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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bailey_and_gannet.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:Nerd Boy and [[WingedHumanoid Bird Boy]]]]
3''Avialae'' is a BoysLove webcomic by Lucid that is, in the creator's own words, "about a gross bird boy and his nerdy wannabe ornithologist [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend boyfr--I mean neighbor]] who helps him out during the painful and bloody process of growing wings."
4
5More specifically, Gannet Sharpe is an everyday emo gay teenage boy who hates his town, his bird-loving neighbor, and just wants to get laid. His existence becomes not-so-everyday, however, when he wakes up one morning and finds out that [[WingedHumanoid wings have begun sprouting from his back]]. His bird-loving neighbor, Bailey Gilbert, discovers his secret and helps him bind his wings so that they won't be noticed by others.
6
7Gannet now has to be careful to keep his still-growing wings a secret from everyone else, figure out just what caused them, and deal with his developing feelings for Bailey, all while trying to lead as normal a life as possible.
8
9The webcomic can be read at [[https://yaoi.biz/about-avialae/ the creator's site]] (warning for R-18 pages). Its creator also has a [[https://www.patreon.com/lucid Patreon account]] where extras and {{doujinshi}} of the webcomic can be purchased.
10
11----
12!!This webcomic contains examples of:
13* AlmostKiss: Bailey almost kisses a sleeping Gannet in the first chapter, only to be interrupted by Gannet waking up.
14* AmbiguouslyBrown: Bailey is brown-skinned in color illustrations, but his exact ethnicity isn't specified in the comic. WordOfGod says that he's half-Puerto Rican.
15* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove:
16** In Ch. 2, Bailey starts to do this toward Gannet but Gannet cuts him short because he doesn't believe in (or is too scared to believe in) love.
17** In Ch. 4, Bailey tearfully declares his love for Gannet when the latter tries to BreakHisHeartToSaveHim, and this time Gannet accepts it and even gives an anguished love declaration of his own for the first time.
18* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Used by Bailey to break through Gannet's refusal to admit that he's still reeling from Charles's revelations:
19-->'''Bailey:''' You don't have to pretend to be strong around me. I'm not going to run away. It's too late for that. Now, I'm going to ask you again... ''are you okay?''
20* AutoErotica: Gannet and Bailey's first sexual encounter occurs in the backseat of Bailey's car.
21* BishieSparkle: Occasionally seen around Gannet or Bailey when they're looking especially fine or seductive. Bailey's older brother Jamie also gets them as an indicator that he's basically the hotter version of Bailey.
22* BlandNameProduct: Gannet has "Bif" peanut butter in his house, and gets a ''[[Literature/MaximumRide Maximum Flight]]'' book as a gag Christmas gift.
23* BodyHorror: When Gannet's wings start coming in, they do NOT look pretty with Gannet bleeding heavily and in acute pain. The bleeding and pain stop afterwards, but the wings continuing to grow cause Gannet and Bailey to fear what will happen when they become too big to hide.
24* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: Gannet tries to break up with Bailey in Ch. 4, saying that he deserves to lead a normal life with someone who doesn't have to hide from the public, which incenses Bailey who tells him that a life without him ''wouldn't'' feel normal to him.
25* CallingTheOldManOut: Gannet does this to his uncle-in-law Charles, [[spoiler:calling him out for cheating on and leaving his uncle Everett and not even bothering to try contacting Gannet for far too long a time]].
26* CastFullOfGay: Other than Gannet and Bailey's obvious gayness, Gannet's friend Addie is a lesbian, Gannet's uncle Everett was married to a man, Bailey's older brother Jamie and Gannet's childhood friend Renee are both transgender, and Nat remarks that they "[[{{UsefulNotes/Asexuality}} don't feel sexual attraction]]".
27* DeadpanSnarker: Gannet, and Addie to an extent.
28* DeathGlare: Bailey, [[BewareTheNiceOnes while normally a very nice guy]], has given decidedly frosty glares [[GreenEyedMonster to Luke]] and [[CallingTheOldManOut Charles]].
29* DestructiveRomance: [[spoiler:Gannet's uncle Everett was in one with Charles who emotionally abused and repeatedly cheated on him, eventually left him for a woman, and never bothered to visit him while he was dying of brain cancer.]]
