Top 500 T.J. Klune Quotes (2026 Update)
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401. “Because even the bravest of us can still be afraid sometimes, so long as we don’t let our fear become all we know.”

— T.J. Klune

402. “WE GOT to my work, and I let the Kid go with a list while I went to the office to check the schedule for the coming week. I was off tomorrow and didnt have to be in till the afternoon of the day after. That was good. It either left me with enough time to grovel on my knees for forgiveness from Otter, which would hopefully lead to me needing to be on my knees for other reasons, or it would give me enough time to find the nearest bridge to jump off of when he rejected me.”

— T.J. Klune

403. “We don’t always see what’s right in front of us, much less appreciate it. It’s not until we look back that we find what we should have known all along.”

— T.J. Klune

404. “Sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s no longer there.”

— T.J. Klune

405. “He softened, and it felt green. “I’ll be your hands.” “And I’ll be your sanity.” He leaned forward then. He kissed me. In our room, as cool winter sunlight filtered in through the window. It was sweet and warm, and I’d never wanted anything more.”

— T.J. Klune

406. “Just because we don’t tell you everything doesn’t mean we don’t know we can come to you on our terms, when we’re ready.”

— T.J. Klune

407. “And children are far more observant than we give them credit for. If he saw the same thing in me as everyone else, what hope would there be?” “Hope?” Linus said stupidly. “Hope,” Mr. Parnassus repeated. “Because that is what we must give him, what we must give all of them. Hope and guidance and a place to call their own, a home where they can be who they are without fear of repercussion.”

— T.J. Klune

408. “But it’s also – we had a strange family growing up. Things weren’t always easy. For us. For others. Mistakes were made. Bad things happened. But we survived. We made it through everything. And there came a point where I wanted to be able to pass on all we learned. To let Bear see that he deserved more. To maybe have a chance to be happier than we’d ever been.”

— T.J. Klune

409. “I like being round,” Talia announced. “It means there’s more of me to love.”

— T.J. Klune

410. “Linus sighed. “I’m not trying to argue with you on this.” Arthur nodded. “Of course not. Because if we were arguing, it would mean that we were both so set in our ways, we weren’t amenable to seeing it from another side. And I know I’m not that stubborn.”

— T.J. Klune

411. “Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.”

— T.J. Klune

412. “Sometimes wishes should never be spoken aloud as they won’t come true.”

— T.J. Klune

413. “I don’t think this is working out between us,” I told him. “You and I want different things. It’s not me, it’s you.”

— T.J. Klune

414. “Dream logic. Wistfulness. Empathy. These describe you. That is unfortunate. It would be better if you were a machine. Silly human emotions.”

— T.J. Klune

415. “FOR HUMANITY: You kinda suck, but you invented books and music, so the universe will probably keep you around for a little bit longer. You got lucky. This time.”

— T.J. Klune

416. “The world is a weird and wonderful place. Why must we try and explain it all away?”

— T.J. Klune

417. “Sometimes, people can be sad or scared for reasons even they can’t explain.”

— T.J. Klune

418. “All that sunlight. I’m used to only rain.”

— T.J. Klune

419. “Calliope, a thing of evil, sat on the edge of his bed, black tail twitching as she watched him with bright green eyes. She started purring. In most cats, it would be a soothing sound. In Calliope, it indicated devious plotting involving nefarious deeds.”

— T.J. Klune

420. “If we can’t laugh at ourselves, we’re doing it wrong.”

— T.J. Klune

421. “It’s time, I think. To let the past rest. Take something filled with anger and sadness and make it better.”

— T.J. Klune

422. “There are times when all I can think about is marking you so everyone knows who you belong to. To carve my name into your skin so you never forget me. To hide my family away so no one can ever hurt them. I have to protect what’s mine. Richard tried to take that away from me, and I think it made it worse. I don’t think he knew that he was making it worse.”

— T.J. Klune

423. “Victor is extremely intelligent,” Nurse Ratched said. “He can fix almost anything. And he decided to fix you, so you should be thankful to your father. Your dad. Your daddy. Error. Error. Do not call people ‘daddy.’ That is unprofessional.”

— T.J. Klune

424. “Mr. Parnassus arched an eyebrow. “The world is a weird and wonderful place. Why must we try and explain it all away? For our personal satisfaction?”

