It’s been five years and Zayn still feels the ghost of Louis’ hand on his throat whenever he can’t breathe.
There used to be a point in time when he craved it; the way his pulse would do an uptick, the way blood would rush through his ears and everything would feel faint, but these days it’s nothing like that. These days it’s only panic tightening his chest and stealing the breath from his lungs, and no amount of trying to calm himself down works anymore.
It doesn’t help that no one understands. Well, one person would, but he’s the exact person that’s got Zayn in a panic right now, and there’s some morbid kind of humor in that, because of course Louis still manages to control his breathing when it’s been five years since they were last even in the same room.
Or, more accurately, four days, eleven months and twenty-eight days. But who’s counting?
Welcome writers, to round 3 of the zouisfest! Sign-ups are now officially opened!
As a quick reminder, here are the most important rules (for the full list of rules, click here):
the main pairing has to be Zouis (Zayn/Louis). This can be a romantic, queerplatonic or non-romantic pairing.
you may claim a prompt from our prompt list or choose to write your own prompt
there is no minimum or maximum wordcount
fics must be completed by the time of posting
Thank you to everyone who has submitted prompts, and thank you to E for letting us use the prompts from previous rounds. You can find the link to all the submitted prompts here.
Once you've picked your top 3 prompts, you can fill in the form here. We ask you to pick 3 prompts solely for the small chance that your prompt has already been picked, as we work on a first come, first serve basis and we cannot guarantee that we can stay completely up to date with the sign-ups. We will however try our best to get back to you asap!
Once you've received your confirmation, you're officially signed up and will have until July 28th to complete your fic.
We cannot wait to bring the fandom more zouis-centered fics, and we hope you're as excited as we are!
Thank you to all the amazing writers who participated in this round of the zouisfest! We will be back for round 4!
⭐ Tease Me, Please Me by 4ureyesonly28 @evilovesyou
Zayn had done so many different jobs since she’d gotten out of university; some more interesting than others, but this one was taking the cake. There was something unbelievable in her being cast alongside all these gorgeous, seductive women to titillate theatre-goers in a brand new burlesque bar in the West End. It wasn’t exactly what her parents had imagined when she’d dreamed about getting on stage in a West End show, but over the past months of rehearsals she’d really learned that the artistry of burlesque was deeply personal to her.
⭐ you're on my mind (love) by we_are_the_same @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed
It’s been five years and Zayn still feels the ghost of Louis’ hand on his throat whenever he can’t breathe.
There used to be a point in time when he craved it; the way his pulse would do an uptick, the way blood would rush through his ears and everything would feel faint, but these days it’s nothing like that. These days it’s only panic tightening his chest and stealing the breath from his lungs, and no amount of trying to calm himself down works anymore.
It doesn’t help that no one understands. Well, one person would, but he’s the exact person that’s got Zayn in a panic right now, and there’s some morbid kind of humor in that, because of course Louis still manages to control his breathing when it’s been five years since they were last even in the same room.
Or, more accurately, four days, eleven months and twenty-eight days. But who’s counting?
⭐ we could stay at home or watch the sunset by @louislittletomlintum
“Can I give it a go?” Louis asked curiously, like when he was impatient to have a turn on the Xbox.
Zayn side-eyed him, not believing what he was hearing.
“Give what a go?” Zayn questioned wearily, though he feared he knew exactly what was being asked.
“Your dick. Give it a bash. I just wonder how it would feel, like, if I were to have a cut cock. You can have a pull of mine if you like, if you’ve wondered the opposite,” Louis proposed, handing the offer out like it was a packet of crisps.
or the one where zayn's somehow surprised watching a porno together could lead to all of this
⭐ It's Two AM And I'm Cursing Your Name by pigslay @fifthnormani
Zayn and Louis are both team leaders at a kids' theatre summer camp. Zayn may be hot, but Louis' group of twelve year olds is SO going to put on a better play than Zayn's group of twelve year olds.
⭐ time can always heal you (if you let it) by loammy_jean @sugarcult
5 times where they heard one of each other's songs on the radio, and 1 time one of them eventually decided to reach out to the other.
OR: After Zayn leaves the band, the resentment between him and Louis burns the most. They do an excellent job of avoiding seeing each other in the years that follow. But as is the nature of fame, they can't stop hearing - or hearing about - each other.
⭐ some version of you by croisblue @forwhatiam
It’s almost been a month since Zayn up and disappeared from Louis’s life.
⭐ flashing lights by @todayisdeadinside
"Want to head to the roof? Bit busy down here." Louis suggested, his tone deceptively casual. Zayn wasn't dumb.
He was going to say no.
He was.
OR: A songfic based on BeFoUr by ZAYN
⭐ terracotta heart by wordsnnotes @quelsentiment
Then he sees him.
Zayn. Leaning against a wall, removed from the brunt of the crowd, his eyes staring into space. A vision so familiar that Louis feels like he’s been projected back into 2014 for a second.
Maybe that's what makes him walk towards him—automatic reflex, muscle memory, old habits die hard. But old habits never die, he’s starting to suspect.
⭐ wh*re d'oeuvres by larry-hiatus @emilarry
Louis is a bit shocked when his best mate/fwb Zayn reveals that he’s been going to a restaurant where patrons can get blowjobs under the table. When Louis tags along and meets Harry and Niall (and even the cute waiter Liam), he begins to understand why Zayn loves it so much.
⭐ Somethin' Misread Or Somethin' Got Said by @lululawrence
Zayn keeps getting texts. This wouldn't be an issue if he knew who most any of the people sending the texts were, but he doesn't. He doesn't know who they are, why they're texting him, or even how they got his number.
Until he does, thanks to a kind soul he only knows as xxxSHADOWLORD420xxx.
