View source for Dying Declaration of Love

{{trope}}
{{quote|'''V''': I fell in love with you, Evey, like I no longer believed I could.<br />
'''Evey''': Then I don't want you to die!<br />
'''V''': That's the most beautiful thing you could have ever given me.|''[[V for Vendetta]]''}}

Death seems imminent for a character. Her grief-stricken [[Love Interests]] who has been doing the [[Will They or Won't They?]] sidestep with her decides that he'd better let clean with his feelings for her or else he'll have to live with the thought of [[Never Got to Say Goodbye|never having said it to her]].

In other cases, it's the dying person who [[Anguished Declaration of Love|confesses her love]]. Apparently, looming death is the best time to make those tragically intense romantic declarations that you [[Cannot Spit It Out|cannot spit out]] when your love is healthy and you are, too.

May include a [[Now or Never Kiss]] (but hopefully not a [[Last Kiss]]).

Oftentimes, it turns out that the person is actually [[Not Quite Dead]], usually right after the confessor declares his feelings, and he tries to back out of what he just said. Or the revelation that she'll live comes right before the critical word (a [[Last Second Word Swap]] may be required) to keep the [[Will They or Won't They?]] situation alive.

Has a 50:50 chance of being subverted nowadays, but far from being a [[Discredited Trope]]. Common subversions include the confessed-to becoming irritated that it took a death threat for the confessor to ''finally'' overcome his [[Cannot Spit It Out]] problem, the dying person faking it, or helpfully pointing out that the death bed is not the most ideal place to say those words. In some cases, the person who's about to die (or otherwise lose any chance of being with his or her beloved) will consider doing this, but decide not to for certain reasons, such as not causing undue anguish to the person he or she is going to leave behind, making this an [[Aborted Declaration of Love]].

A kinkier variation of this is the "we're going to die tomorrow, and [[You Don't Want to Die A Virgin Do You|I don't want to die as a virgin]]" mindset.

Formerly known as [[Going Down With the Ship]], which has now been reappropriated for the traditional (and more literal) use of that phrase.
{{examples}}

