dead dove

Meanings

1. A disclaimer or tag for fan fiction, particularly on Archive of Our Own, signifying that the work contains the content that is described, and as such, readers should not complain or be surprised about finding that content.
2. A fan fiction that is particularly disturbing or disgusting due to its subject matter.
3. Such fan fiction, collectively.
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dead, dove.

Etymology

Referencing a scene from the second episode of the American satirical sitcom Arrested Development, in which the character Michael Bluth inspects a bag labelled Dead Dove: Do Not Eat and, having found a dead dove inside, remarks on his surprise, "Well, I don't know what I expected." Coined by Tumblr user mostlyvalid in 2015 as an Archive of Our Own tag to "signal[] that a given fanwork is for rolling around [in tropes that might be viewed as problematic], not giving a measured evaluation of anything. […] there will not necessarily be any subversion, authorial commentary condemning problematic aspects, or meditation on potential harm."