30* DoNotTryThisAtHome: As Bailey tries binding Gannet's wings using tape early on, the series features a disclaimer warning against using compression tape or bandages for chest binding due to the physical dangers of doing so.
31* EatingTheEyeCandy: Even at the start of the comic when Gannet barely tolerated Bailey, he couldn't help ogling his ass while he was out running. And naturally, them becoming an actual couple leads to more scenes of Gannet admiring Bailey's physique and vice versa.
32* EmoTeen: Gannet and Addie both have dyed hair and piercings and like talking to each other about how much their lives suck. Ironically, Gannet actually acts ''[[CharacterDevelopment less]]'' like one when his wings begin growing in; he still angsts about them, but he doesn't mope about more mundane things like he's shown to have done the entire day before he got them and has developed a recent tendency to avoid thinking too much about things that terrify him.
33* EndearinglyDorky: Bailey gets ''very'' blushy and flustered whenever Gannet or someone else catches him off guard (usually with sexual innuendos). Gannet even thinks, "Oh no. He's cute," after one of these episodes.
34* FantasticArousal: Gannet's wings prove to be rather...''sensitive'' to Bailey's touch.
35* FantasticRacism: Most avialae, '''''especially''''' Tatiana, don't trust humans.
36* ForcefulKiss: Gannet does this at the end of Ch. 1 when he gets fed up with Bailey constantly running away from his flirtations. Bailey also springs one on Gannet in Ch. 2 when he gets ticked off by Gannet not taking his love confession seriously.
37* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself: Gannet dresses up as an angel for Renee's Halloween party so that he doesn't need to hide his wings for once.
38* FreakinessShame: Gannet hates his wings [[spoiler:and has an identity crisis when he learns that he's not fully human]], but Bailey thinks that he's beautiful and his wings are cool.
39* GayGuySeeksPopularJock: Before Gannet began really noticing Bailey, he desperately wanted to "wrestle" with Luke, the one member of the wrestling team who didn't act homophobic towards him.
40* {{Gayngst}}: While not the primary focus of the webcomic, Gannet and Bailey both have to deal with homophobic relatives and classmates from time to time.
41* GivingUpTheGhost: This happens to Bailey at the beginning of Ch. 4 when Gannet is sweet-talking him into having sex, with the added humor of his "ghost" having little glasses on and a LuminescentBlush.
42-->'''Author Comments:''' Happy Halloween! Avialae is now about Bailey discovering his ability to use astral projection during sex.
43* TheGlassesGottaGo: The comic initially appears to be setting this up with Bailey; Gannet is struck by how cute Bailey looks when he sees him without his NerdGlasses and Bailey says that he actually sees better with the contacts. Ultimately subverted, however, as Bailey continues wearing glasses almost all the time (albeit a new pair with thinner frames) and Gannet finds him no less attractive, even saying that the glasses are [[CharmPoint part of his charm]]. The glasses briefly going are what causes Gannet to start thinking about Bailey in a different way, but the glasses ultimately stay ''on'' because NerdsAreSexy.
44* HalfHumanHybrid: Gannet turns out to be the offspring of a human and a WingedHumanoid.
45* HappilyAdopted: Gannet's adoptive mother is genuinely loving and supportive of him. His father, [[HeteronormativeCrusader not so much]], which is why Gannet chose to stay with his mother after his parents' divorce.
46* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Gannet and Bailey insist this on multiple occasions to the family members who see them together while they're in their JustFriends ([[FriendsWithBenefits who occasionally make out]]) phase. Jamie in particular is less than convinced by Bailey's stuttering denials and repeatedly refers to Gannet as his ''"friend"'' in a clearly sarcastic tone of voice.
47* HiddenElfVillage: [[spoiler:Most avialae live in Folkvangr, a city that's been hidden for thousands of years to prevent humans from wiping out their species. They ''really'' don't trust humans, and Bailey has to stay hidden or disguised within its walls to avoid getting kicked out or worse.]]
48* HormoneAddledTeenager: Gannet and Addie, made worse by them both being gay and attending a private Catholic school where a number of students are homophobic. One of Gannet's primary complaints before the wing incident is that he hasn't gotten laid in over a year.
