Congratulations on your story being so well-received! :-) And I think it's generally a good idea to go with it when you feel that strongly about a certain aspect of a story. The "rules" of writing aren't actually rules, only guidelines; there's nothing you're not "allowed" to do in absolute terms, there are just things that are frequently done wrong and/or are difficult to pull off. If you do them well - more power to you! :-)

it's interesting to me how people navigate their reading habits when it comes to fic

It really is interesting - the writing process is so different for everyone. Your method makes a lot of sense!

Those are lovely pictures! All of you look great. You have wonderful smiles!