Found Family | The Most Wholesome Trope Ever Written [ Trope Notes ]

[@CloudKitten]

I'm going to try this new thing where on each new video I drop a random fact about myself, so here's one. I lived in Costa Rica between the ages of 9-16 and for a time we rehabilitated a baby raccoon. We named him Stitch after Lilo and Stitch and I have never had a pet more aptly named in my life (except maybe my current cat whose name is Khajiit). Have you ever had a pet where their name suited them perfectly??? (Not rhetorical, reply with your answers)

[@Sailortwilight]

Wahhhh so cute!!! I named the first kitten I found and rescued Haley after Haley's comet, because I thought at the time it would be a rare event... her brother found me about 6 months later, and after that the animals I found my friends helped me rehome haha. :-)

[@gabriellacontreras7769]

Living in Costa Rica as kid must have made wonderful memories 😁🌻 my cat named Ruger is named perfectly! He is a red-furred, firey, pistol of a cat that hunts and protects his home and found family (me 😁❤).

[@CloudKitten]

@@Sailortwilight That's such a cool name! A reminder of how special she is. What did you end up naming her brother?

[@CloudKitten]

@@gabriellacontreras7769 It definitely made for some interesting memories. I had to look up what a Ruger was lol but having done so that indeed seems like a great name

[@Sailortwilight]

@@CloudKitten so he ended up being trickier to name haha! My friends and I named him Li Mu Bai Bandit Tasuki, but I ended up calling him my Lil Boy, and that somehow ended up shortening to Lebo, and when he got older I sometimes called him Beebs since he was a big boy. But when he was young he knew when I yelled his full name he had time to run (when he would attack his sister, thankfully that stopped for the most part after he was neutered). :-)

[@sararusch]

To repeat what so many of the comments have said, Found Family is easily one of my favorite tropes. I think everyone enjoys the feeling of reading or watching a group of people who *choose* to be together instead of having to put up with people just because "they're family" (looking at you, toxic blood-family relationships). It's just so cozy and feel-good-y. And I think the reason you can't find any bad examples of this trope is because if the writer did it badly you wouldn't recognize it as Found Family. Instead, it would just be a group of people that you wonder why the writer put them together when the chemistry clearly isn't there.

[@margretsnae]

I immediately thought of Matilda and Miss Honey. An awesome mother-daughter found family.

[@CloudKitten]

Good example!! I completely forgoy about that one

[@Shatterverse]

Father/son found family that I've seen usually is more mentor than protector plot-wise.

[@CloudKitten]

Do you mean with adult child or kid child?

[@PapaGohn]

Tony Stark/Peter Parker

[@moonyasnow36]

As an autistic LGBTQ+ person with niche interests who's always felt outcast from society and my peers, I love the found family trope so much. Though my family could definitely be worse (and one side of it is worse than the other) I still cry every time I see a character find one person / a group of people who really understands them and accepts them fully for the ways in which they differ from the norm. It's my favorite kind of romance, too: one or more person who's never felt fully loved or accepted for who/what they are finding someone they can be 100% themselves around without any sort of fear of judgement makes me cry waterfalls of happy tears every goshdarn time.

[@Stormkrow280]

Blood makes us relatives, love is what makes a family “family” Also Chris Sanders, the director of Lilo and Stitch, as well as the creator and voice of Stitch himself, worked on How to Train Your Dragon and created Toothless.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

The resemblance between Stitch and Toothless is definitely there.

[@redpanda6497]

@@ShadeSlayer1911 It's the art style.

[@A_Wee_spook]

AN INTELLIGENT PET BEING A SIBLING IS TOTALLY VALID!!!

[@CloudKitten]

Agreed

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

One of my favorite examples of this that I feel is still slept on way too much is Henry Wong and Terriormon in Digimon Tamers. Actually the entirety of the main cast has their different types of partnership with their digimon. Takato and Guilmon are like Boy and his Dog. Henry and Terriormon are like Big Bro and Little Bro. Rika and Renamon are like coworkers who learned to be friends. Digimon is one of those franchises that probably has the greatest potential for the found family trope.

