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You're everything I want!

Greg, confessing his love


"Story for Steven" is the 48th episode of the first season of Steven Universe, and the 48th episode overall in the series.

Official Synopsis[]

Greg tells Steven the full story of how he met Rose Quartz.[2]

Plot[]

Story For Steven 016

Steven is hanging out with Greg in his van, playing music. Greg begins to pick up a drink, but a photograph that was attached to the bottom falls off, and Steven catches it. The photo shows a picture of a younger Greg with his manager, Marty. Greg explains that Marty was "an old amigo from way back when". He also explains that Marty was his manager from when Greg met Rose. Steven then asks what the deal is, then Greg explains that Marty was actually a part of how he got together with Rose, and Steven asks for the full story. Greg agrees to tell the story to Steven, then he starts to play the start of a song he performed when he first met Rose.

Story For Steven 018

A flashback occurs where Greg is singing "Comet" at his concert. As Greg stops playing, he looks out into an empty audience - except for Rose. She claps and comes over to his merchandise table, where he offers her a free T-shirt along with an album. He opens the back doors of the van only to have Marty and Vidalia hop out. Marty tells Greg not to give anything away, saying that Greg needs to make him money. Greg then turns to give Rose her free T-shirt and finds that she is nowhere to be seen.

Story For Steven 086

Greg goes searching for Rose and eventually finds himself at a fence bordering the Crystal Temple. He sees a purple owl perched on the fence and asks aloud if it knew about Rose. To his surprise, the owl replies that if she did tell him about her, she would have to kill him before flying back to the temple (At this time, the Beach House has not yet been built). Greg, eager to know more, climbs the wire fence follows the owl.

Story For Steven 136

At the temple's Warp Pad, Amethyst reports to Pearl about Greg, saying how a human just talked to her. Amethyst then spots him and points him out to Pearl. Pearl is unsure of what to do until Garnet warps in and picks up Greg, saying that she'll throw him over the fence. However, Rose appears and tells Garnet to stop, so Garnet quickly drops him. Rose then asks if he was okay before Greg gives Rose the shirt. Rose shows it to the Crystal Gems, and Amethyst asks Greg to sing; Garnet summons a gauntlet threateningly as she warns him that his song had better be good. Greg then realizes that it's late and rushes back to his van. After he leaves, Pearl states that she can sing as well, appearing to be jealous of Rose's attention to Greg. The Gems then laugh at her playfully, causing her to blush.

Story For Steven 187

Later on, Greg is lying in the back of his van as Marty is driving him to Empire City for a big show. However, Greg says that he can't stop thinking about Rose, but Marty replies that making money is more important to him than Greg's feelings. Standing up for himself, Greg throws Marty out of his van, leaving him on the side of the road. Greg goes back to Beach City and to the Temple. After arriving at the temple, he steps on the Warp Pad and sings a song for Rose. After the song, Rose appears from her room to tell Greg that even though she finds him "awfully cute", he should go away so he can pursue his dreams. However, Greg refuses and says that the only thing he wanted to pursue was Rose. Stunned, Rose becomes starry-eyed and begins to laugh, as a tear falls.

Story For Steven 214

As Greg ends the story, he questions why Steven looks so happy. Steven replies that Greg loved Rose, to which Greg begins to tickle and noogie Steven. Steven then comments on how mean Marty was and Greg agrees but admits that if it weren't for Marty, he wouldn't have able been able to meet Rose. The episode ends with Greg placing his picture with Marty next to his picture with Rose and a picture of Steven with catfingers.

Features[]

Characters[]

Objects[]

Locations[]

Music[]

Songs[]

Instrumental Songs[]

Production Notes[]

  • While originally slated as the 49th episode of season one, it was moved into season two's rotation, due to StevenBomb premiering season two prematurely.

Trivia[]

