Things that need to be in YA Fantasy (imho)
1. People getting normal sick, not magic sick.
2. Disabled winged characters.
3. Selkies. They’re cooler than mermaids, in my opinion, and not used enough.
4. Chubby mermaids. I mean, come on, how do they regulate their body temperature?
5. Chinese/Chinese-inspired (but not Pan-Asian) cultures. In a similar vein, Mongolian culture is very interesting and rarely gets a chance to shine.
6. Non-Western European based cultures. By this I mean maybe investigate Medieval Poland, or the Kievan Rus. Or maybe head down South and check out Ottoman Greece, or hell, Venice in its heyday.
7. POC-majority settings. Technically, the world is a POC-majority setting, after all.
8. Casual racism immediately identified as Not Okay.
9. Actually really losing people for good. Looking at you, comic books.
10. Non-magic setting, but belief in magic.
11. A healthy relationship or two sprinkled in there.
