Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-26222194-20150319074704

Alright I haven't seen this theory yet and I really wanted to share it, so I even made an account haha.

So here it goes - Lion is a projection that Steven created.

To back this up, in the first episode we learn gems can create physical projections of things, centipeetles and the mom. This is also backed up by Pearl's training buddy, who also stays behind even when she is "dead" (in hibernation, healing, whatever you want to refer to it as.)

And then, in "Cat Fingers", the first thing Steven says he wants to turn into is a lion.

So, this brings us to lion. Lion doesn't appear until the 10th episode, and none of the other gems have seen him before. Meaning he more than likely didn't exist until then.

His connection with Rose, however, is harder for me to explain. I have 2 theories for that, either 1: Rose herself also created lion before, and Steven just did the same as her and brought him back, while Rose also kept lion completely secret from the other gems.

Or 2: Steven also projected his wanting to be with him mom into Lion, making him a literal portal to her hideout. Since we don't know the full extent of gem powers and Steven himself is a unique gem, I think it's possible.

I just really can't wait for more information about Lion to be confirmed because this is bugging me so much trying to figure it out haha

Please comment any ideas you have or if I'm wrong about anything 