To dramatic irony or not, that is the question.

Without spoiling anything, the upcoming chapter has a dumb joke I've been sitting on for more than a decade. :D

Freeza is actually hardest to write when he’s not angry. Anger comes easily to him, but everything else has to leak out through micro-expressions. I still rely on dialogue to do a fair bit of the heavy lifting.

Without spoiling anything, I waffled on whether to include this bit of dramatic irony in Ch. 19. I had always wanted this later reveal to be just as much of a shock to readers as it was to the characters involved.

Unguarded does contain a slow-burn romance. It started as a minor subplot, but as the story developed, and as readers showed genuine interest, it became clear it deserved a more prominent place in the narrative.

Fun fact: The most detested job in the empire is Senior IT Specialist—specifically on Freeza’s crew. The pay is great and the hours are fine, but no one wants to deal with the nonstop golden-priority tickets internally tagged as PEBKAC.

If you’re here for lore, Unguarded might be for you. It doesn't share DBZ's tone though—same universe, different lens. This fan manga digs into trauma, toxic dynamics, court politics, guilt, and the cost of redemption. At its core, it’s about communication: how it fails, and how it heals.

Today’s micro update: Outline & Storyboards
A tiny, blurred peek at how I keep UG organized.

Every chapter starts as a scene-by-scene summary, and each new page gets a rough thumbnail pass in my notebook—just enough to track pacing and emotional beats.

(Ch. 19: Fissure preview!)

In Chapter 2, I gave Freeza a white-tipped tail to show he was still a kid. When DBS: Broly later showed a young Freeza, I kept my look and treated Toei's new design as a “fresh molt” after he powers back down. Cold handing him the empire and the Saiyans matched a theory I’d built into Unguarded.

Throwback: early Tsukiryuu vs. now.

Her design became easier once it clicked; Freeza’s still a challenge sometimes. I learned mostly from the anime, where his look changes a lot between episodes and key animators, so staying “on-model” takes more focus than I usually have when it's late.

Hi! This is a quiet return post. I’m still actively working on my long-running Freeza AU, Unguarded. I’ll be sharing small glimpses, old panels, commentary, and occasional snippets for a project I’m building for the 10-year anniversary next June.

Read the ongoing comic: ladytygrycomics.com/archives

After the Twitter takeover, I sort of gave up the pretense of maintaining any social media presence. Been busy; still doing Unguarded. Over 1000 pages now. 10 year anniversary coming up in June 2026. Lots planned for that. Will try to post here. . . probably? :)

ladytygrycomics.com