==  Anime and Manga  ==

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': Misato brings the [[Subtext]] between her and Shinji out in the open {{spoiler|when she's fatally shot in the back}}.
** Although that could have been Misato just desperately saying ''anything'' that came to mind to try and get an emotional reaction out of Shinji, who was slipping at least halfway into a [[Heroic BSOD]] at the time. While {{spoiler|dying of blood loss and thus not thinking entirely clearly.}}
*** This wouldn't be the first time, though. Misato made a pass at Shinji while they were both still grieving a few deaths. Even if it's just to comfort and motivate him (and/or herself,) her choice of the means was a little too convenient a trend.
* Played straight in ''[[X 1999]]'', when  {{spoiler|Seishirou's}} last words to  {{spoiler|Subaru as he was dying in his arms}} are... actually we never get to hear what they were, but you can take the obvious guess along with everyone else.
* At the end of ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'', Chikane declares her love to Himeko, after {{spoiler|being mortally wounded by Himeko herself, which was [[Xanatos Gambit|all part of her plan]]... a plan that hits a bit of a snag when Himeko declares ''her'' love for Chikane. [[The Power of Love|That]] pretty much triggers a string of events that ends in a subversion of this trope as Chikane returns to Himeko after being [[Ret Gone|erased from existence]]}}.
* The finale of ''[[Code Geass]]''' first season has C.C. offer words of encouragement to Lelouch, then kiss him (much to his obvious surprise) before she goes down with the [[Humongous Mecha]] in order to deal with an [[Axe Crazy]] pursuer. Lelouch seems to have written it off as part of her [[Mysterious Waif]] powers, as neither of them brought the issue up in the second season.
** The novelization says that he instinctively knew the kiss wasn't out of love, but rather a failsafe measure should he be captured.
** Also, {{spoiler|Shirley}} confesses her feelings to {{spoiler|Lelouch}} as she's bleeding out through a bullet wound.
* Played heartbreakingly straight in ''[[Macross Frontier]]'' {{spoiler|episode 20. During the surprise Vajra attack in Island 1, Klan gets fed up with Michel's reluctance and pours out all her frustration in a loud declaration of love, then races to the macronization chamber to revert to her giant Meltran form. When the Vajra infiltrate the room and threaten the chamber (which would dissolve and kill Klan,) Michel [[You Shall Not Pass|defends her as best as he can]], only to be impaled by one of the Vajra. He holds on for a few instants more, but when the hull is breached by an explosion, he barely has time to stutter "I too lov--" at Klan before being sucked out into the vacuum of space}}.
** In the movie, Michel  {{spoiler|survives}}, instead the dying declaring of love is given to  {{spoiler|Alto who confesses to Sheryl, before he either dies or is folded into another galaxy}}.
*  {{spoiler|Mireille}}, in the [[Grand Finale]] of ''[[Noir]]'', to {{spoiler|Kirika, who's about to fall into a volcanic vent with [[Big Bad]] Altena}}. Leads to a [[Take My Hand]] moment.
* ''[[Mai-HiME (Anime)|Mai-HiME]]'' sort of does this, with Mai  {{spoiler|trying to tell Tate her feelings for him while he's green-sparking and dying after Yatagarasu is killed. He comes back later, but is apparently able to put his feelings for Mai into more concrete terms.}}
* ''[[Full Metal Panic|Full Metal Panic Fumoffu]]'' plays with this in the last episode, where a supposed biological agent infects the class and they all think they're going to die. Sagara asks Kaname to take her clothes off and she debates whether they should [[You Don't Want to Die A Virgin Do You|consummate their relationship before death]] and Ono seems to be ready to tell Tokiwa what he feels about her.  {{spoiler|The biological agent really just destroys synthetic material like clothing and Sagara just told Kaname to take off her clothes because he had a suspicion about the agent's properties. Of course, the rest of the school doesn't get the memo until too late, making the rest of the class [[Ax Crazy|upset]] at Sagara to say the least.}}
* ''[[Naruto]]'':  {{spoiler|In chapter 437, Hinata goes to help Naruto against Pain. When he says that she can't possibly win and asks why she's there, she responds that Naruto changed her life and that as a result, she's not afraid to die protecting him [[Anguished Declaration of Love|because she loves him]]. Pain quickly defeats and stabs her, and while this initially seems to be playing the trope straight, she survives with Sakura's help. All that remains is to see how Naruto reacts}}.
** Which could take a while, since {{spoiler|the current world war is currently occupying their attention}}.
* In ''[[Saikano (Manga)|Saikano]]'',  {{spoiler|Shuji's lifelong female friend Akemi, [[Squick|mortally wounded after a bombing raid]], [[Fan Disservice|confesses to Shuji that she has loved him for a long time]] [[Tear Jerker|just before she dies]]}}.
