ~ belittling or crushing your accomplishments or goals ~ doing things to you that they would hate if you did to them ~ making excuses and never apologizing ~ putting the blame on you and making you feel like it’s your fault ~ abandoning//ignoring you in order to “punish” you ~ humiliating you in front of others ~ threatening you in order to get what they want

Examples of someone who has been emotionally abused: ~ constant apologizing ~ hiding their feelings in fear of upsetting you ~ breaking down during small disagreements because they’re scared it will get bigger ~ low self-esteem due to insults ~ needing lots of reassurance

PLEASE RECOGNIZE THESE AND STAY SAFE

[standwithward]

The thing is, if this arc had happened in the aftermath of S1, it would have been brilliant. But once all the victim blaming and prison torture / abuse of authority stuff happened in early S2, this became more than just John Garrett ruining Ward’s life. This became how society (in the guise of Team Coulson’s sanctimonious prickishness) victim-blamed an abuse/rape victim further and REFUSED to allow him to break free of his programming. This was Team Coulson validating and confirming every single isolation tool Garrett ever instilled in Ward to make him afraid of coming out to others and seeking help to break free of the abusive dynamics and change for the better (“Nobody will ever care about you except me”). This was Team Coulson making Ward’s future with them worse than Ward’s past with Garrett ever had, and isn’t that such an accomplishment, that society made staying with an abusive father figure preferable to getting mental help and trying to break the cycle of abuse, for a man who wanted, BEGGED, to be useful?

Why does society need scapegoats so badly that they’d rather enable and ratify abusers and predators rather than help victims? Do we need dragons to conquer and vanquish so much that we’d deny help to the dragons who never wanted to be dragons in the first place, purely so we can be the knights?

S4C did indeed address the role of John Garrett in Ward’s life, but given all that’s occurred in s2/3, it is no longer enough. There has been no commentary about how Team Coulson helped reinforce Garrett’s lessons to Ward. There has been no societal responsibility storyline about how victim blaming can prevent abuse victims from speaking out or believing they have a choice to change (especially when society won’t allow it). There has only been that “if Garrett never got a hold of Ward, he’d turn out good”, but no “if we [Team Coulson] didn’t refuse to help him when we were in a position of authority over him and therefore morally obligated to help him instead of abuse him just like if not more than Garrett ever did” storyline. Once again, AoS is trying to take the easy way out by scapegoating Garrett, who, while absolutely culpable in making Ward into a child soldier, was hardly solely responsible for the character-assassinated Ward that was created in S2/3 if Team Coulson didn’t make damn sure that Ward had no chance and no choice to escape the mental prison of Garrett’s making except by becoming the very monster Coulson’s team want him to be, so that they can vanquish him and feel better about themselves in the process. I mean, Garrett was dead at this point, and Team Coulson could have very well chosen to take this a step further and rehabilitate Ward so that Garrett won’t even have a legacy in Ward being his victim even in death (abuse dynamics don’t simply vanish just because the abuser died). But no, Team Coulson made sure that not only was Ward Christian’s victim and Garrett’s victim, but their victim too, and that has not once been ever touched upon or even hinted at.

Just like Ward’s 15 years of brainwashing doesn’t get wiped out in a matter of minutes and without a great deal of support and therapy, so too don’t the toxic messages being constantly drilled into viewers’ minds over the past three years simply vanish with a sop or a fan-baiting arc. The cure must be proportionate to the harm dealt. AoS MUST have their protagonists take responsibility for their own actions and stop scapegoating “The Others”, first by implying that “Ward was a bad seed so there’s no saving him anyway”, then by implying that “if only Garrett never came into Ward’s life, he’d be a good man no matter what”. No, AoS writers have to admit (and yes, you’ve never been subtle in the past when you brainwashed viewers with the toxic “good victim vs bad victim” schtick, so please don’t stop being subtle just for this one message that NEEDS to be shouted from the rooftop) that they’ve been wallowing in their protagonist-centered morality for way too long for this storyline to be simply resolved in a “it’s always somebody else’s fault but us” message that continues to leave Team Coulson sparkly clean with zero accountability.

So the writers and the cast tried to build ward into a hated monster in the show than no one would want back and some fans probably did like that he died quoting the show and after only 3 episodes of a different fake version of him most of them want him back like this. Yeah it was reaaaally difficult to write a redemption arc for him,it wasn't possible for him to be redeemed! Ps Did you see an article about fitz-ward and redemption for ward,it was quite good?

