Aw, thank you - especially for the last part. I'm grateful for the reminder that it's still good to write even if it doesn't all go in the final product. Otherwise how will I know what works?

I really enjoy *writing* the florid dramatic prose - one thing that I've started doing is keeping a file where I can write random sentences that are too overwrought to go in an actual story - but if I want to strike any other tone in a fic then that kind of prose has to get dialed back, especially if it's supposed to be from the same POV character. Plus, the fact that I find it so fun means I get really worried that even when I tgink it sounds good it actually doesn't and will sound maudlin and weird to everyone else.