* Technically, she doesn't die, but the effect is still the same as {{spoiler|Ixpellia}} from ''[[Audio Adaptation|StrikerS Sound Stage X]]'' of the ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' franchise tells Subaru that she loves her as she rests in Subaru's arms and falls into a [[Convenient Coma|deep sleep that would last for ten years... or a thousand]].
* In ''[[Rave Master]]'', when Haru and Elie finally confess their feelings for one another Haru is about to die.  {{spoiler|He doesn't, of course. And while the viewers find that out in the next chapter, it's a whole year before he wakes up after suposedly being killed and gets reunited with Elie}}.
* Simon, from ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' does not admit his feelings to Erza until he's three seconds from dying. Subverted in that he never actually confesses to her (he just thinks it, and [[Everyone Can See It|all his friends knew]]). He did try to tell her once ''eight years ago'' but was interupted by an attack, since he [[What an Idiot!|decided to tell her while she was leading a rebellion]].
* In ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni]]'',  {{spoiler|Keiichi Maebara has one in the Minagoroshi-hen arc of Higurashi Kai, confessing to Mion after being shot by Miyo Takano. In the anime of Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai, the confession is censored, with Keiichi unable to actually confess. Due to the world resets, the confession matters little in the end}}.
* From ''[[Katanagatari]]'' episode 12 - {{spoiler|the mortally wounded Togame asks Shichika if it's alright for her to have fallen in love with him for real, after also admitting that he was a pawn in her scheme and she meant to kill him at the journey's end}}.
* In ''[[Rah Xephon]]'',  {{spoiler|Ayato is fighting a Dolem -- but he doesn't realize that said monster is psychically/physically linked to Hiroko, the [[Tsundere]] girl who loves him and whom he swore to help and protect. As a result, the damage to the Dolem's body ''reverberates to Hiroko's body'', injuring her fatally as well.}} What to do?  {{spoiler|Hiroko quickly grabs a pen and a notepad, doing her best to write "Ayato, I love you... goodbye!" as she painfully and horribly dies}}. When  {{spoiler|the Dolem is destroyed and Hiroko finally perishes}}, we see how  {{spoiler|the backlash activates the lights in the surrounding buildings, forming the words that spell her last message to him.}}
* [[The Ditz|Patrick]] attempts to invoke the trope in the final battle of ''[[Gundam 00]]''. When a [[Suicide Attack|Gaga]] tries to crash into his [[Subordinate Excuse|superior and love interest]]'s ship, he promptly nails the bad guy in a [[You Shall Not Pass]]... only for the next Gaga to charge out of the smoke straight into him. He just smiles and says "I did really love you, Kati..." right before the Gaga explodes, provoking a [[Say My Name]] from her. Subverted in that not only the explosion didn't kill him (he's not called Colasour the [[Determinator|Indestructible]] for nothing...), he later married her.
* Inverted in ''[[Ai no Kusabi (Light Novel)|Ai no Kusabi]]'' with a Dying Demonstration Of Love.  {{spoiler|Iason has lost his legs and is left behind to [[Dying Alone|Die Alone]] in an exploding building. Riki now acknowledging his feelings for him decides to go back and snuggles up against Iason refusing to let him face death alone and have [[One Last Smoke]]. They ''[[Together in Death|Die Together]]''.}}
* An ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' example comes in the dub, when England is dying after an incident involved a penjandrum and Scotland. America rushes to England's bedside and is clearly distressed. England manages to say, "America, I'm in lo-" before the Grim Reaper cuts him off. He recovers, but the shippers absolutely ''exploded''.
* Since even mentioning the name of the series is a spoiler, here: {{spoiler|in ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum (Anime)|Mawaru Penguindrum]]'', Shouma's [[Famous Last Words]] double as a [[Dying Declaration of Love]] for Ringo. "Thank you... and I love you...". (Notice that Shouma straight goes for the "Aishiteru", aka one of the strongest expressions of romantic love in the Japanese language.)}}
* [[Tear Jerker|Heartbreakingly]] [[Subverted Trope|subverted]] by  {{spoiler|Judeau}} in [[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|Stella}} in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]''. She even manages to say "I love you", while [[Third Person Person|she was never able to use first and second person]] like this before.
*  {{spoiler|Joe}} from [[Ashita no Joe]] ''sorta'' does this to  {{spoiler|Youko, telling her to keep [[Tragic Keepsake|his boxing gloves]]. And then [[It Was His Sled|THAT scene]] comes almost immediately afterwards.}} (It should be noticed that  {{spoiler|the original Japanese was much more subtle, but [[Dub Text|the Italian dub makes it a direct example]] as Joe straightforwardly tells Youko that the gloves area proof of his love for her}}).
* In [[Sankarea]], {{spoiler|Chihiro is about to be eaten by Rea (not to mention the two of them are in a building that's about to burn down). Despite the fact that she's about to kill him, Chihiro tells Rea that he likes her a lot and doesn't mind that he's about to die.. Of course, the [[Power of Love]] saves them both}}


