I'm going to try very hard not to respond too forcefully here. But, should I fail, let it be known that I hold no ill will to the mod (Mako most likely) who has to deal with me. Either way, giving it my best shot here...
Gym Leader DevilWell, you shouldn't - since the point I was making is that Barret is still Marlene's father, and therefore Marlene would still consider Barret part of her family.
No, you are misrepresenting ME now. I clearly said Marlene is still Barret's kid. Marlene would still consider him HER family. She would NOT automatically consider him CLOUD or TIFA'S family.
She can have two families, as I said before.
Does that mean your daughter doesn't consider you her father? You're actually talking about a completely different situation, since no divorce has taken place here. Barret is just leaving Marlene with Tifa and Cloud while he's gone for awhile. Tifa took care of Marlene for Barret while they were in Midgar, too.
Okay, except you are talking about a completely different situation. Marlene still calls Barret "Daddy" in ACC. She doesn't call Cloud "Daddy", does she?
You also forget that Marlene invites Cloud into the family:
I am not talking about a COMPLETELY different situation at all. Different yes, but comparable despite the differences. And so you know, there was no divorce in my situation either, you assume as much based on no evidence. As usual. And my kid does consider me her father. She considers her step-father her father as well.
My kid calls me Daddy, and her step-dad is "Daddy-(insert name)". But I am not HIS family, not her mother's exactly, nor her brother's. Of the people in that household, she is the only one who is my family. Similarly, Cloud is like unto a step-dad in nature. He doesn't get the actual title of "Dad" or "Daddy." And, read this bit carefully now ok?:
That is not even remotely uncommon in situations where a child has both a father and a step-father.
Marlene says she'll put Cloud in OUR family. Therefore, Marlene sees a family existing before Cloud is part of it. What family would Marlene be talking about?
Since she was talking about something that was being brought up AS SHE SAID IT, I would presume she is talking about the people who would actually be living there. That is, Cloud, Tifa, and herself. I can see you crying foul, claiming that that isn't right because it includes Cloud before she "adds him" to the family. I'll get to that in just a moment.
Marlene and Tifa? or Marlene, Barret, and Tifa? I think Marlene, Barret, and Tifa is much more likely, since Marlene wouldn't exclude Barret.
No, Barret would exclude
himself. Which he did. By leaving on a journey and leaving his daughter with Cloud and Tifa. His hands aren't any cleaner than Dyne's/he needs to atone/someone's gotta go into those monster dens, etc etc.
Does Barret leaving mean he's not part of the family? My brother lives in his own house in a different city and state, but I still consider him part of my family.
And you tell ME that my relationship with my daughter and her family is completely different? Take a look in the mirror, your standards are shifting again.
He is still Marlene's family. He is not part of Cloud and Tifa's family. Despite being a friend who has been LIKE family, he is not an actual family member in their nuclear family unit. THERE is the difference between his situation and your brother's. Your brother is a part of your nuclear family, no matter where he goes and what he does. It is not the same for Barret, the only person in THIS PARTICULAR FAMILY he has such a relationship with is Marlene.
For one thing, Marlene calls Barret "Daddy" in ACC. She still calls Cloud "Cloud" and Tifa "Tifa".
I touched on this above, but now that Tifa's been added into the mix I should point out that she was not always a part of Tifa's family. She was a co-worker/friend's kid when they met, and at that time Tifa introduced herself by name. It is, again, not uncommon for a kid to continue calling someone by their first name if they are not said child's BIRTH or LIFELONG PARENT. Some kids do switch to "mom" or "dad" but some do not. YOU ARE PROVING NOTHING WITH THIS.
For another, Marlene invites Cloud into "OUR family" - which means a family exists before Cloud is part of it. Barret is most likely a member of "OUR family", since I doubt the family is just Marlene and Tifa.
You never stopped to consider anything other than how to make this fit your interpretation did it? If you DID consider anything else, it was in the mental state of "Potential attacks on my argument" as opposed to "alternate possibilities, am I wrong about this?" I am sure.
Considering Marlene has been able to tend bar since she was (could be wrong here, but I wanna say) 4, lived in the slums for a fair bit (with Edge being a step up, but still a rough place at times), and had freakin' Barret raising her up till CoT (discounting a brief time spent with Elmyra), is it any wonder that she might possibly just be TEASING CLOUD, and in fact he was a part of said family in her mind all along?! Forgive the run on sentence there, but seriously?
For another, Barret leaving doesn't mean he's no longer part of the family.
It means he ain't there. Which in turn means someone else is raising his kid. Put that together with the fact that he's never been included in the family in any quote, ever, as demonstrated above. Said quotes DO instead refer exclusively to Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel. By name, mind you. It is neither vague nor difficult to grasp in any other way, unless you just don't WANT to grasp it. You do not have a leg to stand on here, seriously you should quit. Not while you're ahead, since you're NOT, but before you embarrass yourself further. Like Tres before me, I am ALREADY embarrassed for you.
For another, Tifa took care of Marlene for Barret while they were in the Seventh Heaven in Midgar. Tifa also cooked for them all - sorta like they were friends as close as family. Reminds me of the word "nakama".
You're gonna need a Gomu Gomu no Mi if you're gonna be stretching for something, ANYTHING to support yourself this hard. Yes, Tifa took care of Marlene at least part of the time. And at least part of the time they LEFT THE KID ALONE TO RUN THE FUCKING BAR. And yes, Tifa did cook for everyone at least part of the time, we know this from the comments made by the Fatty McFatass of AVALANCHE's NPC squad. And that is no shock, since she runs a bar she must have some domestic skills. I infer from the fact that the 7th Heaven in Edge serves both food and drinks that the second establishment by that name probably does too. Ergo, cooking = necessary job skill. Now, tell me this...
how in the nine hells does her relationship to Marlene and AVALANCHE, be it NAKAMA or NOT, have any bearing on whether Barret is part of the family that is referenced only as Tifa/Cloud/Marlene/Denzel?!
Oh, it does not. Nevermind, I figured that out myself.
Anyway, enough of this. I am going to just respond to what was addressed to me and stop there. It seems for the best to me