Lots and lots of thoughts

I’ve never really been disappointed with the writing in TTB but with this newest chapter exploring the relationship between Sefal and Erald I can’t help but feel like something is missing when it comes to the writing. There’s lots of interesting stuff revealed in the chapters but the framework and presentation are really holding it back for me.
For the positives, I really like Sefal’s design. He’s really pretty to me and the basic idea of his character is interesting. His meeting with Erald is cute as well but their meeting has its own problems I’ll talk about later.
Firstly, just to start with the small stupid stuff. I wish that young Erald and Caius were a bit more visually distinct from one another. The only thing really setting them apart is the headband and outfit Erald wears and I wish that weren’t the case. Idk I feel like if Caius just decided to play around in his dad’s closet the people would feel like they’d seen a ghost lol but that’s just a small nitpick. I don’t like the way Sefal talks about himself, it gets really preachy and sounds unnatural. I understand that he’s pessimistic and a little self loathing but the way it’s written in text and what is shown are two completely different forms of being, it left me confused going through my first reading because it was so contradictory.
Most of my gripes with the writing really fall with Sefal and how his “introverted-ness”is portrayed. Lemme preface this but saying I really like the inclusion of a character who struggles with titan traditions like kouichi does, that irony of a Titian who struggles with forming and sustaining relationships is a really good one and makes for an interesting character. However, Sefal is described as being introverted in one of the first scenes that we see him in but is he really?? I think he’d be more properly described as just being shy or anxious rather than being called “introverted”. Since he actively wants to bond and interact with other people but doesn’t know how to go about it and often gets nervous. I think if they wanted to make him introverted that could’ve been better represented with his adoptive family. When leaving for the capital he becomes frustrated at the fact that he’s the only one torn up about having to leave since he can never return. We sadly don’t get to see a lot about his family or his time spent with them but I think his anxiety is what kept him from developing a strong bond with them as opposed to him having a preference for alone time. But that departure scene alone nonetheless proves he always wanted a relationship with them. If the author wanted to better illustrate his introversion I think it’d be better shown through him interacting with others and finding it emotionally taxing while finding more comfort in being by himself which would better serve as a direct a opposite to how titans are traditionally supposed to be. Anxiety serves as a better trait to his character than being introvert bc it can both tie into his ability to form relationships as a titan and his abilities as a prophet since I think having visions of the future and anxiety pretty much go hand in hand. I like his depiction in the scene with his early training as prophet, I might be reading too far into it but that image of him with other adults peering over him and watching him being the cause of him running away really suits that image better imo.
I wish we got to see more about his abilities as a prophet and how they came into fruition, as well as how he was discovered by the capital. A little more insight into that process would be helpful in adding to his character, I can’t be the only one who feels like a child being able to predict a few storms wouldn’t make you qualified to be the royal prophet of your country’s major religion. With the way other characters talk about the prophet and the visual framing he gets I imagined it’d be more rituals and visions as opposed to guesses that kinda just end up coming true. It leaves it feeling like he can say whatever he wants and because he has such a strong influence people will latch onto it. Immediately, Sefal doesn’t look happy about the fact that he’s been labeled as a prophet and even less so about the fact that he’s being chosen and taken back to the capital. Those small details are nice but again aside from background characters calling him a prophet how does that look to him. Given his reaction to the claim, does he see it as a gift or a curse? If he has visions at all how do they happen and what does that look like for him? What was the first thing he saw? What was the first important thing he saw that got him on the capital’s radar? Did his prophet ability have any influence on his relationship with his family/the towns folk? These are a lot of questions but they’re extremely important ones considering just how important the role of the prophet and that prophecy is to the story.
As for Sefal and Erald’s meeting, the one thing that doesn’t make sense to me is that Sefal hasn’t met or seen Erald before?? Like that’s the future king and you’re the prophet in training there’s absolutely no way you guys haven’t met or seen each other at least once since Sefal was taken to the castle at a young age. Maybe Sefal is kept in isolation which why they hadn’t met beforehand or the uniform he wears kept Erald from actually recognizing who Sefal was but later on Erald himself goes on to emphasize the specific bond the King and Prophet have and why it’s so important so I find it hard to believe that with the two of them being as important as they are there wouldn’t be at least one formal meeting. The jump cuts in these chapters don’t really do the reader any favors either and leave a lot to be questioned. I’d really like to know why Sefal thought that Erald was growing tired of him, it would’ve been nice to see more of their date(this also happened with their first date and I think it could’ve been a really strong character moment for both of them). What did Erald say or do that made him think that??