WiP that I'm working on, posting it now because it's also spoilers for a fic I'm working on. The LU Chain get separated and turned into monsters! They have to solve a dungeon and return to their regular bodies without accidentally killing each other in the process. My thought process for each monster pick below the cut, read the first chapter here:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/79869436/chapters/209614436
Criteria for monster forms:
A monster mostly unique to their games. (God dammit Wars, why do you have no unique monsters?)
Something I can change the details on to make it obviously them
No boss monsters. Sticking with low-to-mid tier (with one exception)
Most important: something that the hero in question either really loves or really hates. No meh monsters. Wind is having the time of his life, Legend is cursing the goddess (what's new?)
So without further ado:
Wild = Horriblin (TotK): Easy pick. The climbing menace can now hang on ceilings, everyone panic. Horriblins are also completely new for TotK, perfect. Wild is having a blast chilling with the other horriblins. He thinks he's just having a weird, cool dream until Twi finds him. Twi of course recognizes him instantly because when else do you see a monster cooking a 3 course meal?
Twilight = Bulbin (TP): Yeah, Wars has some bulbins, but he totally stole them from Twilight, like all of his other monsters. For Twi it was a pick between a twilit beast and a bulbin. Twili beast I could have made look very wolf-ish, but kinda breaks the "mid-tier monsters" rule. And my brain superimposed Twi's pelt and tattoos onto a bulbin and said "They're exactly the same!" so I went with that. I headcanon that Twi is sort-of friends with the bulbins post-quest, so he also thinks he's having a weird dream where Epona is a bulbo, until he sees an obviously monster Wild cooking for a horriblin pack.
Hyrule = Ache (AoL): Hyrule can turn into a tiny fairy, so I gave him a tiny monster form. Everyone has keese, but aches are unique, so there you go. Also inspired by "Hylian, Fairy, Monster, Hero" by Jeru_Skyrider on Ao3. Made him green to make him unique. Rulie's settling into his new body pretty easily, but he's even more nervous than usual. He expects the others to spontaneously attack him cause it's what he would do to an ache.
Time = Redead (OoT): Redeads are not the most unique monsters, they're in a lot of games, but I couldn't resist the Hero's Shade connection. Also got to put the Fierce Deity markings on the redead mask. Time is pretty used to rolling with weird transformations, the only real problem here is that his joints are more creaky than usual. (Actually, the real problem is that he's struggling to talk. He's got the redead scream that can freeze allies and enemies alike, but other than that he can barely manage to whisper. Stupid dehydrated vocal cords.)
Warriors = Dinolfos (HW): So Wars has, like, no unique monsters, unless I wanted to turn him into Wizzro. I debated that, but decided that a rank and file soldier type fit better. Dinolfos because he's a captain, slightly above the common soldier. Scarf because what is Warriors without his scarf?
Wind = Phantom (PH): Wind is having the time of his heckin' LIFE. He's now the tallest and strongest of the group? Heck yeah! Phantoms are in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, but there weren't that many other unique options. What? Am I gonna make him a miniblin? Would be funny, but I decided that someone's gotta enjoy this adventure, and that person is gonna be Wind.
Legend = Pengator (aLttP/aLBW): Pengators are not perfectly unique, they're also in Four Swords Adventures. But Legend hates his rabbit form, it's small and weak and lacking thumbs, so I turned him into an equally harmless monster. And made it pink to f- with him.
Four = Acrobandit (MC): A monster that is four things stacked on top of each other, how could I not? (Actually, the in-game acrobandit is 5 tall, but this is my AU and my rules. HA!). Also completely unique to Minish Cap, iirc. Do the rest of the Chain know about the colors yet? If not, they're about to find out, oops!
Sky = Sky Guardian (SS): There aren't a lot of unique monsters in SS. Could have made him a skytail or furnix, two flying enemies. Definitely considered a remlit at one point. Settled on a silent realm guardian though, because this is the Godslayer we're talking about, he should be something powerful. Definitely the monster that gave him the most trauma on his journey- wait, Demise. The second most- oh yeah, Ghirahim. Top five most traumatic enemies in Skyward Sword. Now Sky is invulnerable and can one-shot nearly everything that threatens the Chain. Downside is that he's slow and slightly clumsy and can't talk, he can only chime.