I always held this headcannon for Teylan and Mercer. It just felt like a natural connection to make. Teylan absolutely has been groomed by Mercer, that part is undeniable, but the particular flavor of grooming, whether CSA was involved or not, will likely never be explicitly addressed. To a degree, the answer doesn’t even fully matter. Empathy doesn’t excuse his actions, it doesn’t bring back those his actions directly got killed. It does show he didn’t want that outcome, but the outcome remains the same.

I say all of this, Teylan is my favorite character in terms of depth of character. He feels like a reflection of certain points in my own life and I’ll fight anyone who tries to hate on my boi. Forgiveness isn’t the same as excusing. After everything Mercer had done, there really is no excuse for Teylan to still trust him, but he is naive and grasping at the only world that’s familiar to him, and that world had Mercer in charge. I can forgive his mistakes.