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Comic Books
"I know that feeling. The loved one you can't shake. It's hard. But you gotta remember... You got new family now. Them you left behind are just cogs in Luthor's machine. Rule number one at the Garage: We ride for our sisters."
— Natasha Irons, Gotham City Garage
Fan Works
Shinji: But... my family...
Misato: Your family is right here, Shinji, and we know who you are.
Asuka: That’s right, you’ve got Rei and I right with you, and Misato and Kaji. Just right there is more friends and loved ones than your dad has.
Shinji: ...Thank you.
Misato: Your family is right here, Shinji, and we know who you are.
Asuka: That’s right, you’ve got Rei and I right with you, and Misato and Kaji. Just right there is more friends and loved ones than your dad has.
Shinji: ...Thank you.
Nadia: ...and you two aren't my real parents.
Blake: ...actually, that's up to you.
Nadia: But... but I'm just a visitor to this world. And if it's a variant—
Yang: You know, one of the things we've learned in looping is that you can choose your family. I mean you got the initial hand you're born with, sure, but you can always draw more cards... or be discarded.
Blake: Yang and I, we've both adopted extradimensional siblings. I've got Sasuke and Haru, she's got Grif and Nate, none of us are from the same universe but we consider each other family all the same.
Yang: So, if you don't want us to be kittymom and dragonmom, if you think that's too weird, that's fine. I mean, we all just Woke Up a few minutes ago, and... there's that distinction between Awake and Unawake selves to consider.
Blake: But if you do want what you remember to continue, Yang and I certainly won't object. We'll always be here for you if you need us. No matter what you decide.
Blake: ...actually, that's up to you.
Nadia: But... but I'm just a visitor to this world. And if it's a variant—
Yang: You know, one of the things we've learned in looping is that you can choose your family. I mean you got the initial hand you're born with, sure, but you can always draw more cards... or be discarded.
Blake: Yang and I, we've both adopted extradimensional siblings. I've got Sasuke and Haru, she's got Grif and Nate, none of us are from the same universe but we consider each other family all the same.
Yang: So, if you don't want us to be kittymom and dragonmom, if you think that's too weird, that's fine. I mean, we all just Woke Up a few minutes ago, and... there's that distinction between Awake and Unawake selves to consider.
Blake: But if you do want what you remember to continue, Yang and I certainly won't object. We'll always be here for you if you need us. No matter what you decide.
"First: there's no way I'm leaving the group. I had me a solo stint a short while back, an' I'll probably have more of 'em. Sometimes it's easier not havin' Cyke or Storm lookin' over your shoulder. Don't tell 'em I said that. But the main reason, crazy as it seems, is... they're family. Does that make sense?"
—Wolverine, A Prize for Three Empires
Aja: We're family. Whether by blood, adoption or music.
Shana: Nothing will change that.
Film — Animation
Ben: Your Grandpap gave me this before you were born.
Hank: Is it more dumb news? You gonna tell me who my mom isn't?
Ben: Nah, just a watch. GMT Master, Venture blue dial. Tells the time in two time zones.
Hank: It's heavy.
Ben: Yeah, that fourth hand there? The little date window? Those are called complications. Complications make a watch special. The more complications, the more valuable. Read the engraving Jonas put on the back there.
Hank: Elige tua...
Ben: Eh, close enough. It's Latin for "Choose Your Family". Blood doesn't make a family. Love does. Your Grandpap knew that. Choose your family, and remember that complications make it special.
Hank: Is it more dumb news? You gonna tell me who my mom isn't?
Ben: Nah, just a watch. GMT Master, Venture blue dial. Tells the time in two time zones.
Hank: It's heavy.
Ben: Yeah, that fourth hand there? The little date window? Those are called complications. Complications make a watch special. The more complications, the more valuable. Read the engraving Jonas put on the back there.
Hank: Elige tua...
Ben: Eh, close enough. It's Latin for "Choose Your Family". Blood doesn't make a family. Love does. Your Grandpap knew that. Choose your family, and remember that complications make it special.
Film — Live-Action
"You think you're the only one who lost people? What do you think we're doing here? I lost the only family I ever had! Quill, Groot, Drax, the chick with the antenna, all gone! I get you miss your mom. But she's gone. Really gone. And there are plenty of people who are only kinda gone. And you can help them. So is it too much to ask that you [...] help me get my family back?"
— Rocket, Avengers: Endgame
Nebula: All you do is yell at each other. You're not friends.
