Hey, people...
If you don't get this reference... I'm not explaining it. Google it.
Would it surprise anyone that I went ahead to get yet another piercing? Probably not. The boyfriend is just curious about why I haven't gotten something like a nose piercing yet. Not rejecting the idea, but for now, despite my deep obsession with Miyavi's old eyebrow and lip piercings, I'll keep it to things that aren't immediately visible.
I also contemplated the acquisition of a split tongue... but I decided that it was wayyy too intimidating.
Anyway, I thought I'd give the new tattoo and piercing studio that popped up near my house a few months ago a whirl. Prices were fairly inexpensive, given the price benchmark presented by the only other two piercing-focused studios I know of.
This was actually a piercing date of sorts: I went with Ken Min, who wanted an industrial. With a black sugar bubble tea in hand, we entered the studio and signed indemnity forms before proceeding with the piercing itself.
Ken Min went ahead first, which was not intentional, but I suppose it was for the best as well, because the sight of me having my tongue manhandled before his own piercing might've been really nerve-wracking lol. Mind you, I have never tried needles for ear piercings before - all 8 of my ear piercings were done in malls in dodgy jewelry stores with the spring-loaded gun. Heck, even my lob stretching was DIY-ed with about a hundred plastic retainers slowly jammed in.
I was given diluted Listerine to gargle before and after the piercing itself, and the piercer (Marcus, whom I heavily suspect is the same person who did my belly piercing), and was told I had a fairly short-webbed tongue, which isn't an issue but might just be more uncomfortable compared to if I had a longer web (that small stretch of tissue extending from the base of your mouth to your tongue).
In terms of pain, it really wasn't near as painful as I thought it would've been. There was a pinch, and what was left was just... discomfort cuz I had a long, black foreign object in my mouth lol. There was a good minute or so actually spent on trying to get the jewelry on though, cuz the short webbing restricted how far my tongue could protrude from the oral cavity itself.
The hours after the piercing were, honestly, torturous - I was unable to even swallow properly, let alone eat. I thought soft, mashed food would've sufficed, but I was beyond wrong. It was really more of an intense discomfort, rather than actual pain for the first few days, as the barbell length that accommodated the swelling also didn't allow the jewelry to sit comfortably in the mouth - it was either pressing against the bottom of the mouth (near the saliva gland) or the top of the mouth.
Sleeping was even more torturous, but only for the first night - pretty much every position led to this new, heavy foreign object to press against different side of an open wound, leading to great discomfort.
In the next couple days, I lived off Campbell's cream of mushroom that had been put through a blender (and subsequently burned myself cuz I'm an idiot, obviously). The first bit of actual solid food I tried was agedashi tofu, and since then I've been gradually been able to eat food that required more chewing, including murukku, katsu, and a full spaghetti dish. It's still limited to really small mouthfuls at a time, though, and it take maybe twice the usual amount of time to finish something.
In terms of speech, the first few days were almost impossible to speak without getting frustrated with myself, as I had to speak very slowly and carefully yet still unable to pronounce a lot of words. But from the third day onward, I slowly regained the ability to speak, albeit with a tiny bit of pain at first. It's now day 12 and I'm almost back to normal speech, with a bit of "leaks" here and there for the sounds that need sharp tongue movements.
I suppose all in all, the thing about getting a tongue piercing is not really painful (which now explains why more people than I expected actually have it done??), but it does take guts to decide to get it, and it tests the shit out of your adaptability and planning. It's more of a "getting used to it" rather than "you'll need the pain tolerance to get it".
It's only been just under two weeks and I feel like I'm good to get the jewelry swapped out for a shorter post, partially cuz it's just a pain in the ass to have something so damn long in your mouth lol.
Let's end with some FAQ lol:
- DID IT HURT?
Not as much as I thought it would, and it was surprisingly tolerable. It's more of an immense discomfort with mild pain. - WHY DID YOU GET IT?
My question is... why not? I liked it and I wanted it, so I got it. It's not for anyone, or any specific purpose to be "different" - the sex appeal and aesthetic that comes with it is just a nice bonus lol. And the thing is, if you end up not liking a piercing, you could just take out the jewelry and let the wound close up, which is why it's a much better way to experiment with your aesthetic as it's much lower commitment compared to tattoos. - WHY NOT A LESS INTIMIDATING PIERCING, LIKE A NOSE PIERCING?
I still have a thing where I'm not confident in my career footing, so I'm just gonna keep most mods out out of direct sight, just in case. And the whole point is for it to me somewhat intimidating hehe~ - WILL THE BALLS UNSCREW BY THEMSELVES?
Apparently, yes. But it seems like it mainly only if you play with it a lot, cuz I've heard of people swallowing one of the balls after it came loose, but I have not experienced this yet. - HOW DO YOU EAT?
Started with cooled or even cooled liquid food, even Campbell's soup had to be put through a blender with more than twice the amount of water to be easily edible. Any solid foods need to be in small, bite-sizes, and I can only specifically chew in the left part of my mouth (tried the right side and the top ball kept getting caught). Anything too fibrous or tough, like the lamb in sup kambing, are out of the question, cuz then I'll need to utilize my tongue to navigate the fibers and tough tissues.
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