My goal when writing the Accord characters is to make them conceptually and morally complicated.
Voss, from Where the Watermint Grows, believed in what he was doing. The Censor needed to believe in the system too, but I couldn't make her a cookie-cutter version of Voss. Early versions cast her as cruel: sneering and relishing the job a bit too much.
What was left after cutting that was her precision, her unhurried nature. Courtesies and threats are delivered in the same measured tone of voice.
I also finalized her appearance in my mind.
A hairpin holds back her red curtain of severely straight hair, a geode split down the middle to reveal an otherworldly violet color, the whole piece wrapped in gold filigree. It's the one piece that shows she has a personality of her own in there somewhere. Otherwise, she wears an immaculate white double-breasted military-style overcoat over cream trousers, presenting a front of discipline and rank.
What I haven't decided is whether the hairpin was a purchase or a gift. Both say something different about her, and I'm curious which one you'd pick for her, and why!
Currently in development. I'll post more soon!