What is dead dove?

Dead Dove, often written as "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat," is a popular trope and tag used primarily within online fanfiction communities. It signals a story containing extremely disturbing or graphic content that some readers may find highly offensive or triggering. It serves as a strong warning, indicating that the author is not responsible for any emotional distress caused by reading the work.

Essentially, the tag is a warning label equivalent to opening a bag labeled "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat." It means exactly what it says. Common themes that might warrant this tag include:

• Non-Consensual%20Content: Stories depicting rape, assault, or other forms of sexual violence.
• Gore: Graphic depictions of violence, injury, and death.
• Character%20Death: The permanent end of a character's existence.
• Incest: Sexual relationships between close family members.
• Pedophilia: Sexual attraction to children.
• Extreme%20Psychological%20Horror: Stories designed to deeply disturb and unsettle the reader.

The "Dead Dove" tag is not used lightly. If an author applies this tag, readers should expect the story to contain at least one, and possibly multiple, of these potentially triggering themes. The phrase originates from a scene in the TV show Arrested Development, where a bag labeled "Dead Dove: Do Not Eat" is found to contain a literal dead dove.