Drax: You're right. We're family. We leave no one behind.
Drax: You're right. We're family. We leave no one behind.
"What do you get when you take 8 feet of chrome, one pinch of courage, a cup of good luck, a dab of racism, a splash of diabetes, and a wheelbarrow full of Stage 4 cancer? Answer: A family. See? I didn't lie what kind of film this was. If there's anything you take away today - other than you need to Google "What the fuck is Dubstep?" - it's that we all need to belong to someone."
— Deadpool, Deadpool 2
"You never turn your back on family. Even if they do."
— Dominic Toretto, Furious 7
Dom: No matter where you are. Whether it's a quarter-mile away or halfway across the world. You'll always be family.
Literature
"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."
— Richard Bach, Illusions
Blake Thorburn: It doesn’t bother you?
Evan Matthieu: It does. But it’s okay. It’s interesting to think about, and it makes me miss my parents. But not in a bad way.
Blake: That’s sort of what family is, isn’t it? It doesn’t always feel great, but that feeling of connection kind of helps fill a hole, doesn’t it?
Evan: Sorta.
Blake: Well, these guys backed me up when I needed it. They’re more family than my family-by-blood were.
Evan Matthieu: It does. But it’s okay. It’s interesting to think about, and it makes me miss my parents. But not in a bad way.
Blake: That’s sort of what family is, isn’t it? It doesn’t always feel great, but that feeling of connection kind of helps fill a hole, doesn’t it?
Evan: Sorta.
Blake: Well, these guys backed me up when I needed it. They’re more family than my family-by-blood were.
— Pact
"That doesn't matter. Your family is who you tell the twilight belongs to you, and I told the twilight, and the crossroads, that I was a Price-Healy. You're mine. I'm yours."
— Mary Dunlavy, InCryptid
"Blood is thicker than water, but family isn't just about blood. Family is about faith, and loyalty, and who you love. If you don't have those things, I don't care what the blood says. You're not family."
— Alice Healy, InCryptid
"Blood gives you hair color and skin color and maybe a few little quirks of biology or personality. It doesn’t give you family. Family is something you build."
— Evelyn Baker, InCryptid
"Just so you know, I had already decided I was adopting you and taking you home to meet the rest of the family. I really, really hope you wanted siblings, because now you have two sisters, a brother, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law, and assorted cousins, aunts, uncles, and other such familial detritus."
—Antimony Price to James Smith, InCryptid
"Mr. Wolcott was a fool who should never have had children. His genetic donation is noted and appreciated. Dr. Bleak is not my father, but he loves me, and he cared for me when no one else would..."
— Jack Wolcott, Come Tumbling Down
"I was wondering if you ever wish you had a family," Reynie spluttered. He hadn't meant to speak so directly, but once he'd begun to ask it, the words just tumbled out. Mr. Benedict nodded. "Certainly when I was your age I did. But not anymore." Reynie wasn't sure whether to be comforted or depressed by this revelation. He'd been wondering how it would feel for him to grow up without relatives. "You... you grew out of it, then? You stopped wanting it?" "Oh, no, Reynie, you don't grow out of it. It's just that once you acquire a family, you no longer need to wish for one." Reynie was caught off guard. "You have a family?" "Absolutely," Mr. Benedict replied. "You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family." Reynie had drunk up those words like life-saving medicine.
"I do have children. I have all of you."
— Sister Jennie, Dear America
Live-Action TV
Oswald: Reporterville is covered with oddness, and we're no closer to catching the Three Oddskateers.
Osmerelda: And I still don't know my place on the team.
Orpita: Osmerelda, you don't have to figure it out on your own. Odd Squad is a family, even though none of you are technically related.
Osmerelda: And I still don't know my place on the team.
Orpita: Osmerelda, you don't have to figure it out on your own. Odd Squad is a family, even though none of you are technically related.
Music
Remember when we'd stay up late and we'd talk all night in the dark room lit by the TV light
Through all the hard times in my life, those nights kept me alive
Listen to the radio play all night
Didn't want to go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life, those nights kept me alive
Those nights belong to us
There's nothing wrong with us
Through all the hard times in my life, those nights kept me alive
Listen to the radio play all night
Didn't want to go home to another fight
Through all the hard times in my life, those nights kept me alive
Those nights belong to us
There's nothing wrong with us
— Skillet, "Those Nights"
Family trees don't need be organic
The branches you graft are as equally valid
The branches you graft are as equally valid
— The Stupendium, "Shine Through"
Puppet Show
Yellow Guy: Hey, who says we're not a family anyway? Maybe a family is just a group that care for each other.
