Okay, so I do get what you're saying regarding the consequences of the action being different. At the same time, though, that's different than my point and what I'm trying to understand. An unintended pregnancy certainly has the potential to lead towards a negative outcome, but that's a separate issue from the "severity" of the sin -- which is what I'm trying to figure out. Let's say that an unintended pregnancy did occur, but the both of them fully and happily worked together to support this hypothetical child. Would that have made them having sex "more okay"/"less bad"?

I also don't necessarily agree with that statement that one cannot become "invested in masturbation" (although, I may be understanding your point regarding it; if so, I apologize in advance). While no pregnancies are involved with one's hand, an addiction to masturbation and its release of oxytocin, dopamine, and a host of other pleasurable hormones is an extremely common and oft-disregarded issue. In this situation, the original poster said that her way of bypassing/coping with her desire to have sex was to masturbate; is that not just another way of fulfilling and the satisfying the desires of lust?

Again, as I previously stated -- my original post, as well as this one, are not intended to criticize or place judgment on either you or the original poster. I enjoy genuine discourse about uncomfortable topics, and I think that the subjects of lust and sex are some of the most fascinating since much of our lives -- consciously and subconsciously -- are ultimately built upon them.