Choosing a tattoo is a lifelong commitment, as the design you decide on stays etched on your skin forever. Many of those who are eager to get inked up will agonise for months or even years over the perfect placement and style, in order to create something that is unique and special to them. Others are less worried about the originality of their design and take inspiration from other tattoos and artist's work.
It's a controversial topic in the world of tattooing, as spats can unfold over copycat designs and rip-offs of original works. One baffled woman has been met with a tirade of foul-mouthed messages from someone accusing her of stealing her tattoo design - demanding that she 'cuts off' the tattoo from her chest to show remorse.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here
Charley Buckham, a 23-year-old beautician from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, recently shared a picture of herself with her tattoo on show. She was stunned at the vile stream of Facebook messages that followed - all sent from someone called Evie.
The young woman quickly spotted that she was friends with Evie on Facebook, but this was merely down to them being from the same area rather than an actual friendship.
Furious Evie branded Charley as an 'unoriginal copycat' before resorting to insults about her appearance, calling her a 'fat heffer' who 'ruined' her tattoo.
Charley said: "At first I didn't realise who it was because when I saw the tattoo I didn't really look at the name.
"So I was like 'who is this and what tattoo is she talking about?' and then she sent [me] the photo.
"I was just shocked because obviously I've had her on Facebook for so long, I didn't understand why she was messaging [me] now.
Charley was honest about the inspiration behind her tattoo, and admits to getting the ink after seeing the design shared by Evie's tattoo artist on Facebook. She went even further by saying that she 'doesn't care' they have identical designs.
However, on closer inspection, Charley soon realised that Evie's tattoo wasn't an original design ' sketched just for her' as she claimed, but rather a copycat of another design that was shared on Instagram a year before Evie got inked.
"To be insulted for my weight and looks over a tattoo she found on Google and I could quite easily have found myself is absolutely vile," Charley said, as she defended the reason behind her design.
Some of Evie's messages read: "You've made it look f***ing rank.
"Fat f***ing heifer bet you're used to stealing sh*t as well [aren't you]. Stole the last pork pie.
"Take a scalpel to your chest and remove MY tattoo."
Despite the woman's insistence on her design being original, a tattoo artist from Cambridgeshire has waded in on the argument after claiming that she is behind the artwork and sketched it for a different client.
She allegedly designed the piece in 2015 - a year before Evie got her tattoo done by a different, male artist.
It was the male tattoo artist's post of Evie's tattoo that Charley saw before deciding to get the design herself.
Charley said: "The tattoo artist himself posted it on his Facebook page and that's where I'd seen it, I just saw it and liked the design.
"I think she thought she was the only person that had that tattooed on her and then she's seen somebody else with it and she was more shocked than anything.
"I think it took me about five minutes to find so I could've easily found it on Google and said 'this is what I want and this is where I want it' without actually having to see hers."
Despite the onslaught of insults, the 23-year-old even went as far to say that her ink wasn't identical to Evie's, pointing out subtle differences between the two tatts.
"The more I've looked at it, there's things that have been changed on it so it's not necessarily identical.
"There's places where she's got stripey lines and I've got leaves and the shading is completely different.
"So as much as they look the same to look at, they're not actually the same."
Addressing Evie's aggressive demands, Charley said: "To then be told to get a scalpel and cut it off my chest is just psychotic, I wouldn't ever show myself up and be so nasty and pathetic over a tattoo.
"She sent [me] a pig emoji and I laughed at it and then the next thing I was blocked. I was just glad for it to be over by that point."
Following the dramatic exchange, Evie shared her controversial thoughts on her Facebook page.
She said: "It is normal to be slightly disgusted to find someone who's copycatted an original tattoo?
"Same placement and everything [...]."
She went on to comment: "I'm livid! She saw my photo of it on my artist's [Facebook five years] ago, 'loved it', then got it tattooed on herself [two] years later!!!!!
"Only just noticed it and she's completely ruined my tattoo! Big dosser can't come up with her own stuff!"
This post prompted Charley to post about the exchange herself, where the disclosure of Evie's abusive messages spurred more than 2,000 people to comment.
Despite Evie admitting her regret over 'going off on one' at Charley, many horrified commenters labelled her as 'pathetic' and 'insecure' for her extreme reaction.
One commenter wrote: "Wow, she sounds like a child! That's proper pathetic. People get [the] same [or] similar tattoos all the time lol.
"Why is she so heartbroken over it and to come at you three years later…. Hahaha."
Another said: "It's not like you've gone and ripped it off her chest and stuck [it] on yourself."
Others took a more diplomatic approach, with one Facebook user declaring the spat as "embarrassing on both ends."
Sticking to her guns, Evie said of her accusation: "She admits she copied. The tattoo I got was the idea from a drawing/stencil and not as if I got the idea from seeing the tattoo on someone else's chest like Charley did.
"And she literally says in her [Facebook] status she saw my chest, liked it and proceeded to get it - so yeah, she copied, which is my whole point.
"And is now going viral because she’s milking it and riding the attention wave on it. This is the most attention that girl is ever gonna see in her life, let her enjoy it."
Despite sharing her remorse over her foul-mouthed behaviour, Evie remains distraught over the copycat tattoo. "I still feel that [it has ruined my tattoo] because it's not as if it's in an inconspicuous place where I can just hide it and it's permanent.
"It's not just like an outfit that you can change. I don't know why she's thought she just wants to have the exact same as someone anyway."
Do you have a tattoo story to share? Email us at ellie.fry@reachplc.com
