#defining things

For a lot of my life, growing up in the south, romance has mostly been associated with the typical ideas of various forms of intimacy, but then I have friends that I feel extremely close with to where what emotional bonds we share seem to border on/match the levels of intimacy I've seemingly been taught to associate with romance.

What might make this more complicated; being demi (i think, if I understand myself and the label correctly), I find myself to become attracted to a person through getting to know them, and the more I know them, the more I feel a desire for various forms of intimacy. Sometimes that's just emotional support and supporting and spending time together, but other times it includes physical contact and such. On top of that the intensity can also vary and aaaaaaaaa.

Recently I found out about the term queerplatonic, and while by definition it is a hazy thing, it further calls into question what exactly are friendship and romantic relationships for me. Can friendships be extremely emotionally intimate and vulnerable without being considered something else? Is a strong positive emotion linked to intimacy necessarily linked to romance, or can it just stand on its own? How does physical intimacy and sexual intimacy play into this? Where do categories like "friends with benefits" fit in? Is there even a legitimate way to actually define these things generally or do they exist on a spectrum (like gender) as well and what is considered platonic, queerplatonic, romantic, or anything else mainly at the discretion of the parties involved in the relationship? If relationships exist on a spectrum, would queerplatonic be roughly equivalent to how the nonbinary umbrella works for gender?