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 has taken a shine to him and has given Jim the nickname, "Young Atlas". Since Jim has taken it upon himself to help his hard working mother, trying to do well in school and is having trouble approaching the girl he fancies, Strickler feels that like the cursed Greek titan Jim bares the weight of the world on his shoulders. This is why he offers Jim his help. As for Jim, his father left him and his mother when he was young and his history teacher showing him kindness has gotten Jim to view him as a father-like. After Jim found the Amulet of Daylight, Strickler saw it peeking out of Jim's bag and new right away that one of his students has been chosen to become the next Trollhunters; and how it now makes him and Jim enemies. Since he already offered Jim his help with the said boy's home life, Strickler uses it as a means to get closer to Jim without rising suspicion, while Jim wasn't so fund of the "friendly" way Strickler and his mother were acting towards one another. The weight of the world was truly placed on Jim's shoulders as he is tasked to protect both his world and the hidden world of trolls, that Strickler is apart 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 is a changeling and when Toby subjected 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 their trying to avoid. Bular on the other hand feels that Strickler is still soft on Jim and comes up with ways to kill Jim without sharing his plans with the changeling. This is why 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" and this got Jim to finally realise that Strickler isn't who he clams to be. Once Strickler found out what Bular's actions have done and how it was a test the two trolls set to see if the changeling is truly on their side, and wouldn't let the foundress he still has for Jim stop him. No matter how many times Strickler tells his masters that it isn't so. Since then Jim and Strickler have been 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 manged to switch Jim's amulet with a fake; so the Trollhunter wouldn't know that he has taken it from him. When they tried to open the bridge Strickler learns 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 on the other hand wasn't going to let Strickler or his allies win, so he comes up with a plan that will grant his team victory instead.

After Jim defeated Bular and made sure that Gunmar is kept imprisoned within the Dark Land, it allowed Strickler to realize that his kind will always be considered as impures to the rest of troll kind 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. 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 has 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 blinding spell that would inflict pain onto her, whenever he gets hurt. Jim felt powerless when he learnt this from Strickler and tries to find away to undo the spell

At the end of Part Two, shortly after Jim and his friends were able to save a hand full of trolls when Gunmar took over Troll Market, he returns 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
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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 some to fight one another during dinner.
 * Whenever Jim talks about Strickler, most of those moments have Jim.