A Rumbling Inside: A Desire for More Ink(Part Three)

Last Saturday, my wife and I were back at the tattoo studio. After recently getting a tattoo to honour her late Mum, she decided she wanted another piece to honour her late Dad as well. She knew she wanted something meaningful, but wasn't quite sure what design to go for.

I suggested the idea of a feather with the word "Dad" incorporated into the design. She liked the concept, so I used ChatGPT to help create a design based on the idea. When she saw the finished design, she loved it, and before long we had booked an appointment with Tais at the Design 4 Life Tattoo Studio.

With my wife getting a new tattoo, I started thinking about turning it into another double session and getting some new ink myself. I already had a design in mind, one I'd created a few months earlier and had been planning to get tattooed in the near future. It seemed like the perfect opportunity; something we could experience together while both adding another meaningful piece to our collections.

Our appointment was set for 12:30, and we had planned to take the train into the city centre, a 20-minute journey from our house. However, a signalling fault disrupted part of the Northern Line, so we had to rely on the replacement bus service instead. Naturally, this meant leaving earlier than planned to ensure we arrived on time for our appointment.

We made it into the city centre just after 12, giving us enough time to pop into Boots to pick up some more Bepanthen cream, which is great for tattoo aftercare. From there, it was just a five-minute walk to the tattoo studio.

Tais was already at the studio when we arrived, so once we’d filled out our consent forms, she went through our tattoo designs with us. I had printed out my design to the exact size I wanted and cut it out so I could show her precisely where I wanted it on my wrist. I mentioned my concern about going any smaller, wondering if the fine writing might become illegible over the years. She assured me it would be fine to reduce it just slightly, so we went ahead. 

 

Tias 

Tattoo Artist

Design 4 Life Tattoo and Piercing Studio,

Lime Street, Liverpool

https://design4lifetattoo.co.uk/

Once I was sorted, Tais turned her attention to my wife’s tattoo, finalising details such as the exact size, placement, and colouring of the feather. Once everything had been agreed, she headed upstairs to prepare her work area. A short while later, when everything was ready, she called us upstairs to begin.

I decided to go first this time and for the first time ever I'd get to actually see my tattoo being done up close.  With my last three tattoos due to placement this had not been possible but now I was able to see my design coming to life and it was great.

I like Tais so much, as she's so friendly and chatty, and she always puts us both at ease, making us feel relaxed and comfortable.

Getting "inked," as they call it, is never completely pain-free, but the discomfort is generally manageable, ranging from very mild to quite uncomfortable. Someone once told me that getting a tattoo feels a bit like being scratched with a red-hot needle, and honestly, it often does! Pain-wise, this session was much easier than my thigh and stomach tattoos, and being able to watch the process while chatting made it much more tolerable. 

I didn’t time how long it took Tais to complete my tattoo, but once it was finished and I got to see it in all its glory, I was thrilled with how it had turned out. The size was perfect, and she had done another fantastic job, especially with the “D” and “M” and their delicate little wisps.

Then it was my wife’s turn. It was wonderful to watch her tattoo come to life, too. From a simple idea, to a digital image created with the help of AI, to actual ink on her skin, it was incredibly satisfying to have been involved in bringing the perfect permanent tribute to her Dad to life, just as I had helped design a tribute tattoo for her Mum not too long ago.

 

It was another fun session overall. We had a great chat, not just with Tais, but also with one of the other tattoo artists, who, like me, is a big 80s music fan. What made the session even better was that Tais had chosen the music, and it was non-stop Depeche Mode! I absolutely love the vibe in this tattoo studio, and I’m already looking forward to my next session.

I’ve heard it said that getting tattoos can be addictive, and I can’t argue, this was my fourth tattoo, and I’m already planning several more and saving up the pennies so I can get them done. I’m not exactly sure what’s addictive about tattoos, but maybe it’s a combination of seeing your designs come to life, the vibe of the studio, the relaxing and friendly atmosphere, and a tattoo artist who’s genuinely warm and welcoming.

THE STORY BEHIND MY TATTOO 

I’m a lifelong Depeche Mode fan and had been thinking about getting a tattoo in tribute to the band. Originally, I was considering the rose from the Violator album placed between a “D” and “M,” but a track from their Sounds of the Universe album really struck a chord with me.

“Wrong” is a fantastic track, I love the tempo, the melody, and the beat, but it’s the lyrics that really resonated with me, especially the lines: “There's something wrong with me chemically, Something wrong with me inherently, The wrong mix, In the wrong genes.” They felt deeply personal and reflected my experience with gender dysphoria. I thought it would be amazing to design a Depeche Mode tattoo that incorporated some of those words, and “the wrong mix in the wrong genes” seemed particularly apt.

 

Then, when I looked at the cover for the single “Wrong” and saw the word written in a white, typewriter-style font inside a red box, I thought it would be perfect to include in my tattoo as well. For my design, I deliberately chose to use black for the word inside the red box instead of white, as I felt it would stand out better on the skin.

 

Finally, I wanted to add a “D” and “M” to the design as well. The “D” and “M” artwork from the album the track is taken from might have seemed like the obvious choice, but I didn’t like them, the “D” looked more like a square box, and the “M” looked like a gate. So, I explored the covers of other Depeche Mode albums instead, and the ones I liked most were the “D” and “M” from the Spirit album. I loved the rounded shapes and the gentle little wisps, so I decided to use those for my design. 

 

To create my design, I used GIMP, an image manipulation program. I copied the “D” and “M” from the Spirit album, along with the “Wrong” artwork from the single cover (the word inside the red box), and carefully aligned them into the layout I wanted.

I then used AI to help generate the words “the wrong mix in the wrong genes” in a similar, or identical, font to the word “Wrong” inside the red box, with specific instructions to split the text across two lines. I copied this into my design and then adjusted the sizing of each element until I was happy with the overall composition.

TWO MEANINGS IN ONE DESIGN

This tattoo brings together two parallel meanings that sit alongside each other rather than replacing one another. On the surface, it’s a clear homage to Depeche Mode: the “DM” lettering drawn from the Spirit era, the bold red box with “WRONG” referencing the Wrong single artwork, and the carefully chosen typewriter-style text all reflect a long-standing appreciation for the band’s aesthetic and emotional tone. It’s a fan piece built with precision, rooted in specific visual elements that connect directly to a song and era that have had lasting personal significance.

At the same time, the tattoo takes on a deeper, more personal layer of meaning connected to gender dysphoria. The phrase “the wrong mix in the wrong genes,” presented in a smaller typewriter font beneath the central “WRONG,” expresses a subjective feeling of mismatch between body and identity. Within that context, the wording isn’t a literal claim about genetics, but a way of giving shape to an internal sense of dissonance, an attempt to articulate something difficult to express in ordinary language.

IN SUMMARY

 

The tattoo is deliberately layered with two meanings: an outward-facing tribute to Depeche Mode, and an inward-facing expression of the experience of misalignment. Both readings coexist within the same design, each adding depth to the other without replacing it. It stands as a symbol of duality: the music I love and the inner experience I live with, intertwined in a single, deliberate design.

Thanks for reading, 

Lotte x