Well, Jed Whedon said that one time that they couldn’t write a redemption arc for Ward because he didn’t want to be redeemed. No seriously, he said that. Nonjokingly.

I did skim that article, it was mostly good except for some parts that made my eyes roll… something about how no one could have possibly seen before that Ward was redeemable or some bullshit like that. For heaven’s sake. That’s why this whole business still annoys me so: they are starting to realize only now that Ward was set on this path by Garrett (Did most people skip Ragtag?) and that there’s potential for good and evil in all of us (that’s basic psychology), but they still don’t see that a positive influence (in other words, the opposite of how the team treated him in the vault) could have brought him back. And that the good guys failed horribly.

That really bugs me. This total lack of understanding. Marvel canon is full of heroes who are redeemed criminals or antagonists who were given second chances and yet, people are even denying the parallels in Ward’s and Natasha’s stories. Vehemently. They don’t want to see them. It would threaten their worldview.

[standwithward]

Although I understand some of the antis on the matter you blame bad parenting for what you became etc I know it isn't that simple a beautiful sentence I heard in a show was 'deep down people want to be good,something makes them bad,makes them snap' and it is true very few are evil by nature,only psychopaths which is medical condition not a choice of life,both ward and fw fitz weren't evil,some people systematically made them bad,put poison in their heads when they were the most vulnerable +con

>Although I understand some of the antis on the matter you blame bad parenting for what you became etc I know it isn’t that simple

It isn’t that simple, and what is more, Ward’s case here goes way past “bad parenting”. Ward was strategically conditioned, in isolation, at a particularly vulnerable age, with the specific goal to turn him into a loyal killer. The antis have been very selective, always choosing to pretend Garrett’s influence wasn’t even a factor. (Much like the show’s writers did in season 2 and 3, but it’s no excuse if you fall for an obvious retcon.)

Those who tell themselves they would have been strong enough to resist that kind of targeted, long-term brainwashing are not being honest with themselves. And probably very young.

Plus, at the time Ward agreed to go with Garrett, he had no idea he was signing up for an evil organization. Because Garrett kept this little, rather crucial detail from him for the next five years.

Also something the antis prefer to have amnesia about.

+con Now is that an excuse for the people they hurt. No,they are entitled to loathe them forever but I believe there is a difference between bad people and people who do bad things. The second ones are the ones someone impartial must truly consider if they deserve a second chance. One of the team’s biggest mistake was to become ward’s warden. Those we have personal issues with someone cannot pass impartial judgement or treatment on him and their opinion shouldn’t be considered as the most valid.            

Absolutely. The show has to address this. Has to, if they truly hope to earn any trust and respect back. This is the elephant in the room now. And man, it is an ugly-ass elephant.

[standwithward]

Here’s the thing: we don’t owe the AOS writers gratitude for finally doing a decent thing after three years of retcons, character bashing, victim blaming, gaslighting and insulting fans. This was more like the absolute minimum they had to do if they wanted part of Ward fans back as watchers.

[standwithward]

The thing I am loving most about the Framework arc is how it shows very blatantly that no one is inherently good. Radcliffe says point blank that under the right circumstances, people are capable of anything and that concept is so clear when you look at most of our main characters and the people they became in the Framework.

Framework Skye is a Hydra agent who willingly works for people who imprison and experiment on Inhumans and is even called an asset by Framework Fitz. When she first gets to the Triskelion and sees those agents beating an Inhuman, she steps towards them as if to help, but Ward tells her they don’t need any help, “they” being the agents. Which means that Framework Skye is the kind of person who would have stepped in to help beat that defenseless Inhuman. 

Framework May is Hydra agent who throws herself into the cause to make up for her own guilt over the Cambridge incident. She is ruthless and makes it her job to break people and has no qualms about separating a man from his young daughter. She doesn’t even flinch when she orders agents to beat Daisy, who she sees as Framework Skye, a woman she worked with for many years.  

Framework Fitz is head Hydra and has become a cold, violent man under the guidance of his father. He sees Inhumans as something to be eradicated, not as people, but as a plague. He kills a woman in cold blood just to prove a point. 

Framework Coulson is a mild-mannered teacher who teaches lies to his students and doesn’t do anything when they are taken away by Hydra. He suspects that Hydra is lying but is ultimately content to live his life quietly. 

