Ok I spiraled in thoughts again.
So I was thinking about the Tenrou arc and how some characters physical injuries didn't make sense for how they were injured (Like Gajeel having more visible injuries than Mira despite her getting blown up) and I got to Makarov Vs Hades and started thinking.
Both Precht and Warrod were Yuri's close friends so it's likely they were both named as uncles or godparents to Makarov and I started looking into it because I remembered that Makarov's mum died only seconds after he was born but I couldn't remember when Yuri died and well. Makarov would have been 3 to 4 depending if Yuri died before or after March.
Meaning that either Makarov was raised by Fairy tail itself or Warrod or Precht stepped in to raise him. The second seems most likely as Warrod shows he has compassion for his friends and I doubt he'd ignore one of his best friend's son who is now without both of his parents and Makarov and Precht show at least enough of a relationship to make me think that they were close when he was younger, similar to how Laxus was originally close with Makarov.
Which would lead into how being faced with the reality that someone you likely saw as a second parent. Someone who likely helped raise you has become the leader of a dark guild after already having to banish your son and then your grandson had to hurt a lot.
I may have my gripes with how Makarov handled Laxus after Ivan was banished because it's at least implied that Makarov did very little but to scold Laxus with little other repercussions for his actions (Which while Laxus is at fault for his own choices, enabling his bad behaviour wouldn't have taught him a lesson and likely only made him angrier if he thought Makarov didn't care which he kinda did since he mentioned how Makarov should just banish him as well after Ivan was banished) but that would have to hurt a lot and I'm surprised at how little it's touched upon.
Like that would be a great moment to focus on some Makarov character and how that might impact him knowing that two of the people he cared for turning down a cruel path and the third almost joining them only to have the sense literally beaten into him by other people.
I want to know more about what happened in the Dreyar family. Because I do not believe Ivan was born bad. Despite every trait in him trying to convince me that he was always going to be evil because he is the odd one out and everything else under the sun. I can't.
I can see Ivan's behaviour stemming from him feeling neglected as a child. Perhaps Makarov had just recently become guild master and was spending more time focusing on that than on Ivan and we never see Makarov's partner so it's plausible that she isn't around to care for him. It would explain why he hates Fairy tail so much. While Jose was taught that by his dad, Ivan despised the guild because he saw it as the thing that took his father's attention from him which could result in his anger which is then translated onto Laxus. Whether Ivan taught Laxus to hate Makarov and Fairy tail or that was just something Laxus picked up on, it's clear that he didn't see Laxus as a person but more a means to an end. He forces a dragon lacrima into him at a young age which could have killed him if he wasn't so lucky (possibly having an inclination to lightning magic) and how he tries to manipulate Laxus into giving him information on Lumen histoire.
Like Makarov thinking back on how he has handled his own family whether due to his focus shifting unintentionally or something else would be such a powerful moment and more insight into Ivan and possibly Laxus as well as Makarov and would show some flaws.
Because I doubt it would be easy to manage an entire guild and care for a child on your own, never mind a guild as destructive as Fairy tail. It's a lot of responsibility and if he just got given the position recently, of course he'd be focused on his job while he adjusts to the situation.
It also gives Ivan some background to his actions instead of just 'another generic evil dad' because despite how much Ivan gets built up in both Battle of Fairy tail and Grand magic games, they barely do anything with him.
I do like his fight in the games but it just doesn't feel like what was built up to.
I personally would have liked to have more focus on Ivan for a whole arc or have him do more in the games. Have him find out Gajeel was a double agent and want revenge. Go after more members of the guild to antagonise Makarov. Try to use Gajeel or Laxus against Fairy tail in more ways than just information. Force Gajeel to deliberately botch an event in the games to prove loyalty to Ivan or have him risk getting hurt. Have his guild members do more than just mildly inconvenience the FT members. Flare did the most intense stuff with threatening a child and trying to burn the RT symbol onto Lucy and Minerva still upstaged her in brutality. Have the other members get brutal with FT. Instead of winning Chariot, have them attack Natsu and Gajeel because their vulnerable and could make for easy prey to piss off Makarov. (Plus possible parallels to when Gajeel was in Phantom and attacked Levy) Have RT target more members during the night to where they feel unsafe. And then finally, after 3 days of this, Laxus finally sees what his father is truly like in their fight and goes off for all the harm Ivan caused. That would be so much fun to watch and tense. RT just feels like a second fiddle to the Dragon king festival and Sabertooth even though they are the main antagonist in the first three days then Sabertooth picks up that mantle when Minerva beats on Lucy.
I know I went off on a rant about Ivan in a post about Makarov but I sometimes can't help but being up other Dreyar family members in posts about each other. Especially when they are so connected to one another.
