Knife Family

Knife Family is the familyship ship between Jim Lake Jr. and Walter Strickler from the Tales of Arcadia fandom.

Canon
For a long time Jim only knew Walter Strickler as his history teacher who had taken a shine to him and had given Jim the nickname "Young Atlas." As Jim had taken it upon himself to help his hard-working mother, try to do well in school and was having trouble approaching the girl he liked, Strickler felt that, like the cursed Greek titan, Jim bears the weight of the world on his shoulders. This is why he offers Jim his help and support. As for Jim, his father left him and his mother when he was young and his history teacher showing him kindness had gotten Jim to view him as a father-like.

After Jim found the Amulet of Daylight, Strickler saw it poking out of Jim's bag and knew right away that he had been chosen to become the next Trollhunter, making him and Jim enemies. Since he already offered Jim his help with the said boy's home life, Strickler used it as a means to get closer to Jim without raising suspicion, although Jim wasn't so fond of the "affectionate" way Strickler and his mother were acting towards one another. The weight of the world was truly placed on Jim's shoulders as he was tasked to protect both his world and the hidden world of trolls, one that Strickler is a part of but is on the opposite side. Strickler is a changeling (an impure troll that able to transform into a human) who is trying to free Gunmar while serving under Bular. Jim had no idea that Strickler was a changeling and when Toby speculated that he could be one, Jim found it hard to believe.

During the first part of Jim's struggles and training, Strickler told Bular not to kill Jim as his death or disappearance would attract unwanted attention. Bular, on the other hand, felt that Strickler was still soft for Jim and comes up with ways to attack Jim without sharing his plans with the changeling. He shares his thoughts with his father, Gunmar, before Bular and Jim have a brief battle. As Jim runs away from Bular, the troll calls him "Young Atlas," helping Jim to finally realise that Strickler isn't who he appears to be. Strickler found out Bular's actions and how it was a test the two trolls set to see whether he was truly on their side and wouldn't let the fondness he still had for Jim stop him. His loyalty is not entirely believed, no matter how many times Strickler tells his masters that it isn't so. After that revelation, Jim and Strickler began acting hostile towards one another. When Strickler went over to Jim's house for dinner, the two battled each other without Barbara's knowledge, until Strickler managed to switch Jim's amulet with a fake so the Trollhunter wouldn't know that he had taken it from him. When they tried to open the bridge Strickler learned that they needed Jim to do the deed for them and captured Blinky, who Strickler views as Jim's father figure, to force Jim's hand. Jim came and opened the bridge to ensure Blinky's safety. However, him and his allies were able to defeat Bular and close the bridge, ending Strickler's plan.

After Jim defeated Bular and made sure that Gunmar was kept imprisoned within the Dark Land, it allowed Strickler to realize that his kind would always be considered as impures to all trolls and that it was time for the changelings to rule themselves. To ensure that Jim doesn't get in his way, again, Strickler summons the Trollhunter assassin, Angor Rot, to deal with him and begins spending time with Jim's mother. At first, Strickler was only getting closer to Barbara Lake in order to gain an advantage over Jim and to make him angry out of spite, but in the end Strickler realised that he had fallen in love with Jim's mother. Those feelings, however, didn't stop Strickler from using Barbara as a means to keep Jim from attacking him when he used a binding spell to tie their fates together, meaning each would feel the injuries of the other. Jim felt powerless when he learnt this from Strickler and tried to find a way to undo the spell.

After Jim accidentally destroyed Angor Rot's soul, the assassin set out after Strickler, who had been controlling him. Strickler, having been abandoned by the Janus Order, turned to Jim for protection. Jim reluctantly agreed, since if Strickler was killed his mother would be too. He allowed Strickler to stay at his house while his mother was working a long weekend, and the two worked together to prepare booby traps for Angor Rot's eventual arrival. Strickler even remarked that he was surprised at how well they worked together, although Jim made it clear that he was only helping Strickler for his mother's sake and he would still "take [him] down after all this is over." The two were prepared for Angor's arrival that night, but were surprised when Barbara came home early. She subsequently found out the truth about Jim being a trollhunter, and both Jim and Strickler tried to help comfort her. This interaction was cut short when Angor came and attacked Jim. Strickler made Barbara stay in the basement and left to help Jim, fighting alongside him for the first time. The two manage to trap Angor Rot in a stasis spell, but Barbara comes upstairs and inadvertently frees him, after which Angor manages to land a hit on Strickler, and therefore Barbara, with his poisoned blade. The three manage to escape to the car, where they are pursued by Angor Rot. Jim directs Strickler to drive to Troll Market, where Vendel will be able to help them.