Framework Mack is an ordinary dad who tricks a stranger and allows her to be tortured in order to prevent his daughter from coming to any harm. 

Out of all the characters here, Framework Fitz is the most objectively bad. But everyone else still does bad things even if it’s just to protect themselves. And that is so much more important - that inaction does not equal innocence. That being complicit is also bad. 

Just because you don’t pull the trigger yourself doesn’t mean there’s no blood on your hands. 

But what this arc also shows us is that being good or being bad is not an absolute. Framework Coulson, May, and Mack all have changes of heart and eventually do the right thing, whether it’s saving a student, not personally killing the Patriot, or joining the Resistance. And that doesn’t excuse or wipe away their earlier actions, but it still matters. This is what matters - when you realize you’ve done something bad, something wrong, do you continue down that path or do you change course and try to be better?

Framework Ward is proof of this - he is still a double agent, he was still imprisoned for arson as a teenager, but he also made conscious decisions to do good, to do the right thing moving forward. 

Being good or bad is not a fixed state of being, it’s not a checklist of attributes that you have to meet. It’s a spectrum, and every single day, the choices you make pull you in each direction. 

You do not become a good person when you do one good thing. You do not become a bad person when you do one bad thing. You become a bad person when you stop trying to be good. 

[standwithward]

One person in your life, one decision, one sentence has the power to change you forever.

That’s not a weakness, is it? 

This is it. This is that one sentence, that one word that changes the entire course of Grant Ward’s life. Weakness. 

This is the person a man becomes when he spends his formative years hearing that love is weakness, when he is recruited into a line of work where weakness means death, when he grows up treated as a weapon whose purpose is to be used, when he doesn’t meet people who truly care about him until it’s too late. 

John Garrett was the one who taught Ward that love is weakness, but Phil Coulson and the rest of the team are the ones who reinforced that. Because despite everything he had been told, Ward did develop genuine feelings for his team. But they couldn’t forgive him, they couldn’t see his pain through their own, so they imprisoned him and used him and sent him to his brother, another man who hurt him. And in doing so, they proved Garrett’s point. That nothing good ever comes out of love, that it only causes pain, that it is a weakness.

Yes, Ward hurt people, yes, he hurt others because he was hurt. And no, it may not have been the sole responsibility of the people he hurt to try to help him. But the fact that they turned their back on him when he needed it the most did, without a doubt, have an impact on the man he ultimately became. 

The way we treat others matters. The way we treat others is important. How can you learn to be good if you only know cruelty? How can you learn to be good if no one shows you the way? 

This is basic human decency. This is basic empathy. 

If you have the power to change someone’s life for the better, if you have the choice between helping someone and hurting them even more, and you choose to hurt them, then what happens to that person is on you. If you have the opportunity to make someone’s life better by being a positive influence, and you not only refuse, but you actually choose to make that person’s life worse, then you are no better. 

You don’t get to turn your back on someone and then get angry when they turn into someone you don’t like. You don’t get to abandon someone because you think they’re beyond saving, and then be surprised when they couldn’t save themselves. 

You tied weights to a man and threw him in the water. You watched him go under and did nothing to help. 

And then you wondered why he drowned.

[standwithward]

Why Grant Ward DOESN'T meet diagnostic criteria of Antisocial Personality Disorder (aka sociopath).

I’ve heard there’s some arguable and incorrect diagnosing going on regarding Grant Ward (Agents of SHIELD). Since I profile people in my professional hours, I took a peek in DSM V and had a good laugh to say the least. Let’s take a look into DSM V criteria for antisocial personality disorder in order to correct false misconceptions. I would like to say that diagnostic process is something that should not be done lightly, unprofessionally and with bad intentions, such as painting a group of fans of some fictional character in a bad light. 

The diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder as presented in DSM V can be found here.

The essential features of a personality disorder are impairments in personality (self and interpersonal) functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits.

To reach a proper diagnosis you need to know where some behavior pattern comes from. All of Ward’s maladjusted or illegal behavior stems from 31 year long abuse. That disqualifies all and any of his problems as a personality disorder (which is something any diagnosing practitioner will tell you). All of his problems would probably be better described as a form of post traumatic stress and Stockholm syndrome.

