In this case, I departed SMO on a climb to VFR-on-top clearance, with intent to cancel IFR and transition LAX via the SFRA. Controller didn't seem unhappy at all with my request; in fact after contacting a new controller to request FF after transitioning the SFRA, the new controller already had my information/destination, so the original controller had coordinated me with him. Maybe he was just in a really, really good mood?

I fly in SOCAL airspace under FF all the time, and I frequently get assigned vectors that do not contain the word "suggest."