[@Rainjojo]

As someone who grew up without much affection nor a stable mother, this trope had always comforted me because I wanted to find a tribe that loved me for who I am and not for the fact we’re related by blood like most toxic families who are forced to stay together. I also enjoyed playing things like the last of us growing up because I never had a father like Joel to guide nor push me.

[@CloudKitten]

The "grumpy old man adopts a child" trope is definitely one of my favs. And the Last of Us is probably my fav example. If you're into animated films and are looking for something new you may enjoy Sea Beast. It's a bit surface level, but is a pretty light-hearted and vibrant example of a found family father-daughter pairing. It doesn't have much interpersonal conflict between the pair, but that can be a boon sometimes.

[@ct-gv6yl]

I think that this trope didn't work in Legend of Korra. We are supposed to believe that by the end of the story Mako, Korra, Asami and Bolin are best friends. But they barely spend any time together.

[@PapaGohn]

100% agree, there's a difference between a found family and a group of close friends. The difference is easily seen when comparing ATLA and LoK

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

Yeah, even as a defender of LoK, I must say that they really aren't a family. I have a hard enough time believing that Mako and Bolin are actually siblings most of the time, let alone the rest of the gang.

[@MerlinTheCommenter]

⁠@@ShadeSlayer1911it’s so strange to find a defender of a show who admits one of its major flaws. You are so close to seeing that show for the mess that it is. The cognitive dissonance is astounding.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

@@MerlinTheCommenter No, I know that it is a mess. But I am within my right to enjoy a heavily flawed show. I don't know why that bothers anti-LoKers so much. I don't have to hate the show just because it's heavily flaws. Heck, I grew up with Dragon Ball and to this day, despite being one of the people who calls out the MOUTAINS of flaws within that series, I still can't say that I hate it. I still love the series for what it is and appreciate it for what it's done. And if I can love Dragon Ball despite all of its flaws, I can love LoK despite all of its flaws. A lot of the series I love to watch are deeply flaws. Dragon Ball, LoK, Power Rangers, Digimon, Static Shock, Jackie Chan Adventures, Teen Titans. All of these and more are deeply flawed shows, and I love them anyway. At the end of the day, despite how flawed a show like LoK is, there's still a lot for me to enjoy about it. Korra is a grating character, but I love to see her growth throughout the series. It was character development for the Avatar that we didn't really get to see with Aang, because he started off as the perfect little angel. He had SOME development, but not nearly as much as everyone else on Team Avatar, and not nearly as much as Korra. And god, I do love me a good character arc. That's kinda the main thing that keeps me from hating LoK. I don't care much for the rest of Team Avatar 2.0. It was a mere shadow of the family and friends dynamic of the original series, and none of the rest of them hold as much main character energy as the individual members of the OG team in the OG show. That's not to say they're bad either. They're just not stellar. I don't mind any of them, but I don't love any of them either. Korra still holds a strong flame as being one of my favorite characters for her character development over the course of the series. And I enjoy her as being a foil to Aang. In many major ways, she is the opposite of Aang, and I love that. I like seeing the contrast between the two of them. I liked seeing how Korra tries to deal with her role as the Avatar in this world that seems like it no longer needs the Avatar. So yeah, despite the flaws, I still like the show. I probably will always like the original more, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the sequel series.

[@EsperanzaCreates]

Found family is probably my favorite plot structure. I think that’s true of many who grew up in less than ideal homes. It’s definitely about hope. Everyone needs a sense of belonging on some level. When your family is a disappointment or nonexistent, you have to believe it’s possible to build a new and better one. Ohana!

[@arandomqueerfanpeep7655]

I think part of the reason you had trouble with the line between friends and found families is because it's more of a sliding scale, friends are family to some extent

[@midnightlemon4255]

I keep doing this, and then suddenly Vin Diesel is in my book

[@Sailortwilight]

This is a good problem to have!

[@CloudKitten]

Lmao i love it

[@Sailortwilight]

@@CloudKitten His name is definitely a time capsule of things I loved at the time haha. We had just watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I was deep into Fushigi Yuugi. XD He was a good kitty. He lived to be at least 17, maybe older because I found him fully grown, but he was my good boy. :-) They were both amazing cats.

