Wow okay.
Prophecies.
The main problem with them is that they're overused, and not just in fanfictions.
They main problem is that they're usually very obvious.
They're supposed to be vague.
I read a fanfiction recently that is pretty popular, if I said the name y'all would know it. I'm not going to say the name, not because I'm a nice person, just because I'm incredibly selfish and don't want to get yelled at.
Why? Because I fucking hated it. And most seem to enjoy it?
The plotline was pretty overused and they portrayed mental health pretty badly. But the one thing they got right? The prophecy.
I can't say too much, but there was basically two cats involved, one would be good and the other bad. Main character finds, to his shock, that he is the "bad" cat. As it turns out, he was actually good, the prophecy was made to trick you.
Y'all might've figured it out.
While it was semi-obvious what it was about, that trick was actually pretty cool.
Obvious prophecies are ridiculous. They're so annoying! Do not mention the character's prefix (or suffix) in your prophecy. If their name is Beeclaw, don't say "the insect.." Don't make it obvious what will happen.
In most prophecies, there's an evil cat and a good cat (who's the main character) and it tells of the main character defeating the evil cat. Stay away from this one!
I try to stay away from prophecies in general, mainly because they're the base of many plots, and are very overused. What happened to omens? Visions?
Prophecies can be amazing if written correctly.
But they're usually not.
How difficult is it to write a prophecy?? I mean, how? (Maybe it's easy for me because I love writing poetry but I don't know, it's pretty easy? I could help y'all with prophecies? Mine are probably shit anyway but?)
Dudes, please. If you're going to write about a prophecy, put in a lot of effort. I love dark prophecies, "Blood will spill blood" was one of the best prophecy lines in the whole series. Maybe even the best.
Gods, maybe even make your character evil, and write a prophecy about them. Even better, your protagonist doesn't think that they're evil, because as I've said before, people don't do things when they know they're wrong. (Unless they're just being petty lmao)
Don't go with "The Moon will rise against the Oak, and all will be revealed" If Moonshade defeats the evil Oakclaw. Go with "The moon will rise, the forest will fall, and blood will soak the bark. Veiled secrets cannot reside, truth sings like a lark"
Holy shit that was bad, but you get the idea. Also moon is a forbidden prefix, so...
"Concave voices echo, lilac streaked skies will tumble, awakening the beasts. Crushing the spine, breaking the bones, blood will prevail." How would you interpret that one, compared to "Burdock and Sand will tussle, destruction will reign after the Herb's victory?"