Tyrion Lannister, The Imp, and rightful Lord of Casterly Rock
Like most nerdy alcoholics, I had a special affection for Tyrion when I first started reading the books/watching the show. As such, when I first started painting, I included him in my "good ending" game of thrones fanart as Jon's hand
Having since finished reading aFfC and aDwD I don't think any of the elements I included in this piece are going to happen, nor do I want them to.
Tyrion is one of the darkest shaded of gray that Martin has his characters get without being 100% villains. His primary concern is always his own safety and goals, and he is more than willing to lie, steal, and kill to ensure both of those things. At the same time, he frequently goes out of his way to help those he feels some form of kinship with. Modifying his saddle design for Bran because Jon asked, not only paying Bron, but giving him steady work, and frequently sticking his neck out for Penny.
As a ruler, Tyrion is a pragmatist before anything else. He recognizes not only the necessity of security from the outside, but also ensuring morale from within. He ensures that the gold cloaks maintain law and order, without pushing the common folk closer to revolt. He promises the smith's they will be paid, only after the siege has been thrown back. This saves the crown money in the moment, and ensures the smiths have extra motivation to make each link as strong as possible. Tyrion regularly proves himself more than qualified for whatever role he finds himself in, as long as he's not expected to go into battle.
It is mostly in his love life, and in general his treatment of women, that Tyrion begins to become much less than respectable. The trauma of watching Tysha be raped over and over, and then himself being forced to participate is enough time make anyone have an unhealthy relationship with sex. Couple that with his sisters constant ridicule, and you get a man who has no true respect for women, and views whores as little more than property. It makes me wonder why he tried to send Shae away so many times if all he felt for her was lust. Of course you don't want your toys to be destroyed by your sister, but what use is it if it's not around to play with. And Tyrion's reaction to Alayaya being brutalized is enough to make Cersei believe she is his mistress. His treatment of Sansa starts off rather bad. He gets himself drunk enough that he thinks he'll be able to forget he's about to have sex with someone he considers a child. And it seems his plan is working at first, but as she recoils at his groping, he ends it. Not his drunkenness, and not his father's threat, can bring him to be sleep with someone who doesn't want it. He even sleeps separately from Sansa most nights, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. The first time Tyrion takes a sexual partner that is truly unwilling, but has no other option, is the bed slave in Selhorys.
Tyrion has become much more cruel since his trial. Killing Shae in cold blood, manipulating Aegon to ally with Dorn instead of continuing to Meereen, and his treatment of the bed slave in Sehorys. And with Quaithe warning Daenerys not to trust the Lion, I think it's worth being weary of him. But I'm concerned at the ammount of hate he gets compared to similarly corrupt characters who don't have his consistent soft spot. I wonder how much people's opinion of him are colored by his "monstrous " appearance, and are subconsciously looking for excuses to justify their perception.
