Viridian

Viridian
Color	Cyan
Gender	Unknown
Rank	Captain
Level	Space Station 1/The Final Level

"Phew, that was scary! At least we all escaped, right guys? ...guys?"

―Viridian

Captain Viridian is a Villi and the captain of the D.S.S. Souleye. They are also the main character of the game VVVVVV, controlled by the player. Their most prominent ability is flipping gravity, which helps them traverse what would be impossible for regular human beings. They appear as a cyan stickman. At most times they are highly optimistic, but in some cutscenes and dialogue, Viridan does doubt their ability to help the crew members.

When the D.S.S. Souleye was trapped in Dimension VVVVVV after hitting the "Ninstar Elevator Defense," Viridian and the five other crew members were all separated and teleported to seemingly random places in the dimension. Viridian then embarked on a perilous journey through the dimension to rescue the crew and find their ship.

After making it through Space Station 1, they soon found Violet and the D.S.S. Souleye. Violet informed them that a bizarre signal was interfering with their equipment, and caused the Souleye to lose its quantum position and collapse into Dimension VVVVVV. They also said that they should be able to fix the Souleye and escape Dimension VVVVVV, as long as they could find the rest of the crew, which could be anywhere. Viridian then asked Violet if the crew could teleport to the ship. Violet didn't think so, as the crew had no way to communicate with them, they couldn't pick up the ship's signal, and they couldn't teleport to the ship unless they knew where it was.

Indeed, the crew was not able to teleport to the ship, and Viridian was forced to rescue them after Violet sent them to look for them. The events that play out afterwards are determined by which order the player rescues teammates in. The player has some clues to aid Viridian's search; just before Viridian left the ship, Violet showed them fifteen points on the map, represented by question marks. Violet said that they appeared on the ship's scanners as high energy patterns, and speculated that they were teleporters, which, in fact, they were. They further speculated that they were probably built near something important, and possibly very good places for Viridian to look for their crew. They weren't entirely correct, however; most of them led to nowhere.

After Viridian's return to the Souleye, the rest of VVVVVV's storyline is largely determined by what the player does. However, there are some things that are certain.

For example, Viridian definitely rescued the other four missing crew members, as doing so was the main goal of the game. After rescuing each crew member, they attempted to teleport back to the ship. They succeeded the first time, but were transported to the first intermission level on their second attempt, and then to the second intermission level on their third attempt. Also, on their fourth attempt, they were teleported to the Final Level. Upon completion of this level, the player also completes the game, as Viridian has rescued all the crew members including themself.

These are the crew members they rescued, accompanied by a summary of the dialogue that occurred if they rescued them second. If Viridian rescues a crew member second, they have to guide that teammate through the first intermission level. During this level, Viridian and the crew member engage in one of four different dialogue sequences.

1. Vitellary:

Vitellary is interested by the new dimension, and asks Viridian if they've been there before. Viridian, however, is very worried and confused and wonders where they are. Vitellary then hypothesizes that something deflected their teleporter transmission and that they were in a completely new place. This further worries Viridian, but they decide to brighten up and look for a teleporter.

Later, Viridian asks Vitellary what he makes of the new place, and Vitellary guesses that it had something to do with the interference that caused them to crash, and wonders if they'll find the cause there. He then says that it's just a guess, and that he'll have to get back to the ship to do some tests.

After some time, Vitellary passes a checkpoint, which lights up. Fascinated, he asks Viridian what it is and if he should take it back to the ship to study it. Viridian looks worried and says that it's best if he doesn't acknowledge it at all. Later, Vitellary suggests that the place they are in is an artificially created polar dimension, since they shouldn't have been able to travel between dimensions with a regular teleporter. He then is even more excited to get back to the ship and run some more tests. Also, he later suggests exploring the dimension more, but Viridian says that they should focus on finding the rest of the crew.

Finally, they find a teleporter, and Vitellary is eager to get back to the ship.

2. Vermilion:

Vermilion is also interested in the new dimension and wants to explore it, while Viridian is worried that something went wrong with the teleporter. Vermilion encourages them not to worry about it.

Later, Vermilion asks Viridian why the ship crashed, who doesn't really know much about it other than the fact that there was some sort of interference. "...or something sciencey like that. It's not really my area," they say. Then, when Vermilion asks Viridian if they think that they'll be able to fix the ship and go home, Viridian is confident that everything will be OK. Vermilion apparently shares this attitude, because he later tells Viridian that if they find a teleporter, they should be able to go home, after Viridian says that they really want to get back to the ship.

After a while, Vermilion asks Viridian, "Are we there yet?" to which Viridian responds, "We're getting closer, I think... I hope..."

Later on, they wonder where they are, as their surroundings seem different from where the ship crashed. Vermilion replies that he doesn't know, and says that they should be close to a teleporter by now. Sure enough, they soon find one.

3. Verdigris:

In possibly the most interesting dialogue sequence of them all, Verdigris expresses concern for Violet and is relieved after Viridian tells him that she's fine. An awkward silence follows, after which Verdigris reveals that he has a crush on Violet. Later, he asks Viridian for advice, which prompts another awkward silence. Viridian then tells Verdigris to "be himself," which is amazingly vague advice.

After an even longer awkward silence, Verdigris then thanks Viridian.

Later, Viridian asks Verdigris if he can fix the ship. Verdigris thinks he can, but it depends on how bad it is. "It's not very hard, really," he says. "The basic dimensional warping engine design is pretty simple, and if we can get that working we shouldn't have any trouble getting home."

4. Victoria:

Victoria is very scared and worried during the first intermission, frequently saying things along the lines of "Please don't leave me behind! I don't mean to be a burden!" She seems to think that they will be lost forever.

Viridian constantly reassures her, saying that they'll find a teleporter soon. However, after some time, Viridian starts to share the attitude of Victoria and becomes pessimistic as well. Fortunately, they do eventually find a teleporter to get back to the ship.

Trivia

• Viridian is a color comparable to cyan, which is how they got their name. All of the crew members are named after their color.
• Captain Viridian's gender is never revealed in-game, though most custom-made levels treat the character as male. There isn't much evidence to support the belief that they are either binary gender, so you can believe whatever you want.
  • Terry once said on Distractionware that he made Viridian's gender uncertain on purpose.
  • In the player level Quantum Tunnel a terminal asks for Viridian's gender, but it still is not revealed.
  • The closest to info of Viridian's official gender is a supposed quote from Terry, the creator of the game. However this info is unable to be verified.
• Viridian appears in the game Super Meat Boy as an unlockable character. In order to acquire them, the player must collect 90 bandages.
• There is a reference to this character in "The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth." They will sometimes appear as a baby, or downside. 

• Viridian is playable as a guest character in the Windows version of Super Meat Boy, the fiction novel-based arena fighter Paperbound, and the indie crossover fighting game Indie Game Battle.

• Viridian makes a cameo appearance in the Super Smash Bros. fangame "Super Smash Flash 2" in the Nintendo 3DS stage. Viridian appears on the top screen while flipped and on the bottom one flipped inside a circle, and the minigame begins. The gravity fluctuates between normal and reversed, the top and bottom blast lines disappear and players can wrap around the screen until Viridian disappears and the minigame ends.