diff --git a/src/courtroom.cpp b/src/courtroom.cpp
index 7646794da..8a6dcb0d1 100644
--- a/src/courtroom.cpp
+++ b/src/courtroom.cpp
@@ -3506,6 +3506,27 @@ void Courtroom::handle_ic_speaking()
   start_chat_ticking();
 }
 
+struct PauseInfo
+{
+  int multiplier;
+  int digit_count;
+};
+
+// returns multiplier and number of digits to skip
+static PauseInfo parse_pause_multiplier(const QString &text, int start_pos)
+{
+  // matches upto 999 (and 1000) and also prevents leading zeros
+  static QRegularExpression pause_regex("^([1-9]\\d{0,2}|1000)");
+  QRegularExpressionMatch match = pause_regex.match(text.mid(start_pos));
+  if (match.hasMatch())
+  {
+    int value = match.captured(1).toInt();
+    int length = match.capturedLength(0);
+    return {value, length};
+  }
+  return {1, 0}; // default: multiplier=1, no digits to skip
+}
+
 QString Courtroom::filter_ic_text(QString p_text, bool html, int target_pos, int default_color)
 {
   QString p_text_escaped;
@@ -3723,6 +3744,12 @@ QString Courtroom::filter_ic_text(QString p_text, bool html, int target_pos, int
       if (f_character == "s" || f_character == "f" || f_character == "p") // screenshake/flash/pause
       {
         skip = true;
+        // also skip any following digits
+        if (f_character == "p")
+        {
+          PauseInfo info = parse_pause_multiplier(p_text, check_pos + f_char_bytes);
+          check_pos += info.digit_count;
+        }
       }
 
       parse_escape_seq = false;
@@ -4201,6 +4228,7 @@ void Courtroom::start_chat_ticking()
 
   tick_pos = 0;
   blip_ticker = 0;
+  pause_multiplier = 1;
   text_crawl = Options::getInstance().textCrawlSpeed();
   blip_rate = Options::getInstance().blipRate();
   blank_blip = Options::getInstance().blankBlip();
@@ -4420,6 +4448,9 @@ void Courtroom::chat_tick()
     if (f_character == "p")
     {
       formatting_char = true;
+      PauseInfo info = parse_pause_multiplier(f_message, tick_pos);
+      pause_multiplier = info.multiplier;
+      tick_pos += info.digit_count;
     }
     next_character_is_not_special = false;
   }
@@ -4443,7 +4474,7 @@ void Courtroom::chat_tick()
   {
     if (f_character == "p")
     {
-      chat_tick_timer->start(100); // wait the pause lol
+      chat_tick_timer->start(pause_base_ms * pause_multiplier);
     }
     else
     {
diff --git a/src/courtroom.h b/src/courtroom.h
index dc8cdf3ae..242154803 100644
--- a/src/courtroom.h
+++ b/src/courtroom.h
@@ -378,6 +378,8 @@ class Courtroom : public QMainWindow
   int real_tick_pos = 0;
   // used to determine how often blips sound
   int blip_ticker = 0;
+  // pause multiplier for \p{numbers}
+  int pause_multiplier = 1;
   int blip_rate = 2;
   int rainbow_counter = 0;
   bool rainbow_appended = false;
@@ -450,6 +452,11 @@ class Courtroom : public QMainWindow
   // amount by which we multiply the delay when we parse punctuation chars
   const int punctuation_modifier = 3;
 
+  // maximum pause multiplier for \p{numbers} so it does not just pause forever
+  const int pause_multiplier_max = 1000;
+  // base pause duration for a \p with no digits
+  const int pause_base_ms = 100;
+
   // amount of ghost blocks
   int ghost_blocks = 0;