My thoughts are not very organized today but random vibes I've gotten about Raimond and Juliens relationship (and this is without going back and rewatching that scene at the brothel so I could be way off base). I feel like you're absolutely right that it's not just a clear cut "worst father of the year award". Sometimes I get the vibe that a lot of it is just years of expectations that Julien felt he never quite lived up to, which the made him resentful and more likely to act out, which of course made him fall even further from the unattainable expectations, etc and it snowballed until basically Julien just existing was enough for him to somehow not be good enough in raimonds eyes (and of course the whole falconer's rebellion thing just was further proof then), and so maybe that morning at the brothel it wasn't even any one particular thing that pissed Raimond off but more just Julien's whole *gestures at him* vibe and years of prejudice. But then I remember things like didn't Raimond almost go to strike Julien w his gauntlet at one point? Or is that fanon that I've absorbed? If it's real then that adds a whole extra layer of physical abuse (and if Raimond drinks is that related?) that complicates things even further. But like, and the bar is in the tenebral reaches here to be clear (maybe even lower if that's possible), but contrasted to Primus for example, I feel like raimond at least somewhat actually cares for his son and his well-being? It's just that they may have different definitions of well-being, and maybe, like maya, raimond also has other things that come higher on his priorities list than his sons happiness. Kind of reminds me of a friend I had growing up where her parents did genuinely want "the best" for their kids, they just had WILDLY different ideas of what that actually looks like than the kids themselves do, which leads to years of resentment but also so much conflicting emotions because "they do care and they do love me and they do want what's best for me so maybe I'm in the wrong" (paraphrased but not far off from things my friend has actually said)(and of course Julien wouldn't ever voice these thoughts even in his head, he would just run harder towards his vices to avoid confronting them, which would then give Raimond more "reason" to be angry and disappointed with him). Idk where I'm going with this and don't have the energy to read it back or format it so pls enjoy this stream of consciousness wall of text lmao
If we're thinking of the same scene, Raimond raises a hand to strike Julien, decides to take off the gauntlet before hitting him, and "by the time it's off" had cooled down enough that he keeps getting his hands to himself.
So that could be read a few different ways but I tend read it as there was some level of past physical abuse based on Julien's reaction of "being quiet, sweaty, nauseous, eyes down". Which is not how we see him react to... Anything else.