==  [[Comic Books]] ==

* Cruelly subverted in the ''Beyond!'' miniseries. [[Spider Man]] 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 [[Prehensile Hair|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.}} 

==  Fanfiction  ==

* In ''[[The Man With No Name (Fanfic)|The Man With No Name]]'', {{spoiler|while escaping the enemy stronghold, Mal confesses to Inara while [[Now or Never Kiss|throwing in a kiss with it]], which also serves to distract her long enough for him to pull a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] by [[You Shall Not Pass|running back and holding off the approaching mooks]]}}.

==  Film  ==

* Subversion in the film ''[[Almost Famous]]'': When the plane hits a storm, the band members start making admissions to each other. William takes this opportunity to confess to Penny that he loves her, except she's not on the plane to hear it and she never finds out.
* Played straight in the ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' movie, in which the cast is being pursued on an ''[[Indiana Jones (Franchise)|Indiana Jones]]''-style minecart ride with a chainsaw-wielding psychopath trying to kill them, and Babs and Buster both confess their feelings for one another.
* In the movie ''[[Firefly|Serenity]]'', as the crew is besieged by the ravenous Reavers, Simon finally manages to get over his [[Cannot Spit It Out|lack of confidence]] and confesses his feelings to Kaylee. Kaylee's response? "Hell with this, I'm gonna live!"
* Played with in ''[[Galaxy Quest (Film)|Galaxy Quest]]''; a [[Time Bomb]] 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.
* ''[[Independence Day]]'' 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.
* ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Empire Strikes Back]]''. As Han's about to be frozen in carbonite in order to test whether or not the process is survivable, Leia tells him that she loves him.
** And in ''[[Attack of the Clones]]'', Padmé confesses her feelings to Anakin right before they're brought out to be executed.
* In ''[[Madagascar]]: Escape 2 Africa'', Melman confesses his love for Gloria as the plane is going down. Unfortunately, Gloria is fast asleep.
* Subverted in ''[[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 ''[[Titanic]]'', Rose confesses her love to Jack when she thinks they are both going to die in the freezing water. Ultimately, only he dies.
* Played for laughs in ''[[The Blues Brothers]]''; 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 ''[[The Matrix]]'' trilogy. Inverted in the first film, in that Trinity knows Neo can't be dead [[Because Destiny Says So|because she loves him]]. Subverted in ''Reloaded'',  {{spoiler|Trinity says "I'm sorry" before she [[Only Mostly Dead|dies.]]}} Played straight in ''Revolutions'',  {{spoiler|as Trinity is [[Stuffed Into the Fridge|dying]] [[Killed Off for Real|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.}}
* ''[[Tangled (Disney)|Tangled]]'':  {{spoiler|After Flynn [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices himself]] to free Rapunzel from Gothel:}}
{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Flynn''': You were my new dream.}}<br />
{{spoiler|'''Rapunzel''': And you were mine.}} }}
* ''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.
{{quote|  '''Joseph:''' [[Redundant Romance Attempt|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 [[Love At First Sight|she loved him from the first time she saw him]]. [[Disney Death|He comes back to life]] and interrupts her with:
{{quote|  '''Joseph:''' I often wondered about that.}}

==  Literature  ==

* In one of the [[Belgariad]] books, Adara has been shot and believes herself to be dying. She confesses her unrequited love to Hettar, only to be told that she isn't dying after all. And that Hettar isn't going to let her pretend [[That Didn't Happen|it didn't happen]].
* In ''[[Chalion|The Curse of Chalion]]'', before Cazaril sets out on a suicide mission, he relays last minute instructions to his love interest, who is ignorant of his plans. Impulsively, he kisses her before he leaves to die. Later lampshaded by Lady Betriz:
{{quote|  "Must you believe you are about to die in order to bring yourself to kiss a lady?"}}
* In Bruce Coville's ''Dark Whispers'', part of [[The Unicorn Chronicles]], Belle and Finder are ambushed and Finder is badly wounded. his last words are to Belle, saying, " I always thought you were beautiful" before dying in her.. well, not arms, as they are unicorns, but about as close as it gets. 