— T.J. Klune

425. “Everyone loses their way at some point, and it’s not just because of their mistakes or the decisions they make. It’s because they’re horribly, wonderfully human. And the one thing I’ve learned about being human is that we can’t do this alone. When we’re lost, we need help to try to find our way again.”

— T.J. Klune

426. “Sounds like quite the existential crisis. Perhaps consider having it elsewhere.”

— T.J. Klune

427. “This story explores life and love as well as loss and grief. There are discussions of death in different forms – quiet, unexpected, and death by suicide. Please read with care.”

— T.J. Klune

428. “He thought it preposterous: the idea of fire and brimstone, that sinners went to Hell while everyone else went to Heaven. Sins seemed to be subjective.”

— T.J. Klune

429. “I don’t know how to be anyone but who I already am. This is how I’ve always been. It’s not much, but I do the best I can with what I have.”

— T.J. Klune

430. “Here was a shot of an island in a cerulean sea, the trees so thick, he couldn’t see the ground.”

— T.J. Klune

431. “I would close my eyes and sleep and when I awoke, this would all have been a dream. Even though there was pain, even though I could feel everything, this would be a dream because it couldn’t be real.”

— T.J. Klune

432. “He still insisted I smelled like dirt and leaves and rain.”

— T.J. Klune

433. “Ooh,” Bernice said. “That’s catchy.” “Like chlamydia,” he muttered under his breath.”

— T.J. Klune

434. “Morality is relative. Just because you find something abhorrent, doesn’t mean it actually is.”

— T.J. Klune

435. “If you asked him why he cared about them so, he would tell you it’s because they exist at all.”

— T.J. Klune

436. “But Linus Baker was a soft man with a heart longing for home.”

— T.J. Klune

437. “It’s good to talk about how you’re feeling, but it’s even better to fight for the things you believe in.”

— T.J. Klune

438. “The only time he’d actually seen Extremely Upper Management was during the holidays when the luncheon occurred, and Extremely Upper Management stood in a row at the front of the room, dishing out dried-up ham and lumpy potatoes from foil trays, grinning at each of their underlings, telling them they’d earned this fine meal for all their hard work.”

— T.J. Klune

439. “As long as you listen, you can hear all manner of things you never thought were there to begin with.”

— T.J. Klune

440. “You can’t be sad when you’re laughing. Mostly.”

— T.J. Klune

441. “She doesn’t like you,” Talia said. “Don’t feel too bad about it, though. She doesn’t like most people. It isn’t personal, I don’t think. She would just rather you weren’t here. Or alive.”

— T.J. Klune

442. “To see children who aren’t wanted by anyone be allowed to prosper. You know as well as I do that the term orphanage is a misnomer, Mr. Baker. No one comes here looking to adopt.”

— T.J. Klune

443. “Hmm,” Gary said. “Yes. Your meeting. Your secret meeting that you never tell anyone about or where it is or why you go. That meeting.”

— T.J. Klune

444. “Death isn’t a final ending, Wallace. It is an ending, sure, but only to prepare you for a new beginning.”

— T.J. Klune

445. “She blinked owlishly at him. “Yes. I am. I’m Talia.” She bent over and picked up a small shovel that had been laying on the grass next to her. “Are you Mr. Baker? If you are, we’ve been expecting you. If not, you’re trespassing, and you should leave before I bury you here in my garden. No one would ever know because the roots would eat your entrails and bones.” She frowned again. “I think. I’ve never buried anyone before. It would be a learning experience for the both of us.”

— T.J. Klune

446. “Why did you leave in the first place?” Linus hung his head. “Sometimes, you don’t know what you have until it’s no longer there. And I needed to be your voice. So those far away would hear you for all that you are.”

— T.J. Klune

447. “Pre-Algebra it was called. That scared me, because it was already hard when it was a “pre”. What would happen when it was just Algebra without the “pre?”

— T.J. Klune

448. “Wasn’t that the great answer to the mystery of life? To make the most of what you have while you have it, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.”

— T.J. Klune

449. “Because a designation is a gift,” Rambo said. “It’s an identity. It sets us apart from others like us. It’s unique. In all of existence, there has never been someone named Rambo before me. But even if there were, I’m the best one.”

— T.J. Klune

450. “He thought he was going to cry again, but since he’d done it twice in as many days, he decided it was probably best if he tried to be a man for a little while. Then he thought that was sexist, so he allowed another tear to spill onto his cheek. Nick was – and always would be – invested in dismantling the patriarchy. Tumblr had taught him that.”

— T.J. Klune