At 05:20 PM 4/16/97 +1000, Susan  Doenime wrote:

Well, now that the ML seems to be back up... here goes. ^_^

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P O I S O N                          |
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by Susan Doenime                     |
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Characters and Backstory by          |
Rumiko Takahashi. Used without       |
permission.                          |
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  It still seems odd not to be engaged to Ranma. Not bad, not 

(cut for space)

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Notes:
  Burakunim, or Eta, are the descendants of Japanese who did 
"unclean"jobs during the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), such as 
animal slaughter and disposal of the dead. The most common job 
for a Japanese PI is to check for evidence of Burakumin ancestry. 

Don't people also hire P.I.s to check to see if you're Ainu, Korean, etc.?

Companies often refuse to hire them, saying it would give the 
corporation a "dirty" image, and teachers and students often 
refuse to eat or associate with them.
  There are roughly 4 million Burakumin in Japan today.

  Before anyone makes the inevitable comment... no, this was NOT inspired
by Bitter End. Poison was in prereading on the ML-In-Exile (to which Zen, among

Since I haven't seen this until now (I was on the other ersatzFFML) I 
originally thought this had something to do with the other "Poison" stories. 
But instead it's very original.  I don't think I've seen caste systems 
seriously mentioned in any other fanfics.

others, belonged) long before Bitter End was released. So, despite the
similarities - preachy tone, social aspect of plot, less-than-wonderful 

It wasn't preachy.  The social aspects were done in a pretty minimalist way
(think 8K vs. 450K).  And the two stories are otherwise totally different.

Akane, etc - the two have nothing to do with one another. ^_^
  Big thank-yous go to the prereaders who sent in comments. ^_^
  And for those who are curious - Ill Met 4 is completed, and will be
sent out in a day or so. ^_^