let's talk Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag.
since this has been debated a lot, here's what the tag actually means;
before we begin, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag originated from the 2003 sitcom 'Arrested Development' — in one of the scenes, a character opened a fridge and found a brown paper bag with 'dead dove, do not eat' written on it. he opened the bag and surprise! inside was a dead dove (a literal dead dove). the character then said "I don't know what I expected."
thus the beginning of Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag on Archive of Our Own; the tag is basically to tell potential readers that the work they're about to read contains topics that are considered disturbing, offensive, violent, morally messed up, etc.
it's also to tell potential readers that they cannot be offended, they cannot get mad and blame the author for writing such a disturbing thing, because they have been warned beforehand.
so yes, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat tag translates to 'hey, this work you're about to read is fucked up. if you choose to read it and it triggered your trauma, then you cannot be mad at the writer because they did warn you that it was gonna be fucked up.'
that being said, writers are also expected to tag other tags besides Dead Dove that will give their potential readers an idea of what the actual warnings are about. because Dead Dove tag alone is not enough to tell potential readers what they will find in a story they're about to read; as previously stated, Dead Dove tag is just to warn potential readers that the work might be offensive and triggering to them, but the tag alone does not say why it can be offensive and triggering.
for instance, if your work contains graphic details of human trafficking, then you should tag 'Dead Dove: Do Not Eat' and 'human trafficking', 'rape/non-con' and other tags that might be applied to the nature of your work, so that your potential readers know what, exactly, the Dead Dove tag is for. don't just tag it as Dead Dove without any further explanation.
also, Dead Dove does not equal tragic ending. a story that is tagged as 'Dead Dove: Do Not Eat' can still have fluff and/or happy ending. it's up to the author if they want their entire work to be Dead Dove or if they only want some parts of the work to be Dead Dove.
and I think that's it for 'Dead Dove: Do Not Eat' tag! remember to always tag your works properly! if you have any further question, my inbox is always open.
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