This is gonna sound absurd but I genuinely think that it would have been awesome if in Steven Universe: Future they made Ronaldo into Bismuth's apprentice
I had never considered this before but I'm fully on board
Remember that few seconds at the wedding where we saw Ronaldo showing off his shitty armour to a very confused, properly armoured Bismuth? Imagine if she was like "I can get you some real armour. No, I can show YOU how to make YOUR OWN real armour."
Ronadlo is an insecure person starving for praise and starving for meaning, it's like 80% of his character. He also tends to hog spotlight and selfishly steamroll in social interactions, *if people let him do that*. When people stand up to him, he learns to check his behaviour; Steven rarely does this because he's an accommodating person, but Bismuth wouldn't tolerate that bullshit. Imagine this kid taking Bismuth up on an offer like that, probably being really annoying for awhile when he sees how hard and time-consuming the craft is, but walking out of that forge with some training piece (like a dagger or something) and getting sincere praise and recognition from someone he respects, as well as a cool nerd thing that's actually a real artefact that he really made under the tutelage of real aliens that he can show off to people. Then coming back for more. By the time he's able to make his "actual genuine alien gem battle armour!", he'd be well on the way to developing a niche skill that's useful and practical enough for people to recognise as something to be respected, and also niche and weird enough for his cool nerd cred, as well as being able to brag on the internet about how he's apprenticed to an alien warrior. Which is basically all the incentive he'd need to stick with a craft.
Also, imagine those two getting enthusiastic about something together. They'd play off each other so well.
The only downside is that every Christmas and birthday would result in getting handmade metal trinkets from Ronaldo before he corners you and explains for three hours in exhausting detail about all the problem encountered in making such a piece and how skilled and clever he was in solving them.
On the one hand, I really like this idea. On the other hand, do we REALLY want Ronaldo to be telling the truth when he says "while you were (fill in the blank), I studied the blade!"
You're right that does make it even better.
Bismuth (off screen): "AND YOU GOT A C-MINUS." Ronaldo: "And I got a C-minus in the blade, yes."
The only thing i have to add to this is that his begginer stuff would not be a dagger. It would be nails. It would be so many goddam nails that he, his family, and the pizza family they are fueding with, would NEVER NEED TO BUY NAILS EVER AGAIN.
He'd give away his nails and because stuff is constantly in need of repair in Beach City they'd get used to fix everything and you wouldn't be able to walk down the boardwalk with this kid without him pointing out all the stuff with HIS nails in it
He'd emboss a shaky little "R" on the head of every one
That would make each nail take three times longer to make but Bismuth would catch him at it and be like "Yeah! Be proud of your work!"
Alright but that would cover Beach City in the “strange symbols of some secret society” that a new conspiracy blogger would have to take up. Personally I think it would be hilarious to see one of the uncorrupted gems follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps
