Lords in Black Plotting Headcanons
Potentially controversial ranking of the Lords in Black from Most to Least strategic (or maybe just Most Complicated to Simplest plans):
Tinky - Fucking obviously. Everything is so pre-planned and calculated all he has to do is nudge someone and everything plays out exactly how it needs to like the world's worst Rube Goldberg Machine. Partially why he tends to fixate on individuals and taking them apart over and over again instead of bigger world-ending disasters. Less variables, and he can learn everything about them, which makes for more refined plots. Absolute control freak, especially for how little he actually involves himself once things kick off.
Wiggly - Unlike Tinky, he tends to leave wiggle room variability in his plans, and just works out contingencies on how to counter victims' counter moves instead of stopping them. He wants people to be able to struggle and fight back and think they have a chance, just so he can rip it away and prove he's that much better than everyone else. Fully willing to accept a lesser outcome so long as it means someone else is losing.
Blinky - Has worked out the exact percentages needed to overcharge for sub-par churros at what humidity point to drive a happy marriage into a messy divorce before lunch, and a murder-suicide by snack time. Can spot weak points ten dimensions over and work out how to exploit them. Willing to spend the time and effort setting up a slow burn of small annoyances and breadcrumbs over time to lead to a spectacular meltdown. HOWEVER, he has absolutely zero patience for any sort of deviation or failure. First sign something isn't going his way, he's throwing a fit and rushing in to force an outcome instead of working to fix it.
Nibbly - HEAR ME OUT. Out of all his brothers, Nibbly's the one who has an active cult that is successfully operating through the current day, with regular worship, rituals, and sacrifices. I don't think he's simple-minded, I think he's just worked out how to domesticate us the most efficiently. He offers petty rewards, and powerful humans are fighting to the death for the opportunity to hand-feed him. He has a system that works, and there's no point in trying to ruin it with over-complicated plots and schemes which is kind of ironic for a guy who loves the taste of blind ambition.
Pokey - Most controversial ranking, I know. He has scenes and set pieces planned out to the smallest details. Blocking? Perfect. Dialogue? Genius. Lighting? Gorgeous. How to get his victims to those scenes??? Um... Build the hive? Zerg rush with infected until victory is inevitable?? He deploys the bare minimum strategy to get the ball rolling with infection, but quickly throws away advantages for the sake of ~*~aesthetics~*~ and drama. Listen, you don't need complicated tactics when you can swarm with unkillable drone bodies from every angle, and the faster you can assimilate people, the faster you can get to the fun stuff.
