History Main / DyingDeclarationOfLove

** Subverted in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', [[spoiler:Trinity says "I'm sorry" before she [[OnlyMostlyDead dies]]]].

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

* ''Fanfic/EyesOnMe'': In ''Cry For Help'', [[spoiler:Bitsy confesses her feelings to Helen through sign language before dying at the hospital from injuries sustained by [[DeathByAmbulance being run over by an ambulance]]. Helen ends up realizing [[BelatedLoveEpiphany too late that she felt the same way]]]].

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers:'' Princess Ravonna tells Kang she loves him just as she leaps in the way of a laser beam a treacherous underling is aiming at him. She's kept in a state of OnlyMostlyDead for a long time, and Kang spends a few years trying to revive her.
* Subverted in the ''Beyond!'' miniseries. Franchise/SpiderMan gets killed by Venom and dies proclaiming his love to Mary Jane... or so he thought. He's actually so delirious from his wounds that he mistook [[PrehensileHair Medusa]] for his wife. Medusa got the sentiment though, and was so upset that she very nearly executed Venom. [[spoiler: And further subverted in that it wasn't actually Spider-Man, and he wasn't actually dead.]]
* In ''ComicBook/TheBoys'': The Frenchman finds a massive bomb with two seconds left on the timer. He immediately turns to The Female, and says simply: "Je t'aime. From the first."

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Dogma}}'', where the protagonist agrees to have sex with Jay if the world is about to end to get him to work with her, but when the world IS about to end, she refuses anyway.

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', [[spoiler: ision]] proclaims his love for [[spoiler:Wanda]] before she [[spoiler:uses her powers to shatter the Mind Stone in his forehead to keep it out of Thanos's hands, killing him in the process. However, Vision's HeroicSacrifice turned out to be AllForNothing, as Thanos uses the Time Stone to bring him back to life, then brutally rips the Mind Stone out of his skull]].

* In the original ''Manga/AkameGaKill'', [[spoiler: [[{{Tsundere}} Mine]] survived the events of the manga and settled down with [[TheHero Tatsumi.]]]] In the anime, however, [[spoiler: she suffers DeathByAdaptation after her Imperial Arm, [[{{BFG}} Pumpkin]], is destroyed while killing Great General Budo. As she lays dying, Tatsumi [[HowDareYouDieOnMe tearfully chastises her for not making it to the day that the Revolution wins against the Empire]]. This is combined with a LastKiss before dying in the arms of the man she loves.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Tatsumi:''']] [[spoiler:Mine...]] ''don't die.'' Don't you ''dare'' die! You're gonna stand on the winning side, aren't you?!\\

* In the ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} story ''ComicBook/YoungLove'', which serves as an epilogue for [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 Supergirl Volume 2]] [[spoiler:[[OldFlame Dick Malverne]] confesses to the titular heroine that he loved her before dying from cancer]].

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''
** Played with in "The Climb" when Oliver Queen is leaving to have a DuelToTheDeath against ComicBook/RasAlGhul, leader of the League of Assassins and probably one of the deadliest men in the world. He choses this moment to calmly make a love confession to Felicity Smoak, leaving her stunned.
** In "Dark Waters" Felicity is trapped in a GasChamber and can be seen silently mouthing "I love you" to Oliver as he desperately tries to free her (fortunately [[ComicBook/BlackCanary Laurel Lance]] [[GlassShatteringSound breaks the glass]] with her [[MakeMeWannaShout Canary Cry]]). A downplayed trope as they've long since had a RelationshipUpgrade.

* Happened in the Belgian comic ''ComicBook/{{Papyrus}}'', more exactly the issue ''Tears of the Giant''. [[spoiler: Papyrus gets one from a Hitite princess [[RescueRomance whom he saved at the beginning]], and who until then had been a massive {{Tsundere}} to him... before being kidnapped by some plotters who wanted her to spill out the secret of iron. When Papyrus found the girl, she was already dying after all the ColdBloodedTorture, and only managed to tell him her love and thank him for being there for her before [[DiedInYourArmsTonight dying in his embrace.]] Papyrus, understandably, had an HeroicBSOD at this, [[DownerEnding and the issue finished with him carrying the girl's lifeless body away]].]]
* In the ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} story ''ComicBook/YoungLove'', which serves as an epilogue for [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 Supergirl Volume 2]] [[spoiler:[[OldFlame Dick Malverne]] confesses to the titular heroine that he loved her before dying from cancer]].
* ''ComicBook/AndersonPsiDivision'': A rookie Judge with a crush on Cas proclaims his love for her as he performs a HeroicSacrifice.