[@clarkparker4860]

You probably beetlejuiced his spirit inadvertently by mentioning family to many times.

[@ChibiHoshiDragon]

Firefly Simon is told by his own biological father that if he is arrested again his father won't come get him River tells him "daddy" will come save them. Simon thinks she is talking about their father. Mal comes back to rescue him and his sister after being kidnapped and doesn't even knowing how in danger he is.

[@fräuleinniemand1871]

I did this trope in my novel. It's about a German ww1 veteran, who goes back to Germany after the war with nothing left but a difficult promise and a few comrades that also go to the city he goes. Under these comrades are two of his closest friends and they meet a new one so they are a group of four fighting with the scars of war on body and soul and the challenges a normal life after the war has for them. Also they all go their own ways and see each other grow and help with their goals

[@hjstackofbooks]

Found Family is also great to show blended family types as well! I love this trope and its basically in all my stories aha XD

[@topprofitstrategy4747]

0:44 Reach Your Goals kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3Sqopirm818b80

[@jeremyjean-pierre4977]

Found family is a good alternative to excessive shipping. Some people insist on ships when the sibling bond is perfect as is.

[@simbeau2012]

This found family always gets overlooked in my opinion. Criminal minds. They even act like siblings and parents a lot during the episodes toward one another

[@CloudKitten]

I really would love to see more of it. I think it is becoming more common in life though, and will thus become more common and appreciated in fiction. Especially in books readers are getting a little burned out from the common romantic subplots and I think it will result in a shift to found family.

[@NoOne-rb2id]

To go off the ending about Found Families gone wrong, I'd say Voltron towards the end would be a good example of that. One of the major criticisms that was popping up was about how despite the earlier seasons establishing a Found Family trope amongst the main cast, towards the end the characters all felt like they were disconnected from one another. Especially during the arc where Keith leaves the group entirely and there is barely a few throw away lines given by the cast to acknowledge he's gone let alone say they miss him like, ya know, if someone you loved left for months with little to no ways to contact them. Even most of the major character arcs in the show become more focused on a singular character with little others getting involved, like Pidge finding her brother. It's a fairly self contained episode with barely any of the other paladins involved despite how close they all are. Compare that to the characters arcs found in other found family trope shows like Avatar (where almost all arcs have at least one other main character to support the one experiencing an arc, the fandom even nicknamed ones with Zuko as getting a 'field trip with Zuko') and it becomes clear how disconnected the Voltron Found Family is.

[@CJCroen1393]

One of my favorite manga series, +Anima (pronounced "Plus Anima") is all about Found Family. The four main characters are among the titular +Anima (people who gain the powers of animals during a near death experience) and are thus victims of discrimination at the hands of the society they live in, so they travel the world looking for a place they can live, and all four of them have been through trauma that they help each other work through.

[@an8strengthkobold360]

The league of villains from MHA will always be my favorite found family. It's great to see it applied to the villains and helps humanize them. They're all a bunch of cringey weirdos working together to burn the world down and I love it.

[@stevenmark4407]

Dabi ain’t apart of it he literally doesn’t give a shit about any of them.

[@ninacohen1132]

Same I love them so much. I really hope they get to be together at the end

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

It's certainly a fresh twist when the villain uses the power of love and friendship.

[@mittag983]

That's not even true most of them don't even care for each other, especially Dabi...

[@rebbiejoanthony5362]

I too noticed the lack of information on this trope, and it's my favorite! I appreciate this video so much! 💜

[@CloudKitten]

You are so very welcome. I apreciate your comment

[@lidianepeixoto9431]

i need a list of found families on tv shows cause I feel like I've watched it all and i desperately need something new just to feel something

[@ninji1394]

I think one of my favorite examples of found families is the Raven Cycle. I love the character relationships in those books SO much.