==  Live Action TV  ==


* In ''[[The Mighty Boosh]]'' Howard declares his love for Vince, right before they are about to be killed by the Black Frost. Then the Black Frost is killed. Cue awkward silence.
* ''[[Star Trek Voyager]]''. B'Elanna Torres confesses her love for Tom Paris when they're both floating in space with their suits having just run out of oxygen. His response is semi-subversive: "You picked a great time to tell me." Moments later they're beamed to safety.
** And the holographic Doctor confesses his love for Seven of Nine (along with several other things, like the fact that he's compiled a list of Captain Janeway's worst command decisions) when he believes that his program is about to shut down permanently. Seconds later it's repaired, leaving a very embarrassed Doc.
** When he thinks he is going to die [[It Makes Sense in Context|Amelia Earhart's guide]] admits he loves her...only for the doc to tell him he'll be just fine.
* ''[[Babylon Five|Babylon 5]]'': With the ship powerless and about to be blown to smithereens, Lennier admits he loves Delenn. Naturally, in that moment they are saved. Delenn lets him save face by pretending she didn't hear him...which is kind, and appropriate for the Minbari, but makes him feel even worse.
* Similar scenario in ''[[Farscape (TV)|Farscape]]'' with Crichton and Aeryn, except they skip the words and [[Slap Slap Kiss|spontaneously start making out with each other]]. They both blame it on the heat of the moment afterwards.
** {{spoiler|Gilina}} at the end of "A Hidden Memory". Though in this case, it was clear that she was in love with Crichton. She merely reaffirmed her love and [[Tear Jerker|asked if things had been different, could he have loved her. To which he replies "Yes".]]
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', on the verge of the Scoobies' latest attempt to stop [[The End of the World As We Know It]], Xander proposes to Anya. She calls him on it, saying he's only doing that because he knows they're all going to die and he won't have to follow through. He immediately responds that he's proposing because he knows that they aren't going to die and rather that they will succeed at saving the world again. {{spoiler|He's half-right.}}
**  {{spoiler|Then again, she's right in the end, as he ends up leaving her at the altar.}}
** Also played straight when Xander and Willow are trapped by a villain who they believe will soon return to kill them, and have no hope of rescue. Their respective significant others then burst in with the heroic rescue, only to catch them making out.
** Subverted however in the finale {{spoiler|when Buffy tells Spike that she loves him as he's burning up in the sun. Spike just replies; "No you don't, but thanks for saying it."}}
** A different take on this appears in "Go Fish" when Cordelia thinks Xander has been turned into a [[Fish People|fish monster]].
{{quote| '''Cordy:''' It's me, Cordelia? I know you can't answer me, but... God, this is all my fault. You joined the swim team to impress me. You were so courageous. And you looked really hot in those Speedo's. (chuckles) And I want you to know that I still care about you, no matter what you look like. And... and we can still date. Or, or not. I mean... I understand if you wanna see other fish. I'll do everything I can to make your quality of life better. Whether that means little bath toys or whatever.<br />
'''Xander:''' (walking up behind her) Uh, Cordy? That's not me. }}
* Subverted/parodied in ''[[Caroline in The City]]'': Doped up and about to enter surgery, Richard admits to Caroline that he loves her. Shocked, Caroline asks him if it's true; he says it is... then gives the same drugged-out confession to the nurse.
* In season three finale of ''[[The Nanny]]''. Maxwell's first confession of love to Fran was when they were on a plane that was about to crash. He takes the confession back after they get home safely. For much of season four, many characters, especially Niles, give him crap for taking back the confession.
* Parodied in the second-to-last episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'': The plane's going down, the series is ending, and Jerry and Elaine are about to reveal their true feelings for each other... when the plane levels off. They make a safe landing, the confessions go unsaid, and the series ends in a completely different manner.
* Mal and Inara to the letter, in the ''[[Firefly]]'' episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds". Saffron knocks Mal out with her sedative-laced lipstick, Inara finds Mal out cold and kisses him and begs him not to die before passing out herself. And of course, when they wake up, Mal misinterprets how Inara came to be knocked out, saying [[Completely Missing the Point|"I knew you]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|let her kiss you."]]
* ''[[Captain Power and The Soldiers of The Future]]'': In the series finale, Jennifer Chase confesses her feelings to Jonathan Power, just before she [[Killed Off for Real|dies]] in her [[Heroic Sacrifice|last stand]].
* [[Stargate Atlantis]] episode "Thirty-Eight Minutes." The stargate-sized ship gets stuck in the wormhole while returning to Atlantis. The episode title is the established amount of time before the gate shuts down and everybody in the ship dies. Sheppard is about to tell Weir something, but is interrupted by somebody in a "I have a plan" moment. At the end of the episode, Weir asks him what he was going to say. He claims it was "take care of each other," but Weir is obviously unconvinced.
** In a later episode McKay confesses his love for Keller while losing his mind to Space Alzheimer's. Sadly, he doesn't remember this after he's cured.
* For the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' episode "Doomsday", instead of impending death it's {{spoiler|Rose being trapped in an [[Alternate Universe]] with no chance of return}}. During their final communication, Rose confesses that she loves the Doctor, but {{spoiler|the transmission ends before the Doctor can ''finish'' his reply. "Rose Tyler, I --"}}.
** The Series 4 finale seems to imply he wanted to say {{spoiler|he loved her as well}} when he got cut off.
** The Doctor comes close to using this trope in another episode, also with Rose. Well, maybe.
{{quote|  The Doctor: If I don't make it back, tell Rose... tell her... oh, she knows.}}
*  {{spoiler|Ianto}} in [[Wham Episode|Day Four]] of the ''[[Torchwood (TV)|Torchwood]]'' miniseries ''Children of Earth''  {{spoiler|finally says 'I love you' to Jack after their relationship of two seasons as he dies of an alien virus. Unfortunately, this death actually sticks.}}
* [[The Mentalist|Bosco and Lisbon, anyone?]]. [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|So]] [[Tear Jerker|damn]] [[No Hugging, No Kissing|tragic]].
* In [[Castle]], (warning: major S3 season finale spoilers follow!) {{spoiler|Beckett is shot during her eulogy at Montgomery's funeral. Castle pleads with her not to leave him, then finally says "I love you," just before she falls unconscious. Her [[Plot Armor]] will save her,}} but only time will tell how the rest of the trope plays out.
** Why, with yet another season of [[UST]], of course.