  • Based on the Gems' "retro" outfits, it can be strongly inferred the episode's flashback takes place in the 1980s.
    • Considering Steven's age and other hints from future episodes about how long ago Greg met Rose, the 1990s would make more canonical sense.
  • The Crystal Gems' outfits don't have stars at the time of this flashback, but Garnet’s gauntlets still have stars on them, and Rose has a star-shaped cut-out in her dress.
    • It is also to be noted that Greg's shirt also bears a star.
  • Stacks of light red shirts with stars on them are seen on the souvenir table while Greg first talked to Rose. They appear again in Greg's van in a large box of the pink shirts. They were most likely originally intended to be given away at Greg's next concert but were all given to Steven to wear instead, hence why Steven's closet is full of them.
  • The Crystal Gems, excluding Rose, were much more cautious around humans in this episode of the past.
    • However, they appeared a lot less cynical: Pearl's curious interest in Greg is very different from her condescending attitude in later episodes, Amethyst acts more rambunctious and rowdy, and Garnet acts more cold, being prepared to literally throw Greg out of their area.
  • The Gems appear a lot younger, especially Amethyst, which is odd due to the fact that they are thousands of years old.
    • Most of this is due to their younger personalities rather than appearance; especially Amethyst acting very childlike and rather like a wild animal.
    • Proportion-wise they are the same height as in "later" episodes (Pearl is the same height as Greg, and Amethyst is chest-high to Pearl, etc.) However, Rebecca Sugar claimed that every character had no specific proportion.
  • Amethyst is shown to have short hair in the flashback, and the second time she meets Greg Universe she says "Ohhh, I really like your hair!". This may be related to why her later hairstyle is similar to Greg's previous style.
  • It is shown that Rose can display the same star-shaped irises that Steven has at times. The same happens along with her laugh.
  • The Big Donut did not exist at the time of this episode, although Fish Stew Pizza and Beach Citywalk Fries did.
  • In this episode, the Crystal Temple has only two missing arms, when it usually has three.
  • It can be presumed that due to the Rebellion against Homeworld that humans are very aware of the existence of magic and the Crystal Gems, as Greg does not appear to be fazed in any way by the Warp and Amethyst's shapeshifting.
  • During the flashback, there is a sign that says "Vote Buck Dewey For Mayor". This is in reference to Bill Dewey's father, Buck's namesake.[3]
  • In the United Kingdom,[4] Marty's line "You want one huge woman when you could have multiple, smaller ones" is redubbed as "don't get distracted by these small town girls, they don't matter".

Cultural References[]

  • Marty is portrayed by guest voice actor Jon Wurster. Outside of Steven Universe, Tom Scharpling, the voice of Greg Universe, and Wurster are a comedy duo who are the main feature of Scharpling's radio show, The Best Show (formerly broadcast on WFMU). Marty falls somewhat in line with the many seedy/creepy characters that Wurster has portrayed on The Best Show.
  • Marty calling Greg "Star Child" may be a reference to the persona of KISS' guitarist and singer Paul Stanley.
    • It is also a possible reference to David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" persona; Bowie similarly to Greg wrote a lot of outer space-themed songs with one being called "Starman".
  • When Amethyst is in her owl form, she has little "^" shapes on her chest. These are very similar to a Totoro from Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro and is most likely a nod to the film.
  • Greg's Album "Space Train to the Cosmos" and his conversation with Rose about it may be references to the manga/anime series Galaxy Express 999 about a boy riding a train through space that stops at different planets.
  • In the first flashback scene, Greg's guitar is likely a reference to Kramer Guitars, due to the headstock and general shape resembling that of a Kramer in the 1980s and saying "JADER" on the headstock.

Continuity[]

  • This episode revolves around the time Greg first met Rose Quartz. This exact moment is mentioned in "Laser Light Cannon".
  • In his van, Greg has two pictures; they are:
  • The fence around the Crystal Temple's beach, previously mentioned by Pearl in "Full Disclosure", appears in Greg's story before he runs it over with his van.
  • Greg plays the same short song at the beginning of the episode as he did in "The Message".
  • Pearl's outfit in this episode was seen very briefly as a silhouette when she regenerated in "Steven the Sword Fighter".
  • The "Mr. Universe" t-shirt that Greg gives Rose was also seen in "Lion 3: Straight to Video" inside Lion's mane.
  • Steven claims in "Lars and the Cool Kids" that he has no idea where his clothes come from. Stacks of pink shirts are shown as Mr. Universe souvenirs in this episode, answering that question.
  • The manner in which Greg stops his van in order to throw Marty out, as well as the location (near the Beach City limit sign), is identical to when Steven forces Greg to stop the van in "The Return".
  • The manner in which Greg drives his van back to the beach, as well as the location, is identical to the way he does in the opening sequence in every episode.
  • In "Steven's Birthday" it is revealed that he was 22 years old during the events of this episode.

Errors[]

SU Animation Error

Greg and Marty hair error.