[@CloudKitten]

I reaaalllly need to read the series. I actually got the audiobook and everything, it just hasn't found its way to the top of my TBR yet

[@darcycrossingbooks]

My favorite trope ever, and an impotant and conforting one for my aroace self

[@epicwalrus7183]

This is my favourite trope of all time! I have so many found families I love: The team from Leverage, the Iron Triangle from Daomu Biji, the Manyang locals from Beyond Evil are my top three though. I love them and they love each other and just mentioning them will make me want to tear up, too much emotion XD

[@WaitWhat-zw2in]

My family relationships are amazing but watching those who didn't have those things find people that can fill those gaps

[@AntonWongVideo]

The fact that you made a video about "found family" and DIDN'T include the Fast and Furious movies worries me How are you not going to include Vin Diesel saying in a grumbly voice "I don't have friends, I got family"? Like Wiz Khalifa said, "how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got"

[@CloudKitten]

H y p o t h e t I c a l l y. Would you unsub if I were to reveal I've never seen a fast and furious movie?

[@jeremyjean-pierre4977]

The story I had in mind is kind of a twist on this trope. Estranged family members (war orphan brother and sister) who all got their own “found family” whether they acknowledge it or not come back together as a biological family when one of them is in terrible distress (the one who believed he had one was rejected by his found family and the whole community due to a life threatening dilemma) So coincidentally the other family member comes back after years and is surprised to see the other as an outcast and as a single parent to a kid to boot. The family progressively gets bigger as the brother and sister get more kids under their charges and the found families becomes extended family of the “core family” (biological family) which leads to one their mental health back together while the other one learns the importance of family (biological and found) and heals from what estranged them in the first place. At the end, the family that was originally 2 became 3 then 4 then 8+ and they are all closely knit. (It’s a fanfic born of a subplot from a larger fanfic I had in mind)

[@Sailortwilight]

It's so good to see a video from you, especially one about one of my favorite tropes! I think the beauty of a solid story about friendship and found family appeals to me so much because my own found family of friends, who I call my sisters, got me through the devastation of a divorce when I was so young. I am grateful to know them and have them in my life. I write a story that starts with that same trope, but becomes more found family as the series goes on. :-) If anyone wants to check it out, it features social justice werewolves too. Tainted Moonlight by Erin Kelly is the first book in the series. :-)

[@CloudKitten]

That's wonderful that you found a real-life found family

[@kirakoraawesome]

in my opinion detroit become human sorta did found family wrong. Alice and Kara's storyline is mainly about found family. Alice's father is abusive and attempts to kill Alice one day. Kara (their android) helps Alice run away and then becomes Alice's mother figure. This is fine in theory, but for one.) both characters don't seem to get that much development past the beginning. In most found family stories I've seen they characters help fuel each other's development but in this one, it feels like they are pretty much the same ones after they ran away 2. (SPOILERS) Due to a shitty plot twist we find out that Alice is also an Android, and put the both of them in danger they didn't need to be. You see, androids don't need to feel cold, or need to eat. But Kara thinks that Alice is human, so alot of time playing Kara is making sure her needs are met, and both of them can possibly die because of it. Now, this flaw would be fine if it was agknowledged but it's not 3. Also, last point, the other side characters that sort of become members of the found family seem very disposable to the game. There is this character called luther that can sorta become Alice's father and protector, but he is able to die so much more than Kara and Alice. Anyway, I just dont feel like Kara and Alice are that compelling of a found family. The other found families in the game (conner and hank, and markus and Jericho) do feel more compelling mainly because they have character development which I feel is important to found families.

[@CloudKitten]

I still need to play the game

[@stevenmark4407]

I disagree it’s still found family. They found one another and care for each other as family. It’s done well it just changes what type of found family they’re doing by the twist part

[@Cozplaylab]

What about Connor and Hank?

[@valhatan3907]

One example you didn't mention for pet with sibling level intelligence is Darwin from *Amazing World of Gumball!* He literally a pet that became sibling lol

[@stevenmark4407]

That’s a special case 😭

[@JadeAylaSims]

This was really helpful, thank you so much!