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--> [[spoiler: '''Tatsumi:''']] [[spoiler:Mine...]] ''don't die.'' Don't you ''dare'' die! You're gonna stand on the winning side, aren't you?!
--> [[spoiler: '''Mine:''']] What are you saying...? I'm already on the winning side... [[spoiler:''(She leans up to kiss him on the lips, then separates.)'']] ...I love you.
* Heartbreakingly {{Subverted|Trope}} by [[spoiler: Judeau]] in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. He tries to do this with [[spoiler: Casca]], but can't quite say it, and only manages a comment on how she's crying. His last thoughts are "That's it!? Those are my last words!?".

-->[[spoiler: '''Shirley:''']] So is that OK, then, [[spoiler:Lulu?]] And as I'm reborn... I'll fall in love with you... over and over. I'll keep... falling... in love... with... y... ''(She dies.)''

** [[spoiler:Stella Loussier]] in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' gives one to [[spoiler: Shinn Asuka]] before kicking it. She even manages to say "I love you", while [[ThirdPersonPerson she was never able to use first and second person]] like this before.

* In the ''Fanfic/TamersForeverSeries'', [[spoiler: Takato has always known that Rika would kill him if he told her he loved her but he figures since he's dying anyway, he's got nothing to lose. A rare instance of this trope that actually ''works'']].
* In the ''Film/StarTrek2009'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WrittenInTheStars'', Fem!Kirk spends most of the story trying not to fall in love with Spock. But by the time of ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', she has, but doesn't have the chance to tell him until she's dying in the reactor. What makes this confession different to most is that she connects with his mind and tells him by showing her the memories her counterpart showed her, of their Prime selves and the life they shared together in the original reality.
* In ''Fanfic/AlabasterOrchestra'', a mortally wounded Renji confesses to Rukia. Unfortunately, he's delirious and the person he's talking to is actually Bambietta Basterbine, who then finishes him off.
* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fanfiction ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7110754/1/Tale-of-the-Kurai-Kitsune Tale of the Kurai Kitsune]]'', [[spoiler: during the nine-years old Naruto's first Chuunin Exams in Iwa, an Iwa team targets his team to take out the Yellow Flash's son. Naruto's teammates Koji Inuzuka and Sakuya. Both of them gave their lives to keep Naruto alive, with Sakuya shoving Naruto out of the way of an Earth spike and taking it to her stomach as a result. She managed to tell him that she loved him in her last breaths. Naruto, having fallen for her himself, [[DespairEventHorizon immediately began tearing through everything with the Nine Tail's chakra, and even triggered Minato's failsafe in the seal.]]]]

* ''Fanfic/FiresideTale'': This is used platonically. Elsa's last words to her sister were "Anna... love you, Anna".
* The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' fic "[[http://www.ralst.com/MinisterofLies1.HTM Minister of Lies]]" has Kira basically make one to herself when she is seriously wounded on a mission to the Gamma Quadrant, only to healed by the Prophets as she passes through the wormhole. She was initially torn between her current relationship with Shakaar Edon and her recent discovery that Odo was in love with her as well, but as the Prophets heal her, one appears to her in a vision as Odo and explains that this form was chosen because it was the last thought on her mind as she expired, assuring Kira that Odo is the one she truly loves.
* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'': Pyrrha's last words as she is about to be executed after losing a fight are a whispered "I love you, Jaune." [[spoiler:This saves her life. Cinder was already conflicted about killing her because Jaune asked her not to hurt any of his friends, and realizing that Pyrrha was in love with him made it worse. She might have killed her anyway, but a bunch of Grimm overheard, meaning it would get back to Salem sooner rather than later, and she wouldn't be happy with Cinder for [[IWantGrandkids killing one of her son's potential paramours]]. Cinder knocks Pyrrha unconscious and takes her to Salem instead]].

