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Fan Works
The penny dropped. [Wheatley] screamed, caught sight of his old body sitting forlornly in the docking port and screamed again. His back hit the stand with a thump, and he curled into a ball, limbs going everywhere, doing his best to become spherical. It was a doomed task, and from Chell's point of view, it was like watching a giant daddy-long-legs trying to assume the brace position.
— Blue Sky (Waffles), Chapter 3
Misato walks in and shuts the door behind her. She sees Asuka curled up on her bed, facing the wall.
— Misato finds Asuka after Shinji broke up with her, The Child of Love, chapter 8
There was also another girl in the distance, who was curled up in a corner of the room with her head buried within her knees. As soon as I noticed her, I could tell that... there was something wrong.
— Daisuke Hiyori about Shion Nanashi, Danganronpa: Paradise Lost
"I don't need you! I don't need anyone! Go away!"
This said, she pulled her legs up to her chest, let her chin rest on her knees and then closed her eyes.
"Leave me alone... just... leave me alone..."
This time, she had said the words between sobs.
This said, she pulled her legs up to her chest, let her chin rest on her knees and then closed her eyes.
"Leave me alone... just... leave me alone..."
This time, she had said the words between sobs.
— Asuka, The One I Love Is..., chapter 4
And then the memories came, and all Asuka could do was curl into a ball and cry.
Asuka awoke with a shout, clawing at her face as she fought to escape the dream's crushing grip. She was in the main living area of their apartment, with Shinji's futon right beside hers. She wrapped her arms around herself and doubled over, trying to calm herself.
Shinji watched her, weary and sympathetic. When she'd calmed a bit he asked, "That was the really bad one, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
Shinji watched her, weary and sympathetic. When she'd calmed a bit he asked, "That was the really bad one, wasn't it?"
"Yeah."
Marching into the shower-filled section of the changing room, they found that was Darwin was right in his suspicions, and saw Tobias in the room, curled up in a corner, knees hiding his face as though he were hiding from the world. He looked absolutely miserable, there was no other word to describe the state he was in. At first, neither Gumball nor Darwin said anything, allowing a heavy silence to hang in the air for an unspecified period of time. They've seen him break down a couple times when something bad happened to him or fly into a rage when someone said something hurtful, but this was something they'd never actually seen the three fingered kid do. There was nothing they could say at the exact moment as they didn't know how to process the exact misery that Tobias was conveying to them.Then after what like an entire ten years had passed, Tobias peeked out from between his raised knees, his eyes red from crying, most likely, and glared directly at the two,
Tobias:"What do you guys want?" he croaked, his voice sounding horrible. He must have been crying.
Shinji curled forward, and he buried his face in his burned hands, and he cried.
She sighed and crouched, her elbows on her knees and her hands hiding her face. "I. Am. Just. Getting. So. Damned. Tired."
No matter what she said to reassure him or convince him otherwise, there was no denying it anymore: Steven knew that Peridot was most certainly not all right. It wasn't just her teeth shaking anymore; her whole body was wracked with intense trembles as she sat propped up against the building, having adopted the fetal position. It was hard to see due to her head being buried in her arms, but based on the occasional jerking of her shoulder blades, he knew she was crying.
— Don't Even Bother, chapter 19
From his room, Shinji heard the sobs. Worried that Asuka might be in trouble, he jumped to his feet and hurried to Misato's room. The door was open and when he stepped in to the darkened room he saw Asuka sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up and held by her free hand. She was shaking; he hadn't been hearing things.
— Wake
Félix and Sabrina could do nothing but watch and wait as this mismatching, this seizure of a transformation sequence ravaged through Camilo's body. Eventually, it ended, leaving Camilo curled up in a shivering ball, panting heavily and sweating bullets.
Literature
deep enfolding darkness
an amniotic darkness
Ramsey felt movement, a humming: the motors. Bonnett's voice: ‘I think he's coming around.’
Sparrow: ‘Can you hear me, Johnny?’
He didn't want to answer. That would take energy. It would give substance to the world. His years of psychological training abruptly said to him: You are in a tight fetal position.
Sparrow: ‘Let's try to straighten him out. That may help.’
Bonnett: ‘Break it to him gently, Skipper.’
Hands touched his legs, his arms, pulling him from the curled ball. He wanted to resist, but his muscles felt like weak putty.
an amniotic darkness
Ramsey felt movement, a humming: the motors. Bonnett's voice: ‘I think he's coming around.’
Sparrow: ‘Can you hear me, Johnny?’
He didn't want to answer. That would take energy. It would give substance to the world. His years of psychological training abruptly said to him: You are in a tight fetal position.
Sparrow: ‘Let's try to straighten him out. That may help.’
Bonnett: ‘Break it to him gently, Skipper.’
Hands touched his legs, his arms, pulling him from the curled ball. He wanted to resist, but his muscles felt like weak putty.
— The Dragon in the Sea by Frank Herbert
She was drifting above the navigational display, naked, cramped in a rigid fetal knot. Her eyes were open, but fixed on something Kurtz would never see. Her fists were bloody, clenched like stone, and her brown hair, loose now, drifted around her face like seaweed.
— Hinterlands by William Gibson
Western Animation
Mabel's not here. She's in Sweater Town.
— Mabel Pines, Gravity Falls, "The Hand that Rocks the Mabel"