[@GingaGirl2000]

Found family, a.k.a. the best trope of all time. I've found I am personally really drawn to like, "a dad and his boy à la found family" type relationships? It could also just be a coincidence in what kinda media I consume lol but even so. This sub-trope of parental substitute can be found in stuff like The Mandalorian (a bit obvious innit but i love them), My Hero Academia (Dad Might for life even if in canon it's kinda more mentor-student, sorta) and I think ATLA (Iroh and Zuko) also counts? Guessing, in a way I'd count Héctor and Miguel from Coco in this too, albeit it's both a slight subversion and a very literal example of "found family" hdjshs Anyway I really love that character dynamic ;o; would love to see similar stories and dynamics but "mom and her girl" which I have yet to really find, which is a shame, I'm sure it would work out just as well. Anyway, a lovely video!

[@Dekunutcase]

Found family done wrong: any movie or book or game that does something bad to a character in the ensemble, but you don't even feel your tear ducts flinching because they didn't set it up correctly. They tend to be utterly forgettable. That's why you can't think of an example.

[@margaret_adelle]

The only way I can think of that found family can be done wrong is when the author rushes into it or neglects to show the relationships developing that dynamic over the course of the story. Think the 2016 Suicide Squad. When Chato Santana declares the group his family before using his powers to help them, it feels hollow. It was near the final climax, so theoretically there should have been enough time to build up to that. But the story spends so much of it's runtime on specific members of the squad (namely Harley and Deadshot) that there's no space for a group dynamic to develop. So when they pull out the "look, they're family now" you don't feel it.

[@mankisha_98]

We need a video explaining how did Voltron fucked up so badly at this trope. Maybe is because they forget about the whole connection and bonding this characters had? maybe is because at the end (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) it feels that they reunited only because of the dead of one member, and not because they actually feel like a family they would choose, maybe is because almost no one missed the character that leaves (yes, i mean keith), and even ignore the one that is still there (yes, i mean lance). Megan, you should check this out, or we could ask Red to do it idk, but it would be so cool! Anyway thanks for this video! i love it!

[@dreamjanus1177]

You can also have a combination of found family and family of choice. There can be and are separations. In the LGBT community, this can be seen in the house systems of Ballrooms, they are choices (obligation) and not always at the same level as a found family (familiar type love).

[@CloudKitten]

Very true

[@myfriendjustin8381]

You should do a video on your most favorite tropes and make like a list or something

[@roaches7963]

You'll love the anime spy x family

[@ashwinarun9649]

THIS ❤️❤️❤️😭 Could use a 2nd part with emotion analysis like you did for How to make your reader cry

[@kristieillingworth1890]

Leverage is my favorite found family tv show

[@ChibiHoshiDragon]

Firefly is mine

[@featherquill9476]

I wish there could be something I could follow to write a found family over a period of a few books and have it be a smooth growth, obviously found family can be a rough path, but I mean in regards to keeping it from feeling rushed or just shoved into the characters' lives

[@CloudKitten]

Do you mean like a sort of narrative structure but for found family? I wonder how common the patterns are between stories.

[@featherquill9476]

@@CloudKitten Exactly that! I know stories differ HUGELY but it would be nice to have guidelines like one plot/pinch point being "so and so are in a situation bringing them together" and then the growth shows how they try to coexist in old ways that no longer work but then they are able to or something like that, or for example maybe a super super loose structure similar to strangers to friends with an extra growth in it that makes them family. I'm good at following structure, not making it 😅 but something of that nature I suppose

[@featherquill9476]

@@CloudKitten Actually now that I think on it more, I think it would be similar to a coloring book, you have a picture and there's guidelines to what color to choose. For example a picture of a strawberry would be red. But you don't have to. You're not wrong if you don't. Coloring books may become your art and instead of coloring it red you can make it 100 times better than it ever could have been because there isn't a definite right or wrong. But for those who still need to climb the ladder to the jumping board, it will help to know that you can always color the strawberry red and it still feels right to you. It can still be good that way. Ya know?

[@blankets5782]

Vin Diesel: *family intensifies*

[@ulricheberleschneider2423]

Yeah, you're awesome. Deal.

[@theExev]

This is so helpful! Thank you for making this video

[@CloudKitten]

You're so welcome!

[@animatorireenie8319]

This is such a good video, thank you!

