Hachin
is a Mulan Alternate Universe Fic by Eduard Kassel.
Diverging from canon after the battle of the Pass, Shan-Yu (granted the name Bataar here) and his surviving followers don't continue on into China, but rather turn around to return to their lands... and along the way capture Mulan. Now a prisoner of the Huns, Mulan must adapt to survive in the strange new world she finds herself in. And both she and Bataar will not only have to learn to tolerate each other, but work together if they're to have any chance of surviving the scheming of Bataar's enemies.
It is now complete. A sequel, Dragon & Horse has been begun, but is as yet unfinished, with a three-part interquel called Hachin: Seasons, which focuses on the lives of Bataar and Mulan/Hachin's children, to bridge the gap between the two.
Tropes that appear in this story:
- Action Girl: Mulan, of course, but also Oyunbileg and the other Hun spearwives.
- Alternate Universe Fic: Diverging from canon when the Huns turn back to their own lands and capture Mulan in the process.
- Big Bad: Unegan, Bataar's half-brother, who conspires to usurp his position.
- Dragon-in-Chief: The ghoul in his service is by far more threatening. And it turns out to be pulling the strings.
- Break the Cutie: Mulan undergoes this throughout the story but ultimately comes out stronger for it.
- Cain and Abel: Unegan and Bataar. Notably, it's the younger brother who's the Cain.
- Cool Old Guy: Old Moon, the shaman of Baatar's tribe.
- Culture Clash: It takes Mulan a long time to adjust to how different Hun culture is from China's.
- Face–Heel Turn: Shirchin and Lasuluun are both convinced to side with Unegan against Bataar.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Unegan is obsessed with Chinese culture, to the point almost of absurdity.
- Going Native: Mulan, much to Unegan's disgust.
- Mirroring Factions: The Chien-Po chapters make it clear that the Chinese army commits as many atrocities as the Huns, often against their own people.
- Neck Snap: How Bataar kills Unegan, of the "twist a full 180" variety.
- Psychopathic Man Child: Unegan, and it only gets worse when he hits his Villainous Breakdown at the climax.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Bataar, at least, believes this, though it is not a common belief in-universe.
- Sequel Hook: There are quite a few loose ends by the time the story's over. True to form, the first chapter of the sequel was posted on the 24th of August 2014.
- Title Drop: "Hachin" is the name Mulan is given by Old Moon when she and Bataar are married.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Bataar, by Old Moon's account. Though having your father murdered, your mother forced to bear the killer's child, and spending your childhood in exile would change most people.
- Villainous Breakdown: Unegan loses it when Mulan betrays him during his coup against Bataar.
- Worldbuilding: A key part of the story is exploring the world outside of China.
