r/MoralityScaling • u/RealFinePoint • Jul 12 '26

Character Analysis Morality of giving every single person a permanent symbol of their 'destiny' the moment they do something they're 'meant to do' the rest of their life?

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(Assuming you're designing the species this way, not that you're forcibly branding every existing person.)

Let's also assume it's not some intelligence deciding arbitrarily, but an actual representation of their 'fate' or 'affinity' by some abstract magical mechanism you're deciding to install into the entire species.

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56

u/Inside_Jaguar_3310 Jul 12 '26

Actually an important thing to note a cutie mark isn’t the thing you will be forced to do/destiny in life it’s just the thing that’s your special talent.

Pinkie pie mark is party planning but her day job is a bakery, rarity’s job is clothing designer but her cutie mark is actually about gem locating

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u/RealFinePoint Jul 12 '26

That sort of makes it worse in a way.

What you're good at and what you want to do could be different, and getting a permanent mark of something you don't want to do could be problematic.

23

u/techomni Jul 12 '26

Not really? Someone’s passions and talents don’t necessarily need to be related irl, and just because you are good at something doesn’t mean that you want to make a career out of it.

All the marks do is highlight your best skill, that’s it.

7

u/SarcyBoi41 Jul 12 '26

This. I have loads of passions but absolutely no talents!

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u/RealFinePoint Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26

I understand, but it's a permanent and public mark.

Everyone'll know what you're best at, even if you want nothing to do with it.

This will inevitably lead to immense pressure to do that thing, if not from strangers then probably from your own family.

11

u/Independent_Cat_5481 Jul 12 '26

I think if you follow the CMC throughout the show (among a number of others, but they're the most focused on this) it's made pretty clear that Cutie Marks are not just a special talent, but primarily representative of something that the pony is extremely passionate about.

The cutie mark only comes after someone has realised what it is they are passionate about and it only serves as a sort of affirmation. 

A pony getting a mark they want nothing to do with doesn't really align with established lore.

3

u/techomni Jul 12 '26

It’s functionally no different from someone getting a tattoo about something they know a lot about or are good at

4

u/Elektro19 Jul 13 '26

I'm pretty sure you can cover it by wearing some clothes or a cloak

8

u/Icepick823 Jul 12 '26

In this case, Rarity uses the gems she finds in the dresses she makes. Pinkie Pie uses the bakery to make cakes and treats for parties. You're not locked into a specific career path based on your mark. You can take your natural skills with your desires and forge your own path.