Chosen Family

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You can't choose your family but you can choose your friends!

Chosen Family is the trope where characters who start out as strangers start their relationship as friends but then grow to the point that their bonds are like family. While these people may have their biological families, these friends can fulfill the role. In some cases, the characters might have something happen to their family, such as being separated or dying. In addition, there are some examples where a family would disown their members for whatever reason. These causes can leave an empty place in a character's life and may even traumatize them. However, they can develop not only a relationship but also as a person. This trope can happen due to many adventures, in the workplace, or just trying to save the world. While many circumstances can lead to this, the one thing for sure is that the bonds made from a Chosen Family cannot be easily broken.

See also Fire-Forged Friends and True Companions.

Examples of Chosen Family include:

Anime and Manga

• One Piece: As pictured above, the Straw Hats are a crew of pirates led by Monkey D. Luffy. Each of them had lost a family member early in life while also carrying a dream they wanted to accomplish. Yet, despite their diverse backgrounds, they come together in an intimate way that they can work as a team in many situations.

Fan Works

• By the end of the fourth chapter of the Sailor Moon fan fic Isekai by Moonlight, many of the Sailor Senshi considered themselves to closer than siblings — to the point that the characters who had no parents were either informally or officially adopted into Sailor Mercury's family.
• In the story Inter-Library Loan by Phouka -- part of a Mega Crossover series revolving around the Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters re-settling in Cleveland after the end of the series -- Xander explains to Winky the house elf how the Scoobies are all family who chose each other:

“But . . .” and Winky's brow puckered. “Master Xander is not father. Neither is Master Giles or Master Jarod. Mistress Willow is not mother. Mistress Jenny is mother, but . . . not? Mistress Dawn and Mistress Buffy are sisters, but Master Xander and Mistress Willow are not. Winky is confused.” “Ah,” Xander said. “Okay, let me do a little explaining, Winky.” She gazed up at him in complete trust. “Some of us, like Dawn and Buffy, are lucky enough to be related by blood, and everybody calls that family. That kind of family, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Buffy and Dawn's family worked, but their mother died, and they were all alone. “Some of us, like me and Jenny, don't have anyone around who is related to us by blood. So we don't have any family that way. What we do have is some very good friends, friends like Master Giles and Mistress Poppins and Mistress Willow and Mistresses Buffy and Dawn. They are such good friends, and there is so much love, that I say they are my family. Master Giles should have been my father. Mistress Jenny is like my favorite aunt. Mistress Buffy is practically my sister. Does that make sense?” Winky was overwhelmed with thought for a long moment. “Master Xander, does anyone ever stop being family?” He took a deep breath. “Well, I won't say it's never happened, but they would have to try really, really, really hard. And we'd probably still say they were family.” “And Winky gets to be with Master Xander's family?” she asked. “Forever and a day.”

Film

• Over the Hedge has a group of different woodland animals that act like a family and even consist of two biological families that are a part of the group (the opossum and porcupine families).

Live-Action TV

• The Kamen Rider Club are teenagers from different high school groups to help Gentaro Kisaragi, aka Kamen Rider Fourze, fight the Zodiarts. While each member had some conflict, they joined the group, overcame their hangups, and assisted the Kamen Rider's fight.

Video Games

• The Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5 are a group that rebels against the adults who deceive, hypocrisies, and corrupt society by stealing their hearts. Each member consists of teens who have been wronged by adults throughout their life and awakened to Persona. Most of their peers see each of them as misfits, but they find solace with each other and become great friends.

Western Animation

• In DuckTales (2017), Clan McDuck consists of not only Scrooge McDuck and the Duck Family but also their friends who became a part of their group. Even though duck is in their name, some aren't ducks, such as supernatural creatures, scientists, aliens, robots, etc.
• Luz Noceda becomes part of The Owl House by apprenticing to Eda Clawthorne as witch and living with the little king of Demons, King. Thanks to Luz's influence, Eda and King soften to her and even gain a familial bond. Lilith, Eda's sister, even considers herself to be the aunt of their family. Even King is inspired to legally change his name to King Clawthorne.
  • Vee, a shapeshifting basilisk, took on Luz's identity when she came to the Boiling Isles and was adopted by Camilla Noceda after her identity was revealed. In the season 3 premiere, when Gus, Willow, Hunter, and Amity become stranded in the Human Realm, the witches and Grimwalker become a family over the months. It even made Hunter cry when Luz declared it to him.