==  Tabletop Games  ==

* Played straight in ''Doomtown'' with Corky Hendricks' last words.
* In ''[[Last Night On Earth]]'', the GM can invoke this, if two characters are in the same room and he has the card, he can force them to skip a turn. Often leads to [[Sex Equals Death]], as that makes it easy to surround them with zombies so they can't escape.

==  Theater  ==

* In the play ''[[Cyrano De Bergerac]]'', the titular character makes a deathbed confession to Roxanne that it was he who wrote the letters to her, not her dead husband, and that he loved her. This makes this [[Older Than Radio]].
** Sort of. It's more that he's just not quite sharp enough to keep up the lie, and she figures it out. She keeps needling him about it, but it's really more of a reluctant admission than a declaration, and it wasn't the dying so much that got him to confess.
* Éponine in [[Les Misérables (Theatre)|Les Mis]] confesses her love for Marius after she gets fatally shot.
** This being Les Mis, they have time to sing about it.
* In the third act of ''Götterdämmerung'' by [[Richard Wagner]], 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, makes a huge declaration of her love for Siegfried before she leaps into his funeral pyre.

==  Video Games  ==

* Averted in ''[[Mass Effect]]''. If you're playing Commander Shepard as a male character and are following the Ashley romance subplot, you get this conversation immediately after the sex scene, but before you've decided whether this is a one-time 'impending-death-exception' thing or you will continue to pursue your relationship against all the various social & legal obstacles between you (You ''are'' her commanding officer, after all). All this as you're only a few minutes from dropping onto a hostile world against impossible odds to confront the boss villain:
{{quote| '''Ashley:''' Whatever happens down there, I just wanted to say... Wait. You know what? I'm not telling you! You want to hear this, you'll just have to come back to me.}}
** Played straight in the Liara relationship storyline, where she thanks the Commander for everything after the sex scene.
* In ''[[Tales of the Abyss (Video Game)|Tales of the Abyss]]'',  {{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 one of the possible "false endings" of ''[[Odin Sphere]]'', Mercedes confesses her feelings to Ingway with her last breath.
** It's also inverted earlier, as {{spoiler|Melvin's}} last words is to proclaim to {{spoiler|Oswald}} that he always hated him and never felt any parental love for him at all.
* Near the finale of ''[[Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World (Video Game)|Tales of Symphonia Dawn of the New World]]'',  {{spoiler|Decus says this to Alice right before he dies. He had taken a sword to his back to protect her, and his final words are: "Alice...you always said that I digust you...but I...I love you." This then prompts Alice to go berserk and at last admit her feelings for Decus. She dies shortly after.}}
* In ''[[Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (Video Game)|Assassin's Creed Brotherhood]]'', the last of Ezio's [[The First Cut Is the Deepest|Repressed Memories of Cristina]] ends with {{spoiler|Cristina dying during the Bonfires of the Vanities, stating that she always wished they had a second chance.}}
* In ''[[Prey]]'', Tommy tells Jen he loves her after  {{spoiler|[[Kill the Ones You Love|he is forced to kill her]]}}. Yes, to her  {{spoiler|dead body}}.
* Some ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' characters' death quotes do briefer versions of this, mainly in [[Fire Emblem Akaneia|the Akaneia games]] where there's only one possible pairing for any given character if at all. It's also a recurring tendency for cases of [[Love Makes You Evil|lovestruck antagonists]].
