In a crumbling future divided by control and classification, humanity is raised inside experimental Wards designed to strip away emotion and choice. Noah Grayson - a hardened, volatile survivor - and Ashton "Ash" Keller - gentle, curious, and full of quiet hope - are two boys trapped inside Darren Ward, a facility where love itself is treated as a flaw to be studied. When they form an unbreakable bond, the system takes notice. Their affection becomes data. Their humanity, a threat. Years later, Noah has become a soldier in Goliath Ward, trained to enforce the very order that once imprisoned him. But when he hesitates to kill a fugitive boy who looks achingly familiar, the past comes rushing back. It's Ash - alive, and leading a resistance. Together again, Noah and Ash uncover the truth: Project X - a global experiment to create the "perfect human" by harvesting loyalty, love, and pain from children. Every Ward, every class, every hierarchy was part of it. Determined to end the cycle, they infiltrate the ruins of Darren Ward to expose the truth. But freedom comes with a cost - and not everyone will make it out. In the ashes of the old world, as the systems collapse, Noah and Ash must decide what survival means when the fight is over - and what it takes to build a life that's truly theirs.

In the debate world, there are five unspoken rules. The first four are trivial; simple social laws that every sane person would understand. But the last one. Now that's something. Rule Number Five: Never, ever, under any circumstances, date your debate partner. *lowkey inspired by that one english debate they had on Dingo ~ Most people, when it comes to the competitive game known as Debate, have a partner. It's not mandatory, but who doesn't want someone next to them, sharing the work burdens and the joy of winning? It's like having that other half you've always wanted. Not Jisung. As the best debater on his school's small team, he's never found the desire to; after all, nobody has ever matched his level of strength and been able to keep up with him. That is, until an old star steps into the limelight of his life, ready to reclaim a lost title. (yes, it sounds nerdy. no, it is not, and yes, there is much romance ;3)