49* IdealizedSex: {{Averted|Trope}}. During Gannet and Bailey's first few sexual encounters, Gannet notes that Bailey's total lack of sexual experience is very obvious but also that his eagerness still makes the sex extremely pleasurable. However, they then go through a period where they have to abort several attempts at sex due to Bailey [[TheLoinsSleepTonight failing to get aroused]] until they realize that it's because Bailey is demisexual and can get into sex only if it feels emotionally meaningful to him. Even after they become comfortable enough in their relationship to have great sex on a regular basis, their attempts at sex in Ch. 5 get repeatedly thwarted by Gannet's body being too sore from his exercise regimen (and once, by Gannet accidentally smacking Bailey in the face with one of his wings).
50* IJustWantToBeNormal: Gannet's response to learning that he's not fully human. It becomes even worse when his wings grow so large that he can no longer keep them hidden and has to stop going to school.
51* ImmuneToDrugs: Gannet's attempts at [[DrowningMySorrows drowning his sorrows]] at Renee's Halloween party all fail, and he wonders out loud if it's due to his bird-like metabolism.
52* InsistentTerminology: Gannet is ''not'' a bird, no matter how much Bailey geeks out over his wings.
53* InterspeciesRomance: Gannet's WingedHumanoid mother Aletta and human father Silas, which his mother got [[MalignedMixedMarriage cast out from her society for]]. This causes Gannet's relationship with Bailey to be one in turn.
54* {{Irony}}:
55** Bailey, a massive bird lover, is allergic to birds. This extends to Gannet, who he has a crush on.
56** When Gannet's mother asks him if he's dating Bailey, Gannet vehemently declares that will ''[[TemptingFate never]]'' happen.
57** Gannet, whose wings have grown to the point where he is capable of flight, is [[IronicFear afraid of heights]].
58* LadykillerInLove: Gannet has slept with a lot of men (at least ''twelve'', according to Ch. 4) and views relationships as too complicated and messy to get involved in. It takes him a long while to admit that he feels more than just sexual attraction to Bailey.
59* LoveEpiphany: asks Jamie how he realized he was in love with his fiancée Jenna and Jamie, correctly guessing that Bailey is thinking too much about whether he really loves Gannet or not, says that love isn't just an instant reaction and takes time to build but that there usually ''is'' a moment where it dawns upon you that you're in love. It's implied later on that Bailey has that "moment" when he sees Gannet sitting at the window.
60-->'''Jamie:''' I don't think love is like that. It's not about whether or not "they're the one." It's something you have to build. It's something you have to work for.
61-->'''Bailey:''' Oh...
62-->'''Jamie:''' Though, you'll probably have a moment of realization. I did. It wasn't anything profound. I just looked at [Jenna] one day and was like "Oh yeah, this is what I've been feeling."
63* LuminescentBlush: Bailey is an undisputed master of this. Gannet is also prone to this from time to time.
64* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: Gannet, due to not believing in love after seeing multiple family members have ill-fated relationships, acts like this toward Bailey. The crowning example of this is when he thinks to himself that he has to stop encouraging Bailey's affections and then [[FreudianSlip finds himself]] asking Bailey immediately after thinking this if he wants to make out. He does admit near the end of chapter 2 that he's terrified of his feelings for Bailey but wants to try out dating.
65* MeaningfulName: "Gannet" is a type of bird.
66* NiceGuy: Bailey checks up on and helps a newly-wingified Gannet at the beginning of the comic in spite of the latter blowing him off in an extremely rude manner during their last meeting, and in general acts as an UnderstandingBoyfriend to him (even when they're [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend not boyfriends]]).
67* NotADate: Gannet starts out adamant that he and Bailey not date as JustFriends "[[FriendsWithBenefits who occasionally make out]]", but quickly realizes that events like Bailey giving him one of his sweatshirts that he sewed to accommodate his wings as a birthday present feel pretty damn date-ish.
68* NotAMorningPerson: Gannet's mother made a deal with Bailey for him to wake up Gannet for school every morning because of this trope.
69* ObliviousToLove: According to Addie, Bailey's been giving Gannet "gaga eyes" ever since he saw him and she never told Gannet because she assumed that he already knew about it. He hadn't. Bailey is also shown to be deep in denial about his own feelings for Gannet until the latter [[ForcefulKiss plants a wet one on him]].
70* OneWordTitle
71* OppositesAttract: [[DeadpanSnarker Snarky]], short-tempered, sexually experienced slacker meets EndearinglyDorky, patient, sexually inexperienced nerd.
