Role Play...Can it Push Boundaries?

I was recently in a conversation with an old friend in SL whom i hadn't seen for a while, we caught up over prim Starbucks & poor sipping animations in a diner on the New York sim, it was a nice hour or so and we mused over old times and past relationships, we laughed and joked and it was nice to have a connection with someone who held quite a bit of my history.  We soon shifted onto some of the contents of my picks in my profile, she had spotted during a nose that i had several picks relating to role play, she hummed and hared over quizzing me about it and finally i just said to her 'You think it's weird don't you'

She laughed and said no, she explained how she does not entirely understand it and wondered if its any different from the kind of antics you get up to in IM with a partner? 'No...well...yes, sort of' i said to her, It's different for everyone i'm guessing...but for me and many other people i know, it's that creative out let, it's a story unfolding and it can end in one chapter...or it can carry on for many, some even write whole books over the course of time with the same person...but when the story ends and you come out of character...that's it.
'So its a free and easy well for people to get laid guilt free then?' she snorts...i laughed at her bluntness, 'Its not always about sex' I tell her, plenty of people i know don't sexually RP, they may have some kind of romance or tease but like with real life, when things get too steamy there is always the word NO.
It would be arrogant of me to assume that all people who RP do it just for the sex, but such a large percentage do, not often for sinister reasons, but to have that fantasy, to be that gallant knight or that filthy pirate who chases the captains daughter as she flee's around the shipwreck, shrieking and trying to escape...when secretly hoping he catches her..oh and what if he also catches her sister who is hiding in the jungle? with all that rope he could quite easily tie then both up & they would be at his complete mercy!
My friend burst out laughing at this notion and suggested that i take her along to a carp sim one day...quickly adding that she was joking, as she is very happily partnered. So she then asked me...'What if feelings get involved?' Good question.
A friend who also RP's said to me that she is fed up of men assuming they were becoming romantically involved after they had got intimate during RP on a few occasions. I said, Well you just must be THAT GOOD! of course not too far from the truth as men seemed to fall all over her and she was merely interested only in creating stories with people. Were they right to get huffy? Mm not so sure...but on the other hand men and women have been sleeping together, no strings attached, since way back...and it has been the cause of so much drama...men sleeping with multiple women, women doing the same with men..people finding out...tears and tantrums...
So what if feelings DO get involved? Sometimes or often RP can be intense, fast, passionate,creative...i heard one session being described once as 'The whole room vanished and it was just me & him there, typing to each other like crazy...' It's like the first throws of love & passion, it can get your heart racing...so when its over?...do we just turn our feelings off? and what if then you know that its likely that person will be making some other persons heart thrash the next day, while you sit there and pout to yourself.
And what if it's one sided? YOU think it was amazing...out of this world...but the other person logs off and thinks..'Well that was aright i guess' i suppose we never know.
And then comes the big old question... Can we RP with close friends more than innocently?
A friend asked me straight up if i think that could affect our friendship...i was positive it would, not down to the fact i wasn't attracted to the person or cared about them, but because RP to me is fantasy, i can save those precious moments of being intimate with someone i like,and i mean REALLY like...remove myself and be with that person on a more whole level rather than it being the non consistent act of simple RP.  So to be so casual with a friend will in my opinion, push boundaries.
I have the utmost respect for the NSRP'ers, it's something that can be a bit of a taboo on the carp sims, looked down on a little and questioned, it's simple really, as humans we are not all the same, we have our own needs and desires and we act accordingly to those...i am often in awe of the non sexual male who keeps to his word & says 'Thank you...but no' to the ladies...although its rare...it does happen! It says to me, a strong person with respect for himself and women...or maybe just very shy! (laughs out loud)
So in conclusion, i think that RP in its many forms can push boundaries, depending on the person ...
I don't think it at all right or acceptable for a person to literally walk away or cut out a previous player, it's polite and respectful to be gracious to that person, understanding to any feelings they may have...treat other players as they treat you, RP is after all a huge community based on communication...
It's all supposed to be fun...but don't forget that we are all humans behind the words guys :)

Peace Out

Lola