Sacrificing quirks for the sake of drama

So I'm gonna need a bit of backstory for this issue that I have come across, so bear with me. I've been writing a novel for a while now and go to a weekly writer's group that I have shared some of it with. Now I recently made some changes which I shown them. While the feedback was generally that the changes were a step in the right direction, there was one change to a character in which their reaction was effectively Ruined FOREVER (when you think about it though, that's a sign of how much they like it).

The change was considering a rather quirky character who is the Deuteragonist. He's an alien, a shut-in that spent most of his life reading and watching Human fiction, he wants to become a superhero and he is lactose intolerant. Sound weird enough for ya? Well, he also had a Scottish accent. That last one is the trait that I had removed, the reason being that (no offense to any Scots) that it didn't feel right for where his arc was going to go. The voice just didn't seem right.

I decided to remove it and when I shown the chapter of when he is introduced to my class, they noticed that it was missing straight away. I really only made note of it in the story on the occasion and tried to avoid making his accent a heavy part of his dialogue (It's one of my pet peeves, really), so I was actually surprised that they noticed. They want it back but at the same time I'm not sure if it would still work. I suppose this is my first time where I have to decide whether to cater to the fans or not, so. . . should I? Has anyone had similar experiences?

Not to cave into fan demand, but I say you keep the accent. The way people talk can be (and IRL is) a major way to establish and differentiate one character from another. If people responded negatively to having that "quirk" taken away, then it's probably because they felt like you were taking away a defining characteristic, not just some goofy little add-on. Of course, it all comes down to what you decide — and people that are reading your story for the first time won't even know your character once spoke with an accent, so there's always that.

As for my own experiences with sacrificing quirks...well, I can't say this is directly related to quirks, but close enough. Early on in my story's life, the lead heroine's sister was improbably buxom and proud of it, and made sure others knew it. As I understand it, she wasn't a very popular character (though it might have helped if I'd introduced her to a class that WASN'T predominantly female). Ever since then, I've been worried about how she'll be received in the long run; I haven't backed down on changing her build because that's a part of who she is — physically and mentally — and to keep up the motif I had going. On the other hand, I've tweaked her significantly since then — more than any other character in that story, maybe — and made her far deeper from the get-go rather than save it for later on.

So I guess there's a thin line between fan input and creative vision — but ultimately, I'd say that it's better to do what you think would work best. As for quirks and drama, I'd say they don't have to be mutually exclusive, especially if the drama is only a part of the story, not the dominant genre. Of course, if the Scottish accent (or any quirk) is so thick that it's a perpetual generator of Narm, then...well, to paraphrase Charlie Nash: "You just inherited a big problem."

Man, I hate that movie.

If his accent is downplayed to the extent you describe, why would it get in the way of "drama" in the first place?

Well nrjxll, it's mostly to do with the voice. It's hard to describe. Think of it as getting a joke in order to be able to tell it. If I don't get the character, I feel like the drama doesn't work. It's not drama all the time, mind you.

Your the author, so the story is yours to do what you will. To me, it seems like the accent would be an asset and wouldn't take away any drama. Granted, I just happen to like Scottish accents a lot so I may be a bit biased. Still, if its something your readers latched onto in a positive way, it may be a good idea.

It sounds to me like your readers latched onto the character because the Scottish accent just personally amused them, not because they liked the character's more meaningful traits, and that's a problem. If removing that one character quirk eliminated all of their love for the character, it should be an indication that the character is missing something more fundamental. The quirk shouldn't be the deciding factor in a character's likability.