Duck: And stick together.
Red Guy: And share a lawyer.
Yellow Guy: And die on the same day, in the same style of accident, but in different location.
Red Guy: Well said, brother.
Duck: And stick together.
Red Guy: And share a lawyer.
Yellow Guy: And die on the same day, in the same style of accident, but in different location.
Red Guy: Well said, brother.
Video Games
Bugs can be classified in two types: Social, and loners. Social bugs usually have a single Queen, the mother of the colony. Although all individuals are siblings, they do not tend to see it that way. Some individuals grow closer to others by choice, creating their own small "family cell".
— Ant Kingdom Lore Book, Bug Fables
Vette: What does family mean to you? Does it have to be the people you're related to?
Sith Warrior: When you are close to people, they become family. Sometimes, whether you want them to or not.
Vette: Cute. I'm going to take that as a compliment.
Sith Warrior: When you are close to people, they become family. Sometimes, whether you want them to or not.
Vette: Cute. I'm going to take that as a compliment.
Webcomics
Elan: I thought it was tough to figure out how to feel about Nale, you know?
Roy: What’s so tough? He’s a villainous jackass!
Elan: But he’s still my brother!!
Roy: I think you’re overemphasizing the importance of biological ties, Elan. Nale has tried to kill you three times!
Elan: I know that! But sometimes when I was little, I would walk in on my Mom crying about having lost a nail. And now, I don’t think she was upset about missing hardware at all!
Roy: Elan, I...believe me, I know all about the hole that a family member can leave behind. But I think in your case, maybe it’s better to find that sense of family among people who are good than it is to try to find a sense of good inside your family.
Roy: What’s so tough? He’s a villainous jackass!
Elan: But he’s still my brother!!
Roy: I think you’re overemphasizing the importance of biological ties, Elan. Nale has tried to kill you three times!
Elan: I know that! But sometimes when I was little, I would walk in on my Mom crying about having lost a nail. And now, I don’t think she was upset about missing hardware at all!
Roy: Elan, I...believe me, I know all about the hole that a family member can leave behind. But I think in your case, maybe it’s better to find that sense of family among people who are good than it is to try to find a sense of good inside your family.
Nem: So if you left your family… and if I left my family… we can be a new family?
Hatchet Man: Of course we can! If you ever listen to anything I say make it this:
You can choose your family.
You may not be able to choose the one yer born into. But that doesn't mean you gotta love 'em. There's more to family than the blood you share. Stick with me kiddo, and I'll protect you.
Hatchet Man: Of course we can! If you ever listen to anything I say make it this:
You can choose your family.
You may not be able to choose the one yer born into. But that doesn't mean you gotta love 'em. There's more to family than the blood you share. Stick with me kiddo, and I'll protect you.
Web Original
"You can't choose your relatives. But you can choose your family."
— Reverend Wavering, Wooden Overcoats, "Putting the Funn in Funerals"
Jacques: So these are the little friends you threw everything away for?
Weiss: Not friends... Family.
Weiss: Not friends... Family.
— RWBY, "Pomp and Circumstance"
Western Animation
"We're your family, Knuckles."
— Amy Rose, Sonic Boom
Magica: Hello Scroogie. I've missed you.
Scrooge: Magica De Spell, you foul-hearted wretch of the blackest lineage! Impossible! How?!
Magica: Why don't you ask your housekeeper's granddaughter's new best friend?... You have a confusing family structure, you know that?
Scrooge: Magica De Spell, you foul-hearted wretch of the blackest lineage! Impossible! How?!
Magica: Why don't you ask your housekeeper's granddaughter's new best friend?... You have a confusing family structure, you know that?
— DuckTales (2017), "The Shadow War!"
Ork-0: I-I don't belong anywhere.
Teela: None of us do. That's why we belong together.
Teela: None of us do. That's why we belong together.
Anne: You guys, meet Marcy.
Marcy: Oh my gosh, who are these cuties!? Are they your surrogate frog family? Did they find you and take you in? RRGH! I love the found family trope!
— Amphibia
Cause I've got you and you've got me
We're closer than close friends, yeah, we're a family.
We're closer than close friends, yeah, we're a family.
— "Mane Family", My Little Pony: Make Your Mark, "Family Trees Pt. 2"
Real Life
"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."
— Proverb