Any personality disorder is an integral part of one’s personality and it can’t be changed, while we’ve seen that, when treated with care and kindness, Ward doesn’t display maladjusted personality traits (all of his behavior from Pilot up to 1.17 “Turn, turn, turn”). Furthermore, he shows desire to help people he has hurt through his actions and correct his wrongdoings without asking for any personal gain or even forgiveness. 

From diagnostic criteria: 

To diagnose antisocial personality disorder, the following criteria must be met: A. Significant impairments in personality functioning manifest by: 1. Impairments in self functioning (a or b): a.Identity: Ego-centrism; self-esteem derived from personal gain, power, or pleasure. b.Self-direction: Goal-setting based on personal gratification; absence of prosocial internal standards associated with failure to conform to lawful or culturally normative ethical behavior.

a. Identity:  Ward doesn’t display ego centrism (in fact he puts wellbeing of others ahead of his own, in fact his significant personality trait is self sacrifice. Examples: he jumps out of the plane after Jemma Simmons without even having the parachute on properly, to inject her with a medicine he isn’t sure will work,l and therefore risks a fatak infection to hismelf; he acts as a human shield to team members on multiple occasions) 

His self esteem isn’t derived from personal gain, power or pleasure. His self esteem is gained by successfully following and completing a mission, or from protecting others. 

b. Self direction: Ward’s goal setting isn’t based on personal gratification, he doesn’t display absence of pro social standards (as we have seen him help various people numerous times, and, which is especially significant, when given choice, he prefers incapacitating enemies rather than taking their lives, in fact, he attempts to save a hostile in 2.02 “0-8-4” from falling off a plane, but doesn’t succeed (not by his own choice). 

absence of prosocial internal  standards associated with failure to conform to  lawful or culturally normative ethical behavior.

We have already established that Ward displays acts that evidence his awareness of pro social standards. Considering that he does engage in behavior that doesn’t conform to lawful and/or ethical norms, it’s important to state the following: Grant Ward was taught and trained as a  soldier (or an agent and a spy, if you want). What he does (killing) he does as a soldier/agent (both of hydra and shield). So, if you consider his actions he commits as a soldier/agent as meeting this diagnostic criteria, then you have to apply this diagnostic criteria to every soldier, agent or a service person who commits what usually would be considered unlawful/unethical behavior. Meaning, every soldier, then, would meet diagnostic criteria for APD. Which would be a rather scary notion. Also, you can’t apply these to enemy soldiers/agents but not on the side you favor. Diagnostics don’t work that way. It’s either all of them, or none.  

AND 2. Impairments in interpersonal functioning (a or b):

a.Empathy: Lack of concern for feelings, needs, or suffering of others; lack of remorse after hurting or mistreating another. b.Intimacy: Incapacity for mutually intimate relationships, as exploitation is a primary means of relating to others, including by deceit and coercion; use of dominance or intimidation to control others.

a. empathy - Ward shows significant concern for well being of others. In fact, his loyalty to John Garrett, as misguided as it is (and important to note, shaped by 15 years of indoctrination, abuse, emotional blackmail and manipulation), is founded in concern for Garrett’s well being. Ward’s goal is to find cure for Garrett’s medical condition. We see him show considerable concern when Garrett isn’t feeling well, but we’ve also seen him show concern for other characters, most notably Skye when she was shot. We have also seen him show remorse and guilt over his bad actions, we’ve seen him also actively trying to help people he knows he had harmed. (episodes 1 and 3 of season 2)

b. intimacy - we have seen Ward at least try to form a mutually intimate relationship with Skye, as best as his current circumstances would allow him (he was an agent of opposing side. That’s a considerable roadblock). His primary means and intention was relating to her and maintaining a relationship with her. As confirmed by Ward as a character on screen, and the writing/producing team off screen, Ward’s feelings for Skye are genuine and honest. Ward is capable of maintaining intimacy, but because of his job and mission, he wasn’t able to maintain the desired relationship. While attempting to maintain it he didn’t use intimidation or coercion.

In case of his sexual relationship with May; it’s primary goal wasn’t intimacy, but sexual release, it was supposed to be a no strings attached relationship as dictated by agent May, who has, on several occasions, requested to keep said arrangement between them non personal. Agent May wasn’t coerced or tricked into sleeping with him, because she had initiated and also ended their relationship on her own terms, and in the entire duration of their relationship, she had more power and control, as stated several times by her on screen. In other words, Ward didn’t seduce her, as it’s obvious in the ending scene of 1.08. Furthermore, said sexual relationship happened only after they both went through the same kind of traumatic experience and it can be guessed that both needed comfort after said experience. Prior to that, we didn’t witness any attempts of seducing Agent May on Ward’s part. 

