Grow Up, Little One

This Was Normal

Sun Wukong grew up on Flower Fruit Mountain, with principles different from those humans held.

To Wukong, if something was proven to be part of nature or simply existed, then it was normal. That's how it always was, so anything his troop did he didn't bat an eye at. One such belief that didn't raise questions was a person's identity.

After all, it was part of nature. Everyone's brains were different, with all kinds of thoughts, identities, likes, and dislikes. So that was that.

Nature was nature, proven to be just fine.

---

Subodhi's other students seemed to disagree.

Feng grimaced, eyeing the monkey idly, "Huh? So is your best friend a girl, or not? You said he has menstruation cycles." Wukong blinked owlishly, "A boy. He's a man, nothing else." Another student leaned into the conversation, "Guys can't have menstruation cycles! Surely your best friend is a female?"

Wukong frowned, frustrated and confused, "No. He's a guy. His sex is female, but he is a guy!"

"Isn't a person's sex and gender the same thing? So your best friend is pretending to be a man?" The monkey stomped his foot, fur bristling. Macaque isn't a girl, why couldn't they understand? He was speaking clearly, wasn't he?

"No! Sex is your physical parts, gender is your identity! He is a MAN."

The pair scoffed, sneering down at the king in distaste, "As if, she isn't a real man." Wukong felt white-hot anger course through him as they blatantly disrespected Macaque. It wasn't that hard to understand. It shouldn't be. Why weren't they acting as if this was normal?

Wukong lunged at them, snarling as they screamed. He got in trouble later, of course, but he wasn't the slightest bit remorseful.

---

The monk tilted his head, "You like males? Really?"

Wukong yawned, shrugging his shoulders, "I dunno, maybe? I don't wanna lay with anyone, though. Seems boring." Sanzang clasped his hands together, "Ah! Then you are tied closer to Buddha than you believe if you don't want to lay with anyone--"

"I think I'd kiss my best friend, though. I like him, so that counts."

Sanzang blinked slowly, "...Is...is your best friend a boy?" Wukong frowned, eyeing the monk, "Boy. Why?" The man hummed, tapping his cheek, "I see. Well, nevermind. I'm glad you feel comfortable telling me this."

Wukong frowned in confusion, "Huh? Why would I be uncomfortable?" The holy man was making less and less sense with each passing second.

"Well... it...hm." The monk pondered, glancing back down at the monkey, "Monkey. Back in your home, is this a normal conversation to have?" Wukong nodded, "Well, yeah. It's normal, everyone has their own likes and dislikes, y'know?"

Sanzang's eyes widened, "Ah. Alright, then."

---

They had names for all these kinds of identities. Humans created them, anyway, because it was shunned for some reason and now it was a way to address the suppressed.

It made Wukong amused, because everything 'new' had been around for much longer than they thought. It made him laugh because their ignorance still spoke against 'science'. And science simply confirmed nature with heaps of evidence.

There were labels such as transgender, gay, bisexual, lesbian, cis, asexual, and so many more. It fascinated Wukong that so many words could exist when he'd grown up with none of them.

When he was younger, he never took notice of such things. But as he grew older, and witnessed people's attitudes... He started to become much more aware. And much more wary.

---

There were still people who did both, they saw the same ideals as normal while also using labels to make others feel seen.

MK and his friends were like that. They used labels and such without any judgment. It was refreshing, witnessing them interact so naturally. It made his heart ache, wishing the world could be just as accepting.

Macaque suddenly poked him, smirking, "What're you thinking of?"

Wukong scowled, though there was no real anger behind it, "Not your dumb face!" The shadow user laughed, shaking his head, "Fine. Come on, Pigsy says it's time to eat. And I doubt you want him to drag you."

Wukong left, head clear and with a smile on his face.