#fun fact - one of Bow's moms made Meta those wing cozies; they're a little restricting (not flying in 'em) but they do keep him extra warm

[veinsfullofstars]

❄️ Memories of winter ❄️

(ID: Kirby series fanart of young Dedede, Meta, Para Dee, and Bow Dee engaging in various winter-themed activities and scenarios. DDD wears a burgundy full-body coat with fuzzy white puffball buttons and cuffs, a red-and-orange-striped scarf, and a red knitted cap with another white puffball on the end. Meta wears a purple-and-lilac-striped scarf patterned in simple dark bat shapes and a pair of knitted purple wing cozies. Para wears a green-and-brown plaid scarf and a pair of pale-green earmuffs with a white band alongside his glasses. Bow wears only a pair of white earmuffs with a light-blue band alongside her trademark bow. More detailed descriptions below the cut. END ID.)

Part 1 (you're here!) | Part 2

Finally managed to bang this out despite the weeks-long pain of driveway shoveling. A pox on this season, I say. At least the kiddos are having fun - look at them. Precious beans.

Sketches started btw 11/23 and 01/24, render started 01/08/24, finished 01/21/24, updated for color correction 11/02/24. NOTE: This was originally posted on my deleted account on 01/29/24. | Childhood Friends AU Masterpost

—

Image descriptions (from top to bottom):

-The kids all packed together on a wooded sled going fast downhill toward the viewer’s left. Meta up front leaning into the wind with a look of excited wonder on his face, Para sitting beside him with his hands covering his face in fright, DDD behind them holding onto the sled and squinting hard against the wind, Bow behind him holding onto his shoulder and waving her free hand in the air in joyful exhilaration.

-DDD and Meta iceskating towards the viewer’s right (each wearing a pair of brown skates with gold clasps and silver blades). DDD has fallen flat on his face (in his signature head-slide pose), and Meta glances over at him as he skates past, a look of concern on his face, his scarf trailing out behind him.

-Bow on a snowboard (the deck patterned in long swooping lines almost like waves in various shades of teal), soaring up through the air towards the viewer’s left, her feet planted firmly, one hand gripping the board, the other tossed back behind her, her expression determined.

-A snowball fight between Meta and Bow on one team (background) and Para and DDD on the other (foreground), each hiding behind a wall of packed snow. DDD startles, arms held out and eyes comically wide, as a snowball - tossed by Bow - hits him right in the back of the head. Para (sitting beside him) glances up from where he is making more snowballs. Behind them, Meta climbs on top of his team’s fort, a snowball the size of his own body held over his head, his eyes a pair of ultra-instinct diamonds as he prepares to throw.

-Para trying out a set of skis (the decks lime-green, the shoes brown with gold clasps, the poles dark-green with lime-green handles). He looks very unsteady on his feet, holding the poles out wide as he trembles, frowning down through his lime-green ski mask. He says in a speech bubble, “P-Pizza… French fry…”

-Meta standing neutrally, wearing his scarf and wing cozies along with DDD’s knitted cap, his breath visible beside him in a small puff.

-The kids all lying on the snow making snow angels (top-down view, DDD on bottom, Meta on left, Bow on top, Para on right). DDD laughs with his eyes closed as he drags his arms and feet through the snow in wide arcs. Meta grins happily behind his scarf as he does the same. Bow excitedly flails her little arms and feet through the snow as fast as she can, spraying snow everywhere. Para - caught in her wake - curls slightly away from Bow and blocks the snow with his hand, one eye closed, smiling despite himself.

-DDD sitting with his arms held out as his friends all cuddle close to him for warmth - Para draped over his right side (viewer’s left), Bow peeking out from behind his left shoulder, Meta lying against his left side (viewer’s right) - all looking quite content save for DDD himself, who looks only slightly annoyed. Squiggly lines radiate out from him to indicate body heat, while an arrow points at him with the text “Living Space Heater”.

-DDD, Meta, and Para all enjoying mugs of hot cocoa, each piled high with swirls of cream, wisps of steam curling off of them. DDD holds one mug for himself (pale-yellow with a light-blue snowflake design) and hands out another for Meta (light-blue with a pale-yellow snowflake design). Meta reaches for it excitedly, eyes wide and sparkling, his little hands waving and his wings flared out behind him, straining in their cozies. Beside him, Para sits with his own mug (light-green with a pale-red snowflake design), holding it in both hands and smiling contentedly.

-The kids making snowpeople. On the left, DDD stands before a snowman vaguely modeled after himself (with rocks for the eyes, mouth, and buttons, three twigs on top for his plumage, and a fish-patterned scarf - presumably Bow’s - around its neck), grinning cockily and mimicking its pose with one hand on his hip, the other held up in a flex. Para stands beside him with an armful of extra sticks, looking very unimpressed with an ellipsis over his head. On the right, Meta leans on one foot with his back to the viewer, working on a snowman that looks somewhat like Galacta Knight (with twigs shoved in to represent his horns and the cross visor of his mask, and mounds of snow in back to represent wings). In the foreground, Bow sits stubbornly half-buried in a pile of snow, shivering, a drop of snot hanging from her face.