#buried

Great question!

I was hoping someone would ask this, because I set it up this way SPECIFICALLY. And also because all I've seen for the past 6 years is assumptions that Bismuth will be where she was in the show - in Lion's mane.

But here's my question to you all:

Why would Bismuth be in Lion's mane if Canon!Steven doesn't exist?

Let's rewind the clock and go back into the universe where this all started -

In the episode Lion 3 - Straight to Video, Steven enters Lion's mane for the first time. There, he finds a mysterious pocket dimension filled with what appears to be Rose's stuff. The flag, the sword, a t-shirt, Bismuth, yes........ but what ELSE?

The tape.

The tape specifically labeled to and made FOR Steven. Steven's tape. Yes, that tape.

IF Rose left the tape here, we can reasonably assume she hoped Steven would one day find it. Along with the OTHER items she left there, including some things that were important to her and Greg.

And including......Bismuth.

Bismuth, who is NOT in the locked chest. Bismuth, who is just hanging out by the tree. Not that far from reach. Very much in plain view.

So, we can safely assume from this that Rose LEFT Bismuth in Lion's mane for Steven to find. She knew she could never reconcile with Bismuth. She hoped Steven would be able to, instead.

Now - WHY is this important?

Because in this AU, Rose has not prepared Lion to be an inheritance box for Steven. Undoubtedly she keeps stuff in his mane - but why would she keep Bismuth in there?

Canon Steven, once he discovers it, uses Lion's mane as a personal storage locker. I have all my tokens on the bet that Rose was the same. She was diving in and out of that thing enough to make Lion annoyed, probably.

But ask yourself this - if you were Rose Quartz*

* The same Rose Quartz who has a built-in-trauma response of running away like a gazelle, who solved nearly every problem she had by hiding it or hiding FROM it, putting it up on the 'we're not thinking about that' shelf, chanting to herself "I do not see it"

If you were THAT Rose Quartz...

Would you REALLY be keeping Bismuth's bubble in the SAME space as your favorite knick-knacks?

Would you want to be seeing that bubble EVERY TIME you reached into your Lion for a pizza?

And look, yeah, I know she's a masochist who revisited her shattered and corrupted friends' bubbles frequently and pondered over how things could have gone differently, so there is an element of "I will purposefully subject myself to Guilty Self-Flagellation" but come on

Wouldn't you rather put Bismuth's bubble somewhere FURTHER AWAY for safekeeping - in a place that you can safely visit ALONE (or maybe never go back to at all), without ever fearing that someone ELSE could potentially discover it? In a place where you KNOW the Crystal Gems will never venture?

I think I've made my point But Wait

There's More

My other point is - Bismuth has been bubbled for like 5000 years, ever since her fallout with Rose, right before Pink's shattering.

And Lion? How long has he been around?

Well, there's less information, but if we presume that THIS lion Pride contained the future Pink Lion...

and indeed it DOES because the Lion that licks Buddy awake has a heart shaped nose

...we can safely guess that Lion was ONLY turned Pink MUCH later. Buddy's Book takes place circa 1837 - 1841, which sets us back about 100-150 years, give or take - that's approximately how old Lion is.

So where was Bismuth's bubble for the 4850 years BEFORE Lion existed?

Again - my answer would be "Somewhere Very Remote, where the other Crystal Gems would not think to go back to".

Hence.