⭐ a sign from fate by lvinlou @lvinlou
When he saw him, he could confirm that he hadn’t just stolen his calm, but also his breath.
He hadn’t even reached the table yet, but he knew it was him. The voice, which he remembered clearly despite the alcohol, matched perfectly with the man in front of him. And when those hazel eyes lifted from the menu and met his, he could swear his legs gave out.
Zayn smiled at him and God, he could swear he was the most handsome man he had ever seen.
We (@so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed and @beardyboyzx) are the new mods of the Zouisfics Tumblr, and we are happy to announce Round Three of Zouisfest! And it is starting immediately! Here is the full information for anyone considering signing up:
Schedule:
Prompt Submissions: February 2nd - February 17th
Author Sign-ups: from February 18th on
Fics Due: July 28th
Rules:
the main pairing has to be Zouis (Zayn/Louis). This can be a romantic, queerplatonic or non-romantic pairing.
you may claim a prompt from our prompt list or choose to write your own prompt
there is no minimum or maximum wordcount
fics must be completed by the time of posting
there is no maximum to the amount of fics you can write, however you may only claim subsequent prompts after you’ve finished your first fic
we will not moderate for content, however we ask you to tag your work appropriately
when posting your fic we ask you to make a fic post on Tumblr. Use of AI is not allowed for the images in the moodboard
this fest is not anonymous, so feel free to share snippets and tag us in your posts!
We are currently in the prompt submission phase. We have a lot of older prompts from previous rounds, which you can pick from once sign-ups open. For now, if you have any prompts to share, please fill in this form.
We're super excited to start round three of this fest, and we hope you are too!
Because I can and I'm enjoying writing this fic, have a random snippet of my upcoming @zouisfics fic!
~***~
"Breathe," Louis' voice is quiet, commanding, and Zayn hates how part of him still responds to that particular tone. How there's a part of him - the part that used to live for Louis' praise, that felt freedom in being able to submit - that wants to obey.
That wants Louis to call him kitten again, call him a good boy. There’s another part that wants to tell him to fuck off, that wants to tell him he doesn’t get to do this, doesn’t get to take control so easily, but he only has to glance up at him through his lashes to know that whatever this is, it isn’t Louis being in control. He looks scared and young and sorry and Zayn hates it, but maybe not for the reasons he should.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” he bites out, but he’s doing it nonetheless, syncing his breathing with Louis’, something intimate neither of them has any right to anymore. Louis just keeps looking at him, their eyes locked, commanding and calming and Zayn hates that it works. Hates that he can feel his heart slowing in his chest, his lungs expanding to finally take in enough air to get rid of the fuzzy feeling in his head. He pushes himself up and rests the back of his head against the brick wall, closing his eyes for a moment to avoid Louis’ stare, to keep him from seeing the tears.
~***~
Is anyone working on anything and wanting to share a snippet? @haztobegood @voulezloux @londonfoginacup @lululawrence @reminiscingintherain @evilovesyou
Here are all the fics I've written for the 2024 @wordplayfics challenge!
8.1 Nest: home with you
It starts with a jumper. It’s not Liam’s favourite jumper, but it’s one of his favourite jumpers, though that might have something to do with the fact that Zayn wore it that one time, after they’d gotten drenched. He’d looked like a drowned rat, his hair plastered against his forehead, shivering despite the hot cocoa that Liam had made them and he’d looked… Liam isn’t sure how to describe it. Sweet? But Zayn is sweet, that’s nothing new. Cuddly? That too is nothing new, not after three years of knowing each other and a year of living together. Though he hadn’t moved in by then, but Liam remembers wanting him to. Seeing Zayn on his couch, jumper paws and all, he’d looked like he belonged.
So yeah, it’s one of Liam’s favourite jumpers, because it’s one of his favourite memories, and so he’s not necessarily upset that it's gone missing, but just a little bit out of sorts. Because he likes wearing that jumper when he’s got exams coming up, something about the inherent comfort of the memory, of Zayn smiling at him, making this little bubble of happiness burst in his chest.
He puts on another jumper and resolves to ask Zayn about it later.
8.2 Tight: something told me it was you
Are you ready, 'cause I'm ready to let go
Never thought that I'd be ready again
8.3 Carry: 'til I let go of this moment
Zayn and his terrible horrible no good Olympics. Where he wins gold and Liam’s heart.
Featuring Liam’s unfortunate big penis
8.4 Press: and in those rare moments
London, May 23rd, 2025
Interview with Harry Styles, popstar, bisexual icon and philanthropist, by Louis W. Tomlinson.
8.5 Interference: circling the truth
Liam Payne has met his soulmate.
He knows he has, because he woke up with his power this morning.
Problem one: he has no idea who his soulmate is. He saw a ton of people last night, because it was the introduction party for the uni he is now attending. He’d talked to at least a dozen people, and he’s unsure on what counts as ‘meeting’ your soulmate, because it might just be someone he’d bumped into on his way to the loo.
Problem two: his power seems to be that he can read minds.
You don't have to say, "I love you," to say I love you
[Zouis friendship, 1,5k, T]
Louis can’t find his damn sweater.
And it’s not like he doesn’t have other sweaters, he does. In fact, he might have somewhat of a sweater problem, because he fears an avalanche of hoodies every time he opens his wardrobe. They’re comfy and warm and he likes tucking his hands inside the sleeves.
He could grab any other sweater but he wants this sweater. It’s his favourite sweater and it’s a little bit faded and worn out, but that makes it extra cosy. And after getting rained on on the way home from uni, he feels like he deserves a bit of comfort. His plan had been to shower, put on his favourite sweater, make himself some tea, and curl up on the couch with the cat, since Zayn won’t be home til late.