* A scene like this plays out in ''Anime/Interstella5555'', when Shep rescues the band and they later manage to break Stella free as well. [[spoiler:Shep is mortally wounded during the chase and while Arpegius is taking care of him, Baryl and Octave bring Stella with them. Shep finally manages to meet the woman he loves, because before that they had never met in person, and now she's lost her memories as well. Shep confesses his love for her before he dies, and gives her and the rest of the band a MacGuffin, that will help them find a way to restore their memories.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'' has [[spoiler:a familial example of this with Kerchak, who calls Tarzan his son with his dying words and asks him to take care of their family. Up to that point, Kerchak had refused to accept Tarzan as his son.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Merida says it [[spoiler: after her attempt to turn her mother Elinor back into a human doesn't work, and she thinks she is turned into a bear permanently.]] This is after they've had a strained relationship for most of the movie, and then slowly reconciling.
--> '''Merida''': "I... I want [[spoiler: you back, Mummy]]..."
* In ''WesternAnimation/MadagascarEscape2Africa'', Melman confesses his love for Gloria as the plane is going down. Unfortunately, Gloria is fast asleep. They manage to survive, though.

-->[[spoiler: '''Flynn:''' You were my new dream.]]\\
[[spoiler: '''Rapunzel:''' And you were mine.]]

* Almost towards the ending part of ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega'', a sad-looking Humphrey nuzzles the unconscious Kate to wake her up after the caribou stampede, confessing his true love to her, but to no avail. Because of [[spoiler: Kate's DisneyDeath]], the entire pack of wolves initiate a mournful howl until she successfully awakens.

* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Jessica confesses her love to Roger while both are tied together, awaiting to be offed by the BigBad.

* Played with in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''; a TimeBomb is about to reach zero, with Gwen and Jason seemingly having failed to disarm it. Jason moves to tell Gwen that he loves her - but just as he's getting the words out, it turns out that the bomb ''is'' defused, and he moves on without saying it, leaving Gwen ''very'' interested as to what his next words were going to be.
* In ''Film/FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald'', Leta Lestrange tells Newt and Theseus she loves them before she attacks Grindelwald to buy them time to escape.
* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' toys with the "don't want to die a virgin" variant twice. In the first instance, after the alien ship appears over Los Angeles, teenaged Alicia Casse's then-boyfriend tries using "do you want to die a virgin?" to persuade her to have sex with him, but is foiled by the arrival of her older brother. Later in the film, Alicia herself tells another boy that she doesn't want to die a virgin, to which he replies something to the effect of "we'll both die as virgins together." The latter scene, however, only made it into the Special Edition DVD version of the film.

* Subverted in ''{{Film/Dogma}}'', where the protagonist agrees to have sex with Jay if the world is about to end to get him to work with her, but when the world IS about to end, she refuses anyway.
* Played for laughs in ''Film/TheBluesBrothers''; two Illinois Nazis are falling to their deaths in a car, their eyes and mouths open in shock. One turns to the other and says "I've always loved you". The other Nazi simply looks at his lieutenant without changing his expression.
* In all three films of ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' trilogy.
** Inverted in the first ''Film/TheMatrix'', in that Trinity knows Neo can't be dead [[BecauseDestinySaysSo because she loves him]].
** Subverted in ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', [[spoiler: Trinity says "I'm sorry" before she [[OnlyMostlyDead dies.]]]]
** Played straight in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', [[spoiler: as Trinity is dying [[KilledOffForReal for real this time]], she tells Neo that she regretted saying "I'm sorry" rather than "I love you" before she died the last time.]]
* ''Film/{{Far and Away}}'':
** After Joseph gets crushed by a horse and hits his head on a rock, Shannon rushes to his side. He can feel himself slipping away, so he ends up confessing his love to her.
--->'''Joseph:''' [[RedundantRomanceAttempt I tried to prove myself to you]], but I know nothing of books or alphabets or sun or moon or... All I know is Joseph loves Shannon. That's all that really matters to me.
** After he dies, Shannon confesses that [[LoveAtFirstSight she loved him from the first time she saw him]]. [[DisneyDeath He comes back to life]] and interrupts her with:
--->'''Joseph:''' I often wondered about that.
* From Max to Frey in ''Film/{{Elysium}}''.
--> '''Max:''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext I know why the hippopotamus did it.]]
* ''Film/VForVendetta'' has one [[spoiler: at the end where V dies in Evey's arms.]]

* ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. When Superman calmly tells Lois, "I love you" in the middle of a battle, Lois instantly realises what this means and begs him not to make a HeroicSacrifice. [[spoiler:He doesn't listen.]]
* ''Film/IShotJesseJames'': An interesting variation happens here. As he dies in the street, [[spoiler: Bob Ford proclaims his love to UsefulNotes/JesseJames, the man he killed ten years ago and thought of as his friend. The odd thing is that the LoveInterest he's been chasing the whole movie is holding Bob in her arms, yet Bob doesn't make any final declarations of love towards her. This is one of many things that heightens the film's HoYay for many viewers.]]
* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', [[spoiler: Vision]] proclaims his love for [[spoiler: Wanda]] before she [[spoiler: uses her powers to shatter the Mind Stone in his forehead to keep it out of Thanos's hands, killing him in the process. However, Vision's HeroicSacrifice turned out to be AllForNothing, as Thanos uses the Time Stone to bring him back to life, then brutally rips the Mind Stone out of his skull]].
** Subverted somewhat (and cruelly so) earlier in the film; [[spoiler: Gamora]], on the receiving end of an impending HeroicSacrifice by [[spoiler: Star-Lord to keep her out of Thanos' clutches]], tells [[spoiler: Star-Lord]] that [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove she loves him more than anything]]. [[spoiler: Star-Lord]] responds that he loves her, too, before he pulls the trigger. Instead of killing [[spoiler: Gamora]], [[spoiler: Star-Lord's]] weapon harmlessly emits bubbles, thanks to [[spoiler: Thanos' usage of the Reality Stone]]; this distracts [[spoiler: Star-Lord and Gamora]] just long enough for Thanos to [[spoiler: seize Gamora and teleport away with her]].
* In ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'', Steve Trevor confesses his love for Diana just before his suicide mission: hijacking a plane containing explosives and detonating them from a safe distance. Given the circumstances, it doubles as an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove.
* ''Film/DustDevil'': I love you, Wendy." [[spoiler:Said by the Dust Devil just before getting his head blown off, ''after'' he'd tried to eviscerate her, roast her alive in her own car, summon a sandstorm to kill her, and before hijacking her body.]]
* ''Film/SaferAtHome'': Going out in spite of a strongly-enforced curfew, [[spoiler:Evan is shot by the police, who do not make any effort to provide him with any medical attention. He remains on the chat and notices Jen coming to. Upon realizing that Jen is indeed alive, and knowing he is dying, he tells her she is going to be a wonderful mother.]]
* A variation occurs in ''Film/StarTrek2009''. While it's obviously not the first or only time he's said as much, George Kirk's last words before his HeroicSacrifice are him telling his wife how much he loves her.
* In ''Film/CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon'', [[spoiler: Li Mu Bai only confesses his love for Shu Lien when he feels his death is near after getting hit with a poisoned dart. And the kiss the two share just before his death is heartbreaking.]]
* Will Turner in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' does this pre-emptively. Knowing this is the final battle and that he is probably going to die soon, he suddenly asks Elizabeth Swann to marry him ''right in the middle of the fight''. She initially reacts as one would expect, but quickly calls on Barbossa to perform the rites, which he does while constantly being interrupted by undead fish men. Naturally, Will dies soon after they kiss.
-->'''Will''': Elizabeth...Will you marry me?
-->'''Elizabeth:''' I don't think now's the best time!
-->'''Will:''' Now may be the only time!

* In ''Literature/BattleRoyale'', [[spoiler:Hiroki confesses his feelings to Kayoko as he dies from a gunshot wound. For extra tragedy points, she's the one who shot him, and feels an [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone understandably crushing amount of guilt]] when she realizes, far too late, that he wasn't trying to kill her.]]

* [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy Steve Newlin]]]] of ''Series/TrueBlood'' declares his love for Jason Stackhouse as he burns to death in the sunlight, [[AbhorrentAdmirer much to Jason's horror.]] He notably says it right in front of his ex-wife, too.
--> ''"I love you… '''JASON STACKHOOOOOOOOUUUUSE!'''"''

* The premise of ''As the Footsteps Die Out Forever'' by Streetlight Manifesto / Catch-22. The narrator sings about how his mother received a phone call while he was a child, her doctor warning her that she had only a few weeks to live. [[spoiler: The narrator recounts how she kept encouraging him not to dwell on her death, and to go out and live for her. Brutally, however, he is an UnreliableNarrator and this is an averted trope, and she actually spends her final days virtually catatonic and avoiding her children. The narrator tells himself what he longs for her to have said, but doesn't believe it himself.]]

