History Main / FamilyOfChoice

* Vox Machina, the main party of ''WebVideo/CriticalRole''. Aside from Tiberius and Pike, everyone in the party has lost someone in their immediate family. Keyleth, Vex, Vax, and Scanlan all have {{Missing Mom}}s, Grog was exiled from his goliath tribe, and Percy's entire family [[spoiler:with the exception of his sister]] is dead. But they do have a family, because they have Vox Machina -- and Vax says as much, many times.

* As shown in ''Fanfic/PeterParkerNeedsAHug'', the Bat-Family is made up of people who either lost their families, or lived through such traumatic circumstances that they left their biological families. As such (at least in [[WebComic/BatmanWayneFamilyAdventures this version]], the Bat vigilantes are a close-knit group that treat each other as siblings, with Batman often acting as the father-figure and mentor. When Spider-Man eventually gets his identity found out by Batman, he becomes the family's newest member.

* ''Fanfic/HarryTano'': The story starts with Ahsoka rescuing a four-year-old Harry from the Dursley house, and taking him in as her son/Padawan (even getting the blessing to do so from [[spoiler: Lily's ghost]]. Later, Sirius, Remus, the Weaselys, the Grangers, the Tonkses, and others are included into their found family. The adults all do everything they can to help raise each other's kids along with their own; Ahsoka even takes Hermione on as a second Padawan. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Tonks, and all of the Weasely children have already become as close as siblings before they're even accepted into Hogwarts. Much like in canon, all of the adults listed above make it [[MamaBear very clear that you]] [[PapaWolf don't want to mess with their kids]]. The Dursleys, for example, know this.

* ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' paints [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica the titular superhero team]] as such, with even WordOfGod describing "family" as the film's CentralTheme. Each member is [[HurtingHero hurt]], [[BreakTheBadass broken]], or otherwise feels lost in the world, either because their powers make them feel like like outcasts among the rest of humanity or simply went through innumerable tragedies and hardships that left them feeling like they had to close themselves off from others to not get hurt again. By forming the Justice League and overcoming struggles together, everyone finds a kindred spirit in one another and they know now that they're not alone.

** Aminata's Nomi's main support, seeing as how she doesn't get along well with her transphobic parents, her sister being the only one to accept her initially as a woman, [[spoiler:though her dad eventually comes around too. They cement this by getting married.]]

** The Rogues are a considerably more successful villainous version of this, albeit only so much in the 'family' aspect than the 'villain' aspect. With Leonard Snart/Captain Cold being something of the big brother who keeps them all under control, the Rogues have gone back and fourth between being serious criminals to retiring and enjoying a friendly relationship with the Flash (particularly Wally West), but no matter what, they're almost always presented as a band of brothers ([[TheDarkChick plus Golden Glider]]) who will stick together no matter what. They even extend this to Pied Piper, Hartley Rathaway, despite him having been the only one to ''stick'' to the 'retiring from villainy' thing and being best friends with Wally West, but is still gladly accepted back by them any time he needs them.

* In ''Fanfic/CustodyBattle'', a My Hero Academia fanfiction, sometimes family is a young boy who wants to become a hero, his supervillain father, his time-traveling uncle, and his mentor who hates his dad.

* As shown in ''Fanfic/PeterParkerNeedsAHug'', the Bat family is made up of people who either lost their families, or lived through such traumatic circumstances that they left their biological families. As such (at least in [[WebComic/BatmanWayneFamilyAdventures this version]], the Bat vigilates are a close-knit group that treat each other as siblings, with Batman often acting as the father-figure and mentor. When Spider-Man eventually gets his identity found out by Batman, he becomes the family's newest member.

CriminalFoundFamily and FoundFamilyViaWork are subtropes.

* VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet has [[spoiler:Arven, who makes it extremely clear that he is on bad terms with his mother/father (depending on version) and doesn't have any real care for his bad family life as a child. For his Mabosstiff, on the other hand, he would travel the world searching for a cure to his injuries or die trying. Mabosstiff means everything to him, and he happily reminisces several times about how much their relationship means to him; you'd almost think he was talking about Mabosstiff like a close sibling.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': The Planeteers' bonds with one another [[LikeBrotherAndSister strongly resemble those between siblings]] (with the sole exception of [[ShipTease Wheeler and Linka's]]); Gaia acts as their TeamMom; and Captain Planet is a mix of TeamDad, CoolUncle and CoolBigBro. The Captain lampshades it in "No Place Like Home", while the team is group-hugging Gaia, who had gone missing after leaving Hope Island to help a family of animals.
-->'''Captain Planet:''' Uh... family reunion. ''(soft chuckle)'' Sort of.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fire Emblem Fates}}'': Side character Mozu notes in many of her support conversations that her entire village was this for her. After [[DoomedHometown their deaths]] in her paralogue, the protagonist ensourages her to see them and their army as her new Family of Choice, which she happily does.

* VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet has [[spoiler:Arven, who makes it extremely clear that he is on bad terms with his mother/father (depending on version) and doesn't have any real care for his bad family life as a child... his Mabosstiff on the other hand he would travel the world searching for a cure to his injuries or die trying. Mabosstiff means everything to him, and he happily reminisces several times about how much their relationship means to him that you'd almost think he was talking about Mabosstiff like a close sibling.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Team Avatar. Sokka and Katara adopt Aang as part of their family in Season 1, Toph joins in Season 2, and Zuko and Suki in Season 3. Fairly unsurprising, given they all had to fend for themselves from a young age: Aang is the LastOfHisKind; Sokka and Katara's mother, Kya, [[MissingMom was killed when they were children]], and their father, Hakoda, [[DisappearedDad has been away at war for years]]; Toph ran away from her [[{{OverprotectiveDad}} controlling parents]]; Suki's [[{{AmbiguouslyAbsentParent}} parents]] are never even mentioned, and she's separated from her fellow warriors; and Zuko suffered a childhood of abuse and indoctrination from his [[{{AbusiveParents}} father]] and sister. They do get some support from biological guardians - notably Zuko's Uncle Iroh, and, on occasion, Hakoda - but much of the time, they only have each other to depend on.

* In the ''[[Series/Merlin2008 Merlin]]'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6351946/1/The-Sorcerer-s-Bride The Sorcerer's Bride]]", even after Morgana learns that Morgause is her half-sister, she explicitly rejects Morgause as twisted and insane in favour of her established bond with Gwen, to the extent that she declares that she would abandon Morgause as a sister in favour of Gwen if it was possible (although Morgana does concede that ''anyone'' would be a better sister than Morgause).

* ''Series/DarkMatter'': One of the biggest draws of the series is that the crew of the ''Raza'' have become this over time, despite being a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits misfit]] bunch of total amnesiacs with [[YouAreNumberSix numbers for names]], half of whom used to be hardened mercenaries. "We're a family" is most often said outright by Five, the TeenGenius MysteriousWaif girl who is EveryonesBabySister (or surrogate daughter figure, in Six's case), and her presence is one of the things binding them together beyond their shared experience of waking up from stasis on the ship with no memories. Two, the captain, frequently emphasizes to her crew that they need to trust and rely on each other, and by Season 3 even Three, the initial {{Jerkass}}, is saying things like, "We're the crew of the ''Raza'', we carry each other." Some of their cutest scenes are at mealtimes.

* In Kaye Gibbons' novel ''Literature/Ellen Foster,'' eleven-year-old Ellen is bounced around from one cruel relative to another after her loving mother dies and her abusive father is incarcerated. She eventually chooses a "new mama," a neighborhood woman who runs a foster home.
* Gilly Hopkins of Katherine Patterson's ''Literature/The Great Gilly Hopkins'' somewhat reluctantly forms one of these with the members of her foster home--Mom Mamie Trotter, little brother William Ernest, and neighbor Mr. Randolph. [[spoiler: This is unfortunately subverted when Gilly, afraid of her emotions and determined to reunite with her biological mom, loses this family because she lied and said they were dysfunctional.]]

* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', Firo, Ennis and Czeslaw -- three immortals who've faced a [[StreetUrchin pretty]] [[TrappedInVillainy rough]] [[ColdBloodedTorture life]] -- eventually settle into this arrangement, right down to sharing the same apartment.

* ''LightNovel/{{Higehiro}}'': Moreso than a typical "romantic" {{Dramedy}}, the series is about Sayu finally experiencing what it is like to have a family, with Yoshida as the stern but protective "father", Gotou as the gentle and loving "mother", Mishima and Asami as sisters she can share laughter and tears with, and occasionally Hashimoto as a supportive uncle. Through their 6 months of collectively "raising" Sayu to ''finally'' be a happy little girl, the office-quartet and Asami themselves become as close as a family by the story's end.

* ''LightNovel/RollOverAndDie'': During the first two Volumes, Flum forms a makeshift family with Milkit, Eterna, and Ink. At the end of Volume 02, Ink chooses to stay with Flum rather than going back to the life she knew with the Spiral Children because she would rather have a normal life than be a weapon for Origin. In Volume 03, Eterna is offered a chance to have a new life with her loving adopted parents. While she is tempted, she declines because she believes what she has with Flum, Milkit, and Ink is more important.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'', Ryuuji and his mother Yasuko become Taiga's family, and she eats dinner with them every day. When Taiga's father, who abandoned her, comes back into her life, Yasuko doesn't trust him and doesn't want Taiga to leave as she is a part of their family.

* WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}: The first season begins with Vander effectively adopting freshly orphaned sisters Vi and Powder, and he later does the same with Mylo and Claggor offscreen. By the start of the episode plot proper, they all consider each other a family. [[spoiler:Sadly it gets destroyed by the end of the third episode, with Vander, Mylo and Claggor dead, and Vi and Powder seperated from each other for years]].

** [[spoiler:After going through the events of "Hollow Mind" together, Luz and Hunter, who were already LikeBrotherAndSister, become each other's closest confidants, and the only ones who know the other's dark secrets. In "Thanks to Them", Luz outright calls Hunter her family, which overwhelms Hunter so much he starts [[TearsOfJoy sobbing]] [[CatharticCrying uncontrollably]].

** [[spoiler:After going through the events of "Hollow Mind" together, Luz and Hunter, who were already LikeBrotherAndSister, become eachother's closest confidants, and the only ones who know the other's dark secrets. In "Thanks to Them", Luz outright calls Hunter her family, which overwhelms Hunter so much he bursts into TearsOfJoy.]]