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, while 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.

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. After Jim brought Nomura out of the Dark lands with him, she tracked down Strickler and convinced him to return back to Arcadia with. So they can help Jim prepare for his upcoming battle with Gunmar. Knowing that his humanity would get him killed if Jim wasn't awaken his inner killer. Since Blinky was busies 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 isn't so fund on the way Strickler tries to kill him 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 is still in love with him and was hurt when he left.

Fanon
Due to the fact that Strickler is a family-like figure to Jim, has formed a soft part 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 include Barbara in them, due to her being Jim's mother and Walter's lover, and that is why she is sometimes included in the familyship; 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. Despite the age gap between them it hasn't stopped fans from shipping them romantically, while 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 confidents, 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 except his new siblings and 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
 * on the
 * on the

Trivia

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