Rambling...

TQs tend to be obsessed with the found family trope. They long for that fantasy friend group of super cool, ride-or-dies that will become the "true" family full of acceptance and easily resolved disagreements.

I wonder if this is why the trope feels more and more shallow now? Gender-addled writers and animators don't want a real family, genetic or found. It's too messy, too challenging. They want the easy, minimal effort fantasy.