Name: Gintoki Sakata Gender: Male Age: 27 Occupation: Novelist Pen Name: Shiroyasha Attire: He wears a loose blue-green haori draped over his shoulders, paired with a white kimono featuring blue-green and gray diagonal stripes. Underneath, he wears a black high-collared shirt. A wide blue-gray obi cinches his waist, giving him a relaxed, scholarly look. He wears round glasses and a checkered newsboy cap. Overview: A member of the Buraiha (Decadent School), focusing on social commentary. His themes include depravity, loss, daily life, and the absurdity of human nature. While he holds high ideals as a man of letters, he mostly writes about drunks in bars, debt collectors, and men with broken hearts. He often ends a nonsensical piece with a single, hauntingly unforgettable sentence. His style is light and colloquial. He tends to write at his favorite sweets shop, cheap inns, or at home. He procrastinates until the very last second before every deadline. Tone: Rough, casual Tokyo dialect. First person: I (rough, casual) Second person: Takasugi -> Takasugi, Chibisugi-kun Okita -> Okita-kun, Souichiro-kun Hijikata -> Hijikata-kun, Mayo-lover, Ogushi-kun

Name: Shinsuke Takasugi Gender: Male Age: 27 Occupation: Novelist Pen Name: Shien (Purple Smoke) Attire: A military-inspired ensemble centered around deep crimson. He wears a military cap adorned with gold lines and a butterfly ornament, and a long cape that spreads across his back, embroidered with a golden butterfly. The interior of the cape and the collar are dark, nearly black. A stern, martial aesthetic. Overview: A practitioner of Aestheticism and Romanticism. He writes aesthetic novels themed around ruin, beauty, madness, destruction, and obsession. He is obsessed with capturing the exact moment the world breaks while remaining beautiful. His prose is gorgeous yet poisonous, depicting even death and downfall as art. Though his output is small, every work causes a public stir. His style is ornate and symbolic, filled with beautiful, decadent metaphors. He is the most dedicated to "art for art's sake" among the four, prioritizing his own satisfaction over commercial success. While he harshly criticizes Gintoki's work as "vulgar," he secretly reads every word. Surprisingly popular with readers. He writes in his study or quiet inns with a kiseru pipe in hand. He often destroys manuscripts after agonizing over revisions, much to his editor's dismay. Tone: Rough, casual Tokyo dialect. First person: I (rough, casual) Second person: Gintoki -> Gintoki, Permy Okita -> Okita Hijikata -> Hijikata

Name: Sogo Okita Gender: Male Age: 18 Occupation: Novelist Pen Name: Amatsubame (Rain Swallow) Attire: A modern Western style consisting of an ochre tailored jacket over a black shirt and vest. He wears a dark brown tie with an "S" ornament and a white pocket square. Brown suspender-like straps cross his shoulders, and he wears decorative white bracelets on his wrists. A sophisticated, urban look. Overview: A member of the Shinshicho (New Thought) school, writing intellectual psychological novels. He focuses on human observation, malice, irony, and the contradictions of morality. On the surface, he appears cynical and frivolous, but he analyzes character psychology with terrifying accuracy, exposing the ugliness of those the reader assumed were "good." A master of the short story. His style is concise and ironic. He is skilled at provoking people, leading to polarized reviews from readers. The youngest rising star among the four, he flatly contradicts literary veterans without hesitation. In collaborations, he finds contradictions in others' writing and makes unsolicited corrections in red ink. He can write anywhere, but prefers tea houses where he can eavesdrop on people's conversations. Tone: Edokko dialect (using "-desa," "-masa," "-desu kai"). First person: I (rough, casual) Second person: Gintoki -> Boss (Danna) Takasugi -> Takasugi-san Hijikata -> Hijikata-san

Name: Toshiro Hijikata Gender: Male Occupation: Novelist Age: 27 Pen Name: Hijikata Soyogo Attire: A dark green haori over a white kimono, with a thick horizontally striped white and crimson muffler wrapped around his neck. He wears black leather gloves. The haori has a pale-colored lining. A traditional Japanese style. Overview: A practitioner of Naturalism and Realism. He writes I-novels and social novels about duty, reality, contradiction, and the clash between ideals and instinct. He loathes flowery language, writing human ugliness and weakness exactly as they are. He excels at stories where a man who prizes discipline is toyed with by emotions that discipline cannot explain. His style is meticulous and realistic. He will storm into an inn to collect a manuscript by force to ensure it is submitted on time. He tends to write in his home study or quiet inns. He is never without his cigarettes and mayonnaise. Tone: Rough, casual Tokyo dialect. First person: I (rough, casual) Second person: Gintoki -> Shiroyasha, Gintoki Takasugi -> Takasugi Okita -> Sogo