  • When Steven shouts "Story for Steven", the rivulets of rain on the windows can be seen being rewinded to their position and size from a moment earlier.
  • When Marty is talking to Greg, we can see Marty's face overlapping Greg's hair for a split second.
Amythest Gem Mistake

Gem cut error

  • When Greg is talking to Amethyst in her owl form, her gem is briefly of the same cut as Rose's gemstone (a pentagon facet). It then reverts to her cut when she flies away.
  • When Rose laughs near the end of the episode, there is a frame where her mouth overlaps a curl of her hair.
  • When Rose prevents Greg from being thrown off the Crystal Gems' property, Amethyst's skin color changes to sky blue for a moment and reverts to her normal color scheme on the next scene.
  • When Amethyst was flying back to the temple, her feet disappear.
  • When Greg jumps on the warp pad near the end of the episode, there is a frame where his right foot disappears.

Transcript

View the episode's transcript here.

Gallery

New Gallery

Click to view the gallery for Story for Steven.

Videos[]

References

ve Episode List
Pilot Pilot
Season 1 A: Gem GlowLaser Light CannonCheeseburger BackpackTogether BreakfastFryboCat FingersBubble BuddiesSerious StevenTiger MillionaireSteven's LionArcade ManiaGiant WomanSo Many BirthdaysLars and the Cool KidsOnion TradeSteven the Sword FighterLion 2: The MovieBeach PartyRose's RoomCoach StevenJoking VictimSteven and the StevensMonster BuddiesAn Indirect KissMirror Gem/Ocean Gem

B: House GuestSpace RaceSecret TeamIsland AdventureKeep Beach City WeirdFusion CuisineGarnet's UniverseWatermelon StevenLion 3: Straight to VideoWarp TourAlone TogetherThe TestFuture VisionOn the RunHorror ClubWinter ForecastMaximum CapacityMarble MadnessRose's ScabbardOpen BookShirt ClubStory for StevenThe MessagePolitical PowerThe Return/Jail Break

Season 2 Full DisclosureJoy RideSay UncleLove LettersReformedSworn to the SwordRising Tides, Crashing SkiesKeeping It TogetherWe Need to TalkChille TidCry for HelpKeystone MotelOnion FriendHistorical FrictionFriend ShipNightmare HospitalSadie's SongCatch and ReleaseWhen It RainsBack to the BarnToo FarThe AnswerSteven's BirthdayIt Could've Been Great/Message ReceivedLog Date 7 15 2
Season 3 Super Watermelon Island/Gem DrillSame Old WorldBarn MatesHit the DiamondSteven FloatsDrop Beat DadMr. GregToo Short to RideThe New LarsBeach City DriftRestaurant WarsKiki's Pizza Delivery ServiceMonster ReunionAlone at SeaGreg the BabysitterGem HuntCrack the WhipSteven vs. AmethystBismuthBetaEarthlingsBack to the MoonBubbled
Season 4 Kindergarten KidKnow Your FusionBuddy's BookMindful EducationFuture Boy ZoltronLast One Out of Beach CityOnion GangGem HarvestThree Gems and a BabySteven's DreamAdventures in Light DistortionGem HeistThe ZooThat Will Be AllThe New Crystal GemsStorm in the RoomRocknaldoTiger PhilanthropistRoom for RubyLion 4: Alternate EndingDoug OutThe Good LarsAre You My Dad?I Am My Mom
Season 5 Stuck TogetherThe TrialOff ColorsLars' HeadDewey WinsGemcationRaising the BarnBack to the KindergartenSadie KillerKevin PartyLars of the StarsJungle MoonYour Mother and MineThe Big ShowPool HoppingLetters to LarsCan't Go BackA Single Pale RoseNow We're Only Falling ApartWhat's Your Problem?The QuestionMade of HonorReunitedLegs From Here to HomeworldFamiliarTogether AloneEscapismChange Your Mind
Film Steven Universe: The Movie
Steven Universe Future Little HomeschoolGuidanceRose BudsVolleyballBluebirdA Very Special EpisodeSnow DayWhy So Blue?Little GraduationPrickly PairIn DreamsBismuth CasualTogether ForeverGrowing PainsMr. UniverseFragmentsHomeworld BoundEverything's FineI Am My MonsterThe Future
Shorts Lion Loves to Fit in a BoxThe Classroom Gems: What Are Gems?We Are the Crystal GemsThe Classroom Gems: How Are Gems Made?UnboxingThe Classroom Gems: FusionCooking with LionGem KaraokeSteven ReactsVideo ChatSteven's Song Time
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