72* PerceptionFilter: Gannet eventually learns that [[spoiler:the reason he's never met or heard of another avialae is that they have perception-blocking abilities that enable them to hide from or appear normal to humans and that he can do the same with enough training]].
73* PermaShave: Averted. Bailey is shown with stubble in some scenes, but the stubble always disappears soon after with him implicitly having shaven it off.
74* PlayingSick: Gannet does this to avoid having to go to school until he's gotten more adjusted to his new reality of having wings.
75* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Happens when Gannet is [[https://yaoi.biz/avialae/chapter-1/page-20 freaking out]] about his newly-grown wings.
76-->'''Gannet:''' Wait - you can see them, right?! This isn't some kinda ''Film/BlackSwan'' shit?!\
77'''Bailey:''' I-I-I don't understand that reference -- but yeah, I can see them...
78* PostKissCatatonia: PlayedForDrama when Gannet passes out in the middle of his first kiss with Bailey from his wings being bound too tightly, which not only [[MomentKiller kills the moment]] but also makes Bailey feel guilty and awkward enough to avoid him for the next three weeks.
79* ReallyRoyaltyReveal: In Ch. 5, [[spoiler:Gannet learns that his mother Aletta belonged to a royal family from the hidden avialae city of Folkvangr. Which technically makes him a prince, as Bailey points out.]]
80* RelationshipUpgrade: Gannet and Bailey kiss at the end of Chapter 1 and have sex multiple times before agreeing to date at the end of Chapter 2.
81* RightThroughTheWall: [[https://yaoi.biz/avialae/chapter-2/page-120/ Hilariously subverted]].
82-->'''Jamie:''' So how did things go with Gannet last night?
83-->'''Bailey:''' Y-Y-You heard us?!
84-->'''Jamie:''' WHAT?! No! Oh my god, I was kidding! Fuck, I'm gonna have to burn that couch now.
85* {{Sarashi}}: A variant; Bailey binds Gannet's wings with the bandages his trans brother used to wear. He later replaces them with a modified chest binder.
86* SecretKeeper: Bailey is initially the only person who knows about Gannet's wings. Addie becomes a secret keeper too later on after she gets over her initial shock. [[spoiler:When Gannet's mother finally learns about his wings, she isn't too pleased that Bailey helped Gannet keep them a secret from her for so long but eventually concedes that he did it for Gannet's sake.]]
87* SelfDeprecation: In Chapter 4, Gracie gives Gannet an 18+ [[Anime/YuriOnIce Yuri/Victor]] doujin as a Christmas present while claiming that he has bad taste in pairings. Lucid has created such a doujin, with the author's comment stating "I love 2 call myself out".
88* SettleForSibling: [[spoiler:After Aletta's death, Silas got involved with her brother Ezra.]]
89* SingleTargetSexuality: Bailey toward Gannet. His brother Jamie says that he never displayed much interest in any gender before Gannet to the point where Jamie wondered if the only living creatures he liked were birds. It's confirmed in Ch. 3 that he's demisexual and needs reassurance from Gannet that he loves him emotionally too to be able to have sex with him.
90* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Subverted; most readers assumed that Bailey was the smart one, but a Ch. 4 page shows that Gannet is actually more academically adept than him but [[BrilliantButLazy normally doesn't bother putting in the extra effort in his classes]].
91* StraightGay: Bailey and Gannet run into Luke at a Halloween party, who's brought a guy as his date.
92* TrainingMontage: Gannet undergoes one in Ch. 5 when [[spoiler:he has to learn perception blocking and exercise to become fit enough to fly in Folkvangr]].
93* UglyCute: [[invoked]] Gannet becomes enamored with a gangly baby crow in Ch. 5 when [[spoiler:Ezra gives him an opportunity to select a hatchling to take care of]], cooing "It's so ugly and I ''love it''."
94* WingedHumanoid
95* YaoiFangirl: Gannet's sister Gracie is shown wearing a ''Anime/{{Free}}'' t-shirt and [[https://yaoi.biz/avialae/chapter-1/page-33 thinking that Bailey's flustered explanation]] that he was "[[SexualEuphemism taking care of]]" a [[PlayingSick sick]] Gannet would be a good plot for a {{doujinshi}}.

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