Ward didn’t display intimidation or dominance in his relationships with Skye or Agent May. In fact, it’s specifically stated that Agent May was the dominant partner in their relationship. In “Nothing personal” we did not see Ward intimidate Skye, but we did see Skye hitting him and him not defending himself. In the season 1 finale we have seen Ward pointing a gun at Skye’s safety vest, while his intention to shoot her was arguable (it’s considerably hard to commit a direct hit while holding a weapon sideways, in addition, we have seen Ward properly using firearms on numerous occasions and displaying drastically different handling of firearms in those occasions). We did not see Ward threaten Skye with physical harm or sexual violence, as it’s often argued  (“I’ll take something I want” refers to Ward’s conversation with Raina that took place in the same episode, which was clearly shown on screen. Additionally, the alleged rape threat was never even mentioned, least confirmed by producers or writers of the show.) 

(We did see Skye take part in the attempt of capturing him, which ended in a physical fight between him and agent May who applied torture method on him (using a nail gun on his foot - nailing of one’s extremities is a well known torture method of Ancient Rome, used at crucifixion). So while it’s not relevant to Ward’s diagnosis, it’s interesting to note that coercion and physical force/harm are committed against Ward on regular basis, from the episode “Providence” onward.  )

So far we haven’t found significant impairments in Ward’s personality functioning, neither A or B; or impairments in his interpersonal functioning (A or B). To meed the diagnostic criteria of APD, one of the criteria (A or B) has to be met in the area of personal AND interpersonal functioning. Considering that none of these criteria are met so far, the potential diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder can already be disqualified. 

We can though take a look into remaining diagnostic criteria: 

B. Pathological personality traits in the following domains: 1. Antagonism, characterized by: a.Manipulativeness: Frequent use of subterfuge to influence or control others; use of seduction, charm, glibness, or ingratiation to achieve one„s ends. b.Deceitfulness: Dishonesty and fraudulence; misrepresentation of self; embellishment or fabrication when relating events. c. Callousness: Lack of concern for feelings or problems of others; lack of guilt or remorse about the negative or harmful effects of one„s actions on others; aggression; sadism. d. Hostility: Persistent or frequent angry feelings; anger or irritability in response to minor slights and insults; mean, nasty, or vengeful behavior.

While one could argue that Ward meets points A and B among these criteria, one also should note that said behavior is displayed only in terms of his job/tasks/mission (as already mentioned and discussed above); and is not a consistent personality trait. Furthermore we have already stated that Ward displays concern for others, shows guilt and remorse, and we can further assert that he doesn’t display traits like sadism (in those several occasions where he had to commit killings, he is seen doing it in the quickest possible way. Sadism would imply torture of a victim, which is something Ward did not commit. We did however see Ward being mistreated and tortured by several characters, regardless of their motivations which are human but not justifiable (hurt by a nail gun, imprisoned in inhuman conditions, exposed to asphyxiation). 

2. Disinhibition, characterized by: a. Irresponsibility: Disregard for – and failure to honor – financial and other obligations or commitments; lack of respect for – and lack of follow through on – agreements and promises. b. Impulsivity: Acting on the spur of the moment in response to immediate stimuli; acting on a momentary basis without a plan or consideration of outcomes; difficulty establishing and following plans. c.Risk taking: Engagement in dangerous, risky, and potentially self-damaging activities, unnecessarily and without regard for consequences; boredom proneness and thoughtless initiation of activities to 

counter boredom; lack of concern for one„s limitations and denial of the reality of personal danger

We can state that Grant Ward generally doesn’t display disinhibition, in fact his actions and behavior is on many occasions inhibited. He doesn’t display irresponsibility (which we can judge by his approach to his job which he does very responsibly, no matter for whom he works. Also, we have seen him giving the team valuable info on Hydra through season two, with no personal gain for him; so despite not getting better treatment, he still does his job - providing information - rather responsibly). Also, Grant Ward doesn’t act on impulse - he plans, prepares and carefully assess risks, in fact his specialty is risk assessment. An individual with impulsive character trait would not be able to do said job. Also, he does not engage in dangerous, risky or self damaging activities in order to provide himself with personal gratification/alleviate boredom; if he commits risky actions, it’s due to the mission at hand (example: jumping out of the plane without properly securing a parachute in order to save team mate’s life). 

C. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s personality trait expression are relatively stable across time and consistent across situations.

Ward’s bad actions are due to his abuse and the job he is tasked to do, and are not stable across situations (aka - he does not act in aggressive manner when on downtime with the team, but only in appropriate situations - fights on missions) 

 D. the impairments in personality functioning and individual’s trait expression are not better understood as normative for the individual’s development stage or socio - cultural environment 

Ward’s impairments in functioning (lying, pretending, killing) can be completely understood in terms of his socio - cultural environment, aka his job - he is a special agent trained as a soldier and his behaviors are dictated by those roles. 

E. The impairments in personality functioning and the individual‟s personality trait expression are not solely due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, medication) or a general medical condition (e.g., severe head trauma).

They are not, but we explained under D. that they’re due to his socio cultural environment, aka his job. 

F. The individual is at least age 18 years.

Yes, and older than 18, however, considering that he doesn’t meet a single diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality disorder; this criteria is irrelevant. 

Long story short, Stand With Ward does not support a person who fits the diagnostic criteria of antisocial personality disorder, aka of a sociopath. 

Post Scriptum: there is a character in season 1 who does meet the diagnostic criteria of this disorder: John Garrett. 

[standwithward]

And I still like the original Ward, too

So they are telling me that Victoria Hand, the woman who sent agents to missions and lied to them about extractions, the woman who was ready to kill five or her own people to get to Coulson, the woman who wanted to kill a bounded prisoner, is a good model for a damaged teenager? She is better than Garret, I admit that, at least she didn’t left a 15 kid alone in the woods (I hope) and she isn’t a murderer. But the indifference Hand showed towards her own people’s lives for me looked like borderline psychopathic. Sorry, unless Coulson’s team and aos’ writers I have memory.

But (probably against the writer’s intentions) this Hand-as-Ward’s-mentor story shows that Ward’s nature is really good. Contrary to the natural born evil the writers wanted us to believe he was, his inner soul had to be very good. Because:

-       With a raging psycho as mentor, Ward was still able to maintain his humanity enough to: love the guy who left him alone in the woods for five years; love his teammates and fall in love with Skye and (maybe) Kara; minimize casualties whenever he could; don’t harm civilians; try to make amends to the people he hurt; and try to give Kara (who has been abandoned to torture, brainwashing and death by wonderful, compassionate Shield) the help none gave him. He didn’t retaliate against anything the oh so righteous Shield people did to him, including trying to kill him three times. He only went crazy with grief and revenge when they killed Kara (the only person in his 32 years of life that treated him like a human) using his own hands.

-       With a woman who was cold and hard as nails but decent enough as mentor, he became a freaking hero. The one he could have become out of the fw in the “main” world if Coulson et al had brains and basic humanity enough to fill a nut.

Of course, Team Coulson, the writers and the haters won’t admit it, never. But giving that I don’t give a sh*t for what they think and always liked Ward and thought that his demonization was BS,, I’m satisfied.

Do someone know if the network had forced the writers to do this story? Because it is unlike them and everything they have done until now. I wonder.

As always, just an opinion. Have a wonderful day!

[standwithward]

WHO WATCHED THE AOS SNEAK PEEK!?!?

***SPOILER ALERT*** I TOLD YOU GUYS!!! I knew it!!! Ward’s whole life trajectory was changed because it wasn’t Garrett that came to see him, but VICTORIA FUCKING HAND IN ALL HER BAMF GLORY TOLD HIM HE COULD BE GOOD!!

And Grant Ward, Grant mr-always-the-victim-never-sorry-for-his-mistakes-in-the-real-world Ward CHOSE TO BE GOOD!

HE CHOOSE THE RIGHT THING

HE FUCKING CHOSE IT AND IM SO HAPPY

You guys want to ship Skyeward? THIS IS THE FUCKING SKYEWARD YOU CAN SHIP OKAY!! GO FORTH AND BE HAPPY MY GOOD FRIENDS!!

It’s a wonderful day 😊😊😊😊😊😊😍😍😍😍😍😍😍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Bless you AOS writers ❤️