[@TheVeyZ]

Thanks for the video. I'm working on my first graphic novel that sort of falls under this category.

[@kristafilomeno4971]

Omg I was totally thinking of HIMYM right before the clip! XD

[@CloudKitten]

HIMYM for the win. I would have featured it more here but it will get some screen time in my unreliable narrators video coming up so I gave more of the floor to Brooklynn 99 for this one

[@kristafilomeno4971]

@@CloudKitten Brooklyn 99 is always a winner! 😍

[@CloudKitten]

I'm a season behind and am excited to catch up

[@everest5718]

Fanfiction is where most of my favourite found family stories are ✨✨✨ the only downside is watching or reading the base material again and realizing they haven’t gone through the adventure you read and is so dear to you now 🥲

[@hannahmiller4663]

Daughter of smoke and bone!

[@Shatterverse]

Your mispronunciation of "inevitably" - twice - was funny.

[@CloudKitten]

I watched this video all the eay through 8x during editing and didn't catch it. My husband watched it once and burst out laughing. Words, how do they work? Lol

[@artquezada29]

Omg I just watched ur channel its amazing

[@CloudKitten]

Awww. thank you!

[@MWinklerBooks]

sooooo... you're saying tragic death is a type of found family? ;) I agree with the name found family, for the reasons you mentioned as well as alliteration. Seriously though, I loved this video!(I always do) You did such a great job breaking it down. (you always do)

[@CloudKitten]

Seriously though thank you for this comment, I loved it (I always do). That's a really good point about the gruff character types. It does seem like we just really like seeing them grow soft spots. I guess it falls into the heartwarming category? I'm not really sure of the psychology behind that. As for Drax I agree with you wholeheartedly that he's an excellent character. I think part of the reason people love him is that as you noticed he doesn't really fit into a standard category. Because he seems to have elements of the straight man in comedy but while having a sense of humor, he's wise at times but not at others, he's gruff warior type but is also soft and honest and not scarred of expressing feelings. He sort of defies common archetypes and I think that's what makes him so great ❤ really great points here!

[@MWinklerBooks]

@@CloudKitten Awww, thank you!

[@isaacriggs4656]

If you see that picture of Chris and still don't at least kinda hate him for being annoying, you have something wrong with you.

[@NotReinaHamazaki]

Spy×Family is a great example of the Found Family trope!

[@emilestorms2717]

Sense8 on Netflix

[@erin6818]

Kara and Alice❤️

[@spinninglegends]

Who else is mostly here to find found family stories to read

[@CloudKitten]

For reading specifically (besides what I mention in the video) might I recommend the Illuminea Files and Lifelike. Lifelike is more a broken family and Illuminea files is more frienship vibes but if you're into scifi they're pretty great and qualify as found family

[@spinninglegends]

@@CloudKitten Wow thank you! I guess I'm up for any form of media but I've been on a reading kick.

[@topprofitstrategy4747]

0:48 Write a thesis cheap kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3Sqopirm818b80

[@LOONACORE]

it's a real shame that the psychiatric field don't take much interest in these kinds of relationships in modern day anymore. maybe they're too self conscious of ending up sounding freudian or something. but i've always been curious about the psychological effects of unconventional carer roles. this can be stressful when forced upon someone, like sister turned caregiver in lilo & stitch, or even child turned caregiver to their own parent, or it can be motivational and promote self development when someone like captain holt voluntarily takes that role in a younger person's life. would love to see it taken more seriously by academics in the future!

[@svnnybvddy]

ACOTAR is a bad found family

[@CloudKitten]

In my head I don't even really categorize that as found family. It felt more like 'triple date' lol I can't remember, are the dark angel dudes brothers? It's been a long time.

[@svnnybvddy]

@@CloudKitten I never thought of it as one either, but I remember the other saying that they were in book 3

[@Cityweaver]

*HITS THE BUZZER* A found family done terribly?! The first Suicide Squad movie, a movie that did absolutely nothing to bond the characters and then had the Sad Boy say at the end that he was sacrificing himself for his family. Family?! Family?! 😂😂😂

[@weteafart]

Found family is definitely my favourite trope it’s so wholesome