Upon arriving, Jim stands up for Strickler when he is treated harshly by the trolls for being a changeling. Strickler tells Jim where Toby and Claire can find the instructions to break the bonding spell, and is put in a cell while Barbara is treated by Vendel. While waiting, Strickler calls for Jim and tells him that he will not go through with the ceremony to sever the magic bond between him and Barbara unless Jim promises his protection, as the trolls in the area are openly hostile toward him. Jim reluctantly agrees, and the ceremony is performed, causing Strickler immense pain. It also makes Barbara forget about Jim being a Trollhunter and Strickler being a changeling, as well as Angor Rot and the battle that wrecked part of the house and the car. After the ceremony, Strickler is put back in the cell. Claire realises that, while she was getting the instructions for the spell, Angor Rot stole her key to Troll Market. Strickler helped Jim and the trolls prepare for the upcoming attack and even guides Jim to cut Angor Rot's eye, revealing the heartstone inside. After this, Jim had Strickler leave in the Gire, as neither he nor the trolls trusted him to fight alongside them. Strickler remarked that he was impressed by Jim's integrity and honesty, and that Jim had once again "proven why you are the hero, and I am..." Jim added that Strickler was someone who could change, and Strickler responded that Jim's idealism was "nearly contagious." Before leaving, Strickler gives Jim the eye of Gunmar, which he has been holding onto for centuries, and wishes Jim luck.

When Jim and his friends are discussing their parents, Jim mentions that the closest thing he ever had to a father "turned out to be a changeling." This proves that Jim saw Strickler as a definite father figure.

At the end of Part Two, shortly after Jim and his friends were able to save a handful of trolls when Gunmar took over Troll Market, he returned home to find Strickler in his house with Nomura. The two offer to help train him, and Jim smiles upon hearing their proposal.

After Jim brought Nomura out of the Darklands with him, she tracked down Strickler and convinced him to return back to Arcadia with her so they can help Jim prepare for his upcoming battle with Gunmar. Knowing that Jim's humanity would get him killed if Jim didn't awaken his inner killer, Strickler and Nomura began to secretly train him in the sewers.. Since Blinky was busy with the escaped trolls and hasn't had time to continue Jim's training, Jim felt lucky to have Strickler's help on the matter. Even though he wasn't so fond on the way Strickler fought during their training sessions, as well as keeping that a secret from Blinky who isn't aware that the changelings' return or of the way they are training Jim. Jim also kept Strickler's return a secret from his mother, who was still in love with him and was hurt when he left.

When the teachers at Jim's school were affected after accidentally consuming gravesand, Jim decided he would have to be the one to emotionally bond with Strickler. Strickler forced Jim to fight him and, when defeated, tried to convince Jim to deal a fatal blow. Jim, however, refused, and was able to emotionally connect with Strickler by telling him that his mother still had feelings for him. Later, when Claire was possessed by Morgana, Jim once again turned to Strickler for help, and trusted him to keep a portal open while Jim and Toby went in to rescue Claire's soul.

Fanon
Due to the fact that Strickler is a father-like figure to Jim, has formed a soft spot for him and is in a relationship with Jim's mother, fans view Strickler as Jim's future step-father and commonly ship them as a family. Some of the ship's fanwork includes Barbara due to her being Jim's mother and Walter's romantic partner, even though it is mostly focused on Jim and Strickler. In some AUs that have Jim as a half-human Changeling, Strickler uncovers ChangelingJim and takes him under his wing. During the time of their antagonist relationship, however, fans prefer to have Blinky as Jim's father figure. The age gap between them hasn't stopped a few fans from shipping them romantically, but many others prefer to ship them as friends or family-like figures to one another.

After Wizards ended with a cliff-hanger, as well as the fact that the amulet's destruction and Jim not being able to pull Excalibur from the ground has slightly shattered his confidence, some fanfics have Jim turning to Strickler for help and advice with the things that are worrying him. Those fanfics also have Strickler helping Jim to accept his new siblings and work through the struggle of what the Green Knight and the Arcane Order had forced Jim to do.

On AO3, the ship has 41 gen fanfics and 16 romantic fanfics, while FanFiction.net has 39 with only 1 placed under pairing in its Trollhunters category.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Jim/Stricklander tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Jim/Stricklander tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Jim/Stricklander tag on FanFiction.Net

TUMBLR

WIKI
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Trivia

 * The ship's name comes from the fact that both Jim and Strickler are skilled with an knife and have used them to fight one another during dinner.
 * Whenever Jim talks about Strickler, most of those moments have Jim.