* Parodied in a cinematic of the original ''[[Starcraft]]''. When two hicks are about to be killed by Zerg, one turns to his fellow and claims, "I love you, Sarge!" to which the other responds in utter bafflement.

==  Visual Novels  ==
* In ''[[Fate Stay Night|FateStayNight's]]'' Fate route, [[Bittersweet Ending|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. [[Tear Jerker|She dies in her sleep.]]
** An earlier example could be Shirou's first vocal declaration to Saber. He's been stabbed through the chest, and is about to go up against [[The Epic of Gilgamesh|THE strongest fighter]] in the whole Grail War [[Curb Stomp Battle|who just wiped the floor with]] [[Lady of War|Saber]] [[One-Hit Kill|in one shot.]] [[Heroic Sacrifice|Shirou must have known]] [[Senseless Sacrifice|he was going to die but]]:
{{quote| '''Saber''' What are you doing?! It is impossible! Please stop! I do not need you to save me! Why... Why do you not understand that? No, if you die because of something like this, I-<br />
'''Shirou''' SHUT UP! ....Just... be quiet for a second... You can rely on others... rely on...<br />
'''Saber''' You're wrong. You're more important than me, your life is more important, so you should take care-"<br />
'''Shirou''' ''I want you more than anything else!'' There's not one thing that can replace you. Sorry, I... I like you the most out of everything. So I'm not going to let a guy like ''him'' take you! }}
**  {{spoiler|Luckily, Shirou has [[Healing Factor|Avalon]].}}

==  Webcomics  ==

* Played with in the [[Web Comic]] ''[[Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'', in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0184.html this strip]. {{spoiler|(The ''actual'' confession comes much later, in a much different way.)}}
** And then somewhat played straight, somewhat averted in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0593.html this strip] when {{spoiler|Elan refuses to profess false love to Therkla to convince her to resurrect later}}
*** It goes [[Tear Jerker|a step further]]: in D&D, you can always choose to fail a saving throw.
* [[Kid Radd]] plays the "We're going to die, so..." and stops right before the kiss (as it turns out they'll live after all). Naturally, they hang a lampshade on it.
{{quote| '''Kid Radd:''' Just this once, I wish the miraculous rescue had taken a little longer...}}
* Subverted in ''[[Angels 2200]]'', as Hammer is unable to [[Anguished Declaration of Love|tell Kid about her feelings for her]], largely because of their [[Unequal Pairing|relationship as leader and subordinate]]. She is shown saying it when preparing to stay behind as part of a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], but then it's revealed that it's merely what she '''wants''' to say and that she realizes that it is not the right time to do so, and she makes a face-saving line about "loving" Kid's hair. {{spoiler|Potentially doubly subverted when it turns out that Hammer is, in fact, alive. We have yet to see where this goes in Angels 2.0}}.
* In ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'', [http://egscomics.com/?date=2004-05-12 Grace gives one to Tedd] (who wasn't there but may have still heard it) just before she thinks she's about to die. {{spoiler|She doesn't die}}
* Occured in a ''[[Nuzlocke Comics]]'' fan run:  {{spoiler|Bruce Wayne's Platinum Nuzlocke}}, to be precise. Being a Nuzlocke run, the reciever of the confession had just been [[Killed Off for Real]], leading to the [[Tear Jerker|depressing question]] of...
{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Grayson}}:''' How do I say "I love you" to a corpse?}}

