As I see it there are 4 options for humans.

1. Celibacy
Can lead to problems but not necessarily, if you would rather be celibate, ok fine.

2. Casual sex
If you’re into it, arguably preferable to celibacy because certain issues of frustration can be avoided and also, people respect anyone who is getting laid more, as dumb as that is.
On the other hand, tricky, because it’s easy to accidentally take advantage of someone who doesn’t actually want casual sex. And this does not count as casual sex. It’s a problem, not a solution.

3. Romance
The key here is friendship. Romance without mature, equitable friendship is a time bomb. It is easy for romance to be unbalanced either with a top letting themselves getting walked all over or a bottom getting treated like a child. Or both. Honestly if there is a top and bottom at all I think the relationship is less likely to succeed. Romance is arguably preferable to casual sex, for numerous obvious reasons.

4. The grey area
Anything not strictly within these three categories falls into a dangerous grey area which will likely lead to problems for you and everyone else. However, achieving romance often requires people to risk entering into this gray area. It’s important to consider what your partner is really looking for, if you don’t want to screw then over. But, ultimately it’s more our job to understand what we want, not read other people’s minds. If we don’t understand our own desires, we will let ourselves be walked all over or treated like a child, and that will ultimately just hurt us and everyone else.