okay @rainrein @vulpine-gentleman . okay first this is an absolutely HILARIOUS scroll across way to be consulted on a topic. but as for my answer
so. to preface I think May is someone who is very... adpatable to a partner, so to speak. While i wouldn't neccesarily say he's a service top, he's service top-adjacent. So much of his role is curating, observing, and managing experiences. He bends, nudges, and weaves himself around what someone else desires - then twists it in certain ways
He can see directly into someone's mind and know exactly what they desire, though not neccesarily the line between fantasy and want
and... well. we can never push past the concept of him pushing a thought *into* someones mind
That said here are a few things I think The Manager is into
Bondage and restraint - pretty straight forward I think . He enjoys not just the act of restraining someone, but the art of it too. A silk cord, a velvet ribbon, a slow or steady process of tying intricate knots. It'd all be a part of the act to him. And not just the physical aspects of rope or cuffs, but psychological restraint — limiting movement, dictating conditions, making someone wait.
Power play - Again, pretty self explanatory. He likes to set the scene, manipulate and play a dommineering role, in a way that would blur into performance rather then just pure sadism.
Somnophillia - the man dives into the land of dreams and already manipulates those into rest around him. Having someone beneath him while they rest would be a potential key portion - not to mention manipulating their dreams while they slept
Enviromental Manipulation - He enjoys the build up more than anything else, confusing and twisting the world so its not just the physical acts thats part of the scene, but *where* they are too. The Beth especially plays a role in this
Altered Mental States - Making so someone can't even tell their left from their right, has trouble thinking and processing and respond, its all a part of the game to him. The mind is.... such a fragile, wriggling little thing, isn't it? He doesnt *need* drugs for such matters either, but perhaps the occasional slipping of laundnam into someones drink, and waiting for the moment they *realize*
Mental Manipulation - The control of perception of the narrative. He doesn’t just bind someone’s hands, he binds their mind, their memory, their sense of self. If someone comes away thinking did I even want that? — that uncertainty is part of the “scene” to him. When someone can't know the line between what they want and what he's telling them he wants, thats half the fun
Impact Play/Discipline - He’d approach it as something measured, a form of “lesson,” an act. A punishment might be more about the anticipation, the waiting, the exact angle of the blow, than about brute force. He would so often frame a scene in 'correcting' someone's behaviour
I could also see Sensory Control, not just things such as blindfolding a partner, but messing with what they are able to interpret through their senses through mental manipulation too ;P
Also i could see some aspects of Voyeurism too.,,,
And of course, The Manager likes to put himself in a caretaking role, and I think that would expand into things he is 'into' as well. He likes doing that, though of course it would depend on his dynamic and the partner. Some aspect of domineering and controlling comes through still of course
"You don’t have to think about this. I’ll take care of it. Just do what I tell you.”
I do think he'd be pretty decent at aftercare in general situations - cool the skin he struck with a damp cloth, re-button their shirt neatly, straighten them up. Make sure someone has properly hydrated after and all the like ~
All of this, of course, focuses more on the aspect of him that put him in a dominant posisition, but i do not always view him in such a role. Inverses are also true, I think he would also enjoy being tied up, and to be on the opposite end of power play [though of course that would be more him activly handing over the power he has more often then not]. I think he's someone who could really benefit from BDSM scenes where he gives up control, to reliquish the walls and build up he so carefully maintains.
and I think making him cry would be helpful but whether or not he's 'into' that is a matter of debate-