==  Web Original  ==

* In a deleted scene from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series (Web Video)|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]'' episode 46, Marik and Florence get a [[Dying Declaration of Love|Dying Declaration of]] ''[[Foe Yay|Hate]]'' as they are about to be killed by Melvin. ...a moment which is quickly [[Moment Killer|killed]] by [[Transparent Closet|Marik]] [[Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?|insisting he's straight.]]
{{quote| '''Bakura''': Marik, I... I hate you. I hate you with all my heart. I hate you more than I've ever hated anybody. I hate you so much I can barely take it. In fact, I want to go on hating you for the rest of my life. And if our world is destroyed, well, I won't be able to hate you anymore.<br />
'''Marik''': Oh, Bakura! I had no idea you felt that way about me! I-if it makes you feel any better, I hate you too. I think I hated you from the moment I first met you.<br />
'''Bakura''': In that case Marik, if we win this duel, let us go and make sweet hatred together. Just you and me. Hating each other. All night long.<br />
'''Marik''': Yes! Wait a second, are you coming on to me? I already told you, Bakura, [[Blatant Lies|I'm not gay!]] }}

==  Western Animation  ==
* Played straight in Disney's ''[[Beauty and The Beast]]''.
* In one episode of ''[[The Simpsons (Animation)|The Simpsons]]'', Smithers says "what the hell!" and kisses Mister Burns when everyone thinks the end of the world is coming. An embarrassed Smithers tries to play it off as professional affection, but Burns doesn't really buy it.
* ''[[Hey Arnold]]'': Helga, when she's mistakenly diagnosed herself with a fatal illness, decides to confess her love to Arnold. Phoebe interrupts her at the last minute, but Arnold still looks suspicious, so she tries to cover it up with her being delirious and out of her mind. Naturally, [[Snap Back|it works]].
* Played straight in ''[[Beast Wars (Animation)|Beast Wars]]''; Tigatron and Air Razor, apparently about to die, vow that their sparks (souls) will always find each other, and take each other's hand.
** It gets taken a BIT too literally...Meet Tigerhawk, the result of those two sparks being captured by the Evil Aliens and fused together into an incredibly powerful Transformer sent back down to Earth to take out Megatron for messing up the timestream. And then die again.
* ''[[Captain Planet and The Planeteers]]'': When Wheeler and Linka are trapped in a [[Gas Chamber]], Linka starts telling Wheeler that even though she acts like she doesn't care about him... and succumbs to a coughing fit just as the others finally get the doors open. She tries to deny everything as soon as they're out the door, but Wheeler gets the message.
* In the second season of ''[[Re Boot]]'' Bob and Dot find themselves cornered in an alley with a powerful virus. With what seems like no way out, Bob starts to confess to Dot, but she interrupts him and tells him that she knows. Of course, they end up saved at the last moment by another character.
{{quote| '''Bob:''' Dot, I... want to tell you....<br />
'''Dot:''' I know, Bob. I know. }}
* ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (Animation)|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]'': [[Ant-Man|Giant-Man]] delivers one to [[The Wasp]] after saving her from getting shot by a Kree sentry carrying a bomb that could wipe out all life on Earth. However, Giant-Man only gets as far as, "Jan, I love..." before fainting. He regains consciousness by the end of the episode, but becomes too shy to finish the declaration when Wasp asks him if he still has anything important to say.

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Death Tropes]]
[[Category:Romance Arc]]
[[Category:Love Tropes]]
[[Category:Romantic Resolutions]]
[[Category:Dying Declaration Of Love]]
[[Category:Trope]]