hmm I'm a bit late at chiming in to this thread, but I never seem to look at any section except cat general.
I have 3 holes in one ear (one in the cartilage) and 2 in the other. I also just got my tongue pierced 3.5 weeks ago. I absolutely love my tongue piercing. As long as I don't yawn without covering my mouth, no one can see it at all. If it's placed properly and the barbell is the correct length it can be quite a discreet piercing. I have wanted it for YEARS but my parents were grossed out by the idea so I resisted. Now that I'm older, married, and have had several years to research and consider the pros and cons, I was able to make an informed and non spur-of-the-moment decision about my tongue. The piercing itself was surprisingly painless. I was scared to death about it, so much that I was having cold sweats! I'm so glad that they took my 8900 yen as soon as I arrived or I would have chickened out. My piercer was very professional (and bilingual, thankfully!) and pierced from the bottom up to avoid any mishaps. I didn't even feel the needle until it poked through the very top layer of my tongue. Even then it hurt A LOT less than getting my cartilage done had. Starting the morning after, my tongue swelled up to a little more than twice it's normal size and gradually returned to normal over the first week. Now that my barbell has been changed to a shorter length, my voice is completely back to normal. I even think that it makes me a little bit better of a singer because it forces me to concentrate on the position of my mouth. Anywho, aside from the initial prick (which hurt a lot less than biting my tongue) there hasn't been a bit of pain. I love my tongue piercing