Ack, actually I wish I'd written this rant better ^^;; I keep thinking of things I forgot to say (every time I do one of these long things I seem to do that...) Tho' like lj's comment system, allows for such interesting discussion, people raising the points that I didn't think of.

"Smarm" is an odd word, with the negative connotations of "smarmy", but it's good to have some handle for it. (There's also problems that a few smarm fans are violently anti-slash, and tho' I was sort of like that once, that attitude annoys now. Can't we all just get along?) Especially because having a word for it means that there's gotta be more than one of us who like it.

Hmm, I don't know if I've ever put it that way, but you have a good point about the simpleness of friendship. Misunderstandings (in romance and otherwise) can entertain, but counting on the trust and loyalty of a friend is extraordinarily touching (This would also explain why, in the area of romance, possibly my favorite sort of couple are the married ones who have been together for years and always will be. If you're going to be categorizing love, it seems to ultimately fall into two categories - romantic/sexual, and family, and it's the latter that gets me the most. In smarm stories, the ultimate proclamation of love, rather than sex, is to call a friend a brother (sister)--family by choice, not blood, but even stronger for that.)

I don't really mind the Roy/Ed stuff in FMA, but it's what made me really realize that I wasn't into fic'ing FMA...because I had no interest in reading any of it, so started wondering what *did* I want to read, and found the answer was nothing, really. Just wanted to see more. Like, right now... ^^