I'm impressed by the quality of the writing and the strength of the authors convictions. I also strongly disagree with the premise. I don't think Gale was victimized by Mystra and find the comparison of Gale's treatment to that of child abuse . . . supercilious? It's overly strong analogue to apply to a silly story. Child abuse is a very serious issue and shouldn't be invoked in such a manner.
Thank you sincerely, but I also think we can both see we have dramatically different reads. Where I stand that's okay (answer meant in the spirit of your comment, no animosity), and I figure that Forgotten Realms canon shifts in characterization at times. Not uncommon for long-term, multi-creator media. Mystra being framed as she has been in Baldur's Gate 3 is very compelling and makes a lot of sense in my opinion, but I understand it may be jarring compared to other iterations of her. I've winced at lore videos made pre-game where Mystra was someone's favorite goddess, because that is a dramatically different and extremely dark shift.
I do want to assure you specifically that I've done my homework though, am taking this seriously on my end, and don't make the claims I do without evidence.
In the interest of transparency I've seen people float quotes about how all of the companions are victims of abuse. I cannot for the life of me recall which interview it came from or who specifically stated as such, so grain of salt there/this is like citing wikipedia. I do have definitive quotes alluding to Mystra's child abuse within the game though.
Minsc, discussing Gale's relationship with Mystra:
"Gale reminds me of the
vremyonni of my homeland. The man-mages of Rashemen. While the girl-folk go on to rule as
wychlaran, Weave-touched boys were hidden away. Trained to work their craft in silence and secrecy. It is an old custom, not well-observed. In truth I thought it born of caution, after some catastrophe wrought by wizardly men-folk of old. Now I wonder if it was not done to hide them from Mystra, and the snares she sets for young and prideful boys, hm?"
Tying this to analysis I've done elsewhere:
Gale has, by his own admission, been involved with the Weave for as long as he can remember. He sees Mystra as synonymous with the Weave, and with magic. These are things he explicitly states within the game. Gale also has notable reactions to say, saving Arabella from being killed over the idol of Silvanus or Mirkon from harpies. With Arabella especially, the idea of being treated as unforgivable or deserving death for a youthful mistake is something he talks about as if he has some experience with it. And while this is a video game with limited character models, I'm going to estimate that the tiefling kids are probably somewhere between eight and thirteen.
We know Gale has been stuck largely alone in his tower with the orb for a year or so. The orb specifically is something that happened when he was an adult, but the way he talks about Arabella with implicit personal identification of facing older authority figures as a young person who didn't know better... I don't think this is the orb alone troubling him. It's also worth noting that Mystra sent Elminster to Gale when Gale was eight years old canonically, so she was at least watching and involved to some extent from the time that Gale was eight. This is revealed in Elminster's letter in (IIRC) the god!Gale ending.
I've seen people try to argue that Mystra would have been indisposed/dead and unable to take advantage of Gale when he was a kid due to the broader Forgotten Realms timeline. I'm inclined to say in this instance, with all evidence in the narrative pointing to a particular arc and theme for Gale and Mystra's relationship, it's more likely that the timeline was something Larian chose to fudge in the interest of storytelling opportunities. The alternative would be that none of those dialogue exchanges meant anything. The narrative is weakened if those moments are made meaningless, and the characters become flatter and less credible without them too. If it comes between trivia and the emotional core of a story, I'd argue the core wins.
Gale claims to have slept with other people before Mystra, but that a romanced character is the first person he's slept with after her. I personally suspect it wasn't a lot of prior experience, and he was pretty young when his romance with Mystra began. Additionally, while it's pure conjecture on my part--given how Gale reacts to the tiefling kids it would make sense to me if Mystra started grooming him when he was between eight and thirteen years old.
[...]
I also want to express to you, as someone who has been involved with media for similar popular nerd properties in both a consumer and company capacity--child abuse is very much examined in works like this. Fiction, be it speculative media or realistic fiction, is a safer way to examine these subjects than nonfiction where real and specific human beings are attached. Because it is a very heavy subject, such narratives won't be what everyone is comfortable engaging--but it is absolutely within grounds for creators to tell those stories regardless. Speculative fiction allows audiences to connect with human beings who may have experienced very different lives and circumstances than them, but who share common humanity as it were. What aspects of humanity are shown depend on the storyteller and the story itself, but it isn't inherently trivialized or framed with less seriousness than examination of the topic in a different time period or part of the world. Additionally, you could argue Astarion being subjected to enslavement and rape for two hundred years is an overly strong analogue to apply to a 'silly story'--but it is canon. This is the story being told in Baldur's Gate 3. Touching upon child abuse in a story built to examine abuse across cast members would not be out of place thematically or in terms of severity. Whether the abuse is examined effectively and respectfully might be subject to examination, but it does have a place in storytelling and evidence suggests it was incorporated deliberately here.
I have more commentary on Mystra and how she addresses Gale regarding the Karsic Weave, but 1) more long 2) my goal here isn't actually to convert you into agreeing with me. This is just showing that I am not pulling stuff out of my ass, and am not being unreasonable in my read. I do think Mystra's abuse was extremely insidious and horrifying, but I think it was all filtered firmly through Mystra's own perceptions, priorities, and self-justification. She genuinely does not think she did anything wrong. She is framing herself in that belief. It is for audiences to reconcile what she says with the rest of the situation, as well as what she omits or disregards. If you went in with a version of Mystra you wanted and are unwilling to consider anything that doesn't fit that version, then this might not be a particular story or examination you prefer for yourself. As a fan you're allowed to pick and choose between different canons though, and genuinely I do get it.
