The Dog

''This character's name causes issues with Wikia's formatting. They have been labeled "The Dog" as a placeholder until a better name can be worked out.''

@%#38$&, labeled a%#38$& in-game due to engine issues, is a major character in Act One of I Am Still Alive. He greets Emily as she enters The Mansion, and explains the state of the world they are in.

@%#38$& will remain in the Mansion's main hall for most of the act, where they will heal the player if needed. Upon returning to the ruined Mansion from the Veril Spire, @%#38$& is nowhere to be found. Gaile states that the dog ran off after being told "Memento omnium" by a strange, masked man. It is unknown whether or not he survived the attack on the Mansion by The Entity.

Emily
@%#38$& serves as Emily's greeter, explaining the origins of the Mansion and the situation the world's citizens had found themselves in (to an extent) after she awakens. Though they do not interact for very long, @%#38$& is shown to care about Emily, asking her to remain safe and healing her wounds if requested. He also asks Emily to tell him about herself if she ever regains her memory, as he strongly believes he has met the girl before.

Gaile
@%#38$& and Gaile seem to have a good relationship. Though they do not interact directly on-screen, they spend some time in the main hall together up until it's attacked by the Entity. @%#38$& comments that Gaile seems like "the kind of person [he] could hold a conversation with," and points out the other's overt feelings for Emily.

Trivia

 * @%#38$&'s greeting to Emily, one of the first scenes in the game, is a reference to the indie RPG OFF by Mortis Ghost. During the opening scene of OFF, the player is greeted by a character named "The Judge", a monochromatic cat that speaks very formally. The same occurs with @%#38$& though, obviously, he is a dog rather than a cat.
 * In the beta version of the game, @%#38$& was a playable character. At one point in the game, Emily would be caught in a trap room, where she'd be locked in (the room meant to make her starve to death.) As a last-ditch effort to continue her mission, the player would take control of @%#38$& and attempt to save her.
 * @%#38$&'s physical attack was a biting attack using a "Teeth" weapon that cannot be unequipped or swapped for any other weapon. While his attacks were somewhat weak, he also had the ability to use magical attacks, which had much higher power than Emily's attacks of the same nature.
 * @%#38$&'s battle theme during this segment was meant to be Battle Incoming by RealFlamefox. This song ended up being used as the battle theme for Emily when she is temporarily known as ?????.