Favourite kind of love/hate declaration?
(A) "I abhor violence but I'd kill for you."
(B) "You have to suffer for what you've done, but I want to hurt with you."
(C) "I'll never forgive myself for loving you in spite of what you've done."
(D) "I should kill you, but I could never let you go."
oooh, another one of these, fun!
I will note that generally I tend to go less for outright declarations than I do for more sideways expressions of these kinds of sentiments, but I'm going to go with the spirit rather than the letter of the ask (and sometimes the declaration can be fun).
I think for me it's going to have to be either (c) or (d) from these options, both of which are choice. I wrote a post at one point about how one of my favorite things in a ship is when one party of it has to wrestle with what morals they are compromising over it. (it's not universal but it is a really fun flavor enhancer for me in several cases.)
there's just something very good when a hero/villain ship (to simplify things) contains in it at least something of the former having to wrestle with the question of, to be dramatic about it, what it means to love a monster. or, alternatively, to actively avoid wrestling with that question, because they can't deal with what it might mean.
other tasty options here sort of in line with what you're throwing down:
"only I can hurt you" (a classic)
"the only way I know how to express my feelings is by hurting you"
"I don't want to see you as human but I do in spite of myself"
"I will kill for you, please let me kill for you" (answered in the negative)
"I hate you but nobody understands me like you do"
honestly there are a lot of fun options. I think sometimes people underestimate the number of ways there are to play with "enemies to lovers" as a very basic trope (as, sort of, the thrust of the options under discussion here). there's not one way for that relationship arc to go.
and as I've been doing for the past versions of these and because I love polls (including my additions here):
battle royale: pick a favorite
"I abhor violence but I would kill for you."
"You have to suffer for what you've done, but I want to hurt with you."
"I'll never forgive myself for loving you in spite of what you've done."
"I should kill you, but I could never let you go."
"Only I can hurt you."
"The only way I know how to express my feelings is by hurting you."
"I don't want to see you as human but I do in spite of myself."
"I will kill for you. Please let me kill for you."
"I hate you but nobody understands me like you do."
Voting ended onAug 24, 2025