* In the third act of ''Götterdämmerung'' by Music/RichardWagner, Siegfried - having been given an antidote to the potion that made him forget about his love for her - relieves his first kiss with Brünhild in his dying moments, after Hagen stabs him in the back. Later on Brünhild, who co-engineered Siegfried's death after he betrayed her while in his mindwiped state, makes a huge declaration of her love for Siegfried before she leaps into his funeral pyre and burns herself to death with him.

* In the third and fourth routes of ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' [[spoiler:Princess Crea]] is given a mortal wound, but before she dies she confesses her love for Taiga before doing something heroic.

** And in the aforementioned Akaneia games, [[spoiler: as [[FallenHero Emperor Hardin]] dies in Marth's arms, he begs Marth to apologize to Princess Nyna in his (Hardin's) name for all the mess coming from his BrainwashedAndCrazy-influenced FaceHeelTurn, and finishes saying that he never stopped loving her.]]
** A slightly more indirect version of this occurs in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' in the Silver Snow and Verdant Wing routes. Upon defeat, [[spoiler:Edelgard asks Byleth, who she is heavily implied to have feelings for, to kill her. As Byleth readies his/her blade, Edelgard gets some final words in that are basically to this effect.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Edelgard:''' I just wanted to walk with you.]]

* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', on one ending route, Toki confesses that she loves Nanashi [[spoiler:right before he kills her.]]

** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', [[spoiler: everyone knows it except Luke so at the final moment before they leave, Tear confesses her love. Luke doesn't seem surprised in the slightest though so he may not be as dense as he seems]].

** In Fate's route, [[BittersweetEnding Saber admits she loves Shirou right at the end of the game.]] Then she fades back to her real world and falls asleep wondering if she can dream herself into Shirou's world again. [[TearJerker She dies in her sleep.]]

'''Shirou''' SHUT UP! ....Just... be quiet for a second... You can rely on others... rely on...\\

* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', [[spoiler: Keiichi Maebara]] has one in the Minagoroshi-hen arc of Higurashi Kai, confessing to [[spoiler:Mion Sonozaki]] after being shot by [[spoiler:Miyo Takano]]. In the anime, the confession is censored, with [[spoiler:Keiichi]] unable to actually confess. [[spoiler:Due to the world resets, the confession matters little in the end.]]

* Occured in a ''Webcomic/NuzlockeComics'' fan run: [[spoiler: Bruce Wayne's Platinum Nuzlocke]], to be precise. Being a Nuzlocke run, the receiver of the confession had just been KilledOffForReal, leading to the [[TearJerker depressing question]] of...

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]]", Spike and Rarity are falling to their apparent deaths when Spike attempts to reveal that he has a crush on her. She gently places her [[FingerMuzzle hoof to his mouth]] and [[TearfulSmile smiles tearfully]], hinting that she already knew. Then they are saved just in time.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Eda provides a maternal example in both "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E18AgonyOfAWitch Agony of a Witch]]" and "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS1E19YoungBloodOldSouls Young Blood, Old Souls]]", thanking Luz for being a part of her life as her curse is causing her to suffer a DeathOfPersonality in the former and telling Luz that she loves her before she's taken away to be executed in the latter. [[spoiler:She ultimately survives both times.]]

-->'''Peridot:''' ''[stunned]'' [[CallBack Wow, thanks]].

* In the movie ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', as the crew is besieged by the ravenous Reavers, Simon finally manages to get over his [[CannotSpitItOut lack of confidence]] and [[BigBrotherInstinct focus on protecting River]], and confesses his feelings to Kaylee. Kaylee's response? "Hell with this, I'm gonna live!" [[spoiler:They do, and TheyDo]].

* ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'':

* ''LightNovel/TokyoRavens'': Twice, [[KillTheCutie Hokuto]] and later [[HeroicSacrifice Natsume]] confess their love to [[TheHero Harutora]] while they die. Poor guy.

* ''LightNovel/AllYouNeedIsKill''. Keiji tells Rita he loves her as she's dying...from injuries he inflicted.

** [[spoiler:Stella Louissier]] in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' gives one to [[spoiler: Shinn Asuka]] before kicking it. She even manages to say "I love you", while [[ThirdPersonPerson she was never able to use first and second person]] like this before.

** Played with in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0184.html this strip]]. [[spoiler:(The ''actual'' confession comes much later, in a much different way.)]]