Open Standard · CC BY-SA 4.0
A four-axis content rating system for narrative media — written, audio, visual, interactive. The only rating standard designed for the full spectrum of storytelling, on a single coherent scale.
The Problem
Existing rating systems collapse narrative content into a single scale. A chilli-pepper count. An age classification. A star rating. They all share the same flaw: a single number destroys the information audiences need to choose what fits them.
A closed-door romance can be deeply emotional with zero physical content. A grief-heavy literary novel can be dark in tone without being transgressive. Collapsing these into one number misleads everyone.
The Solution
The SHOW Standard separates narrative effect into four independent dimensions. The axes apply to any narrative medium — books, films, streaming, games, audiobooks, podcasts, webcomics — because they describe what narrative does to people, not what format it arrives in.
A Christian fiction reader and a dark romantasy reader can now describe the same book on the same scale and both be precisely right.
The Four Axes
| Axis | Symbol | Range | Measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spice | S | 0–6 | Physical explicitness — on-page or on-screen intimacy and detail |
| Heat | H | 0–5 | Emotional temperature — longing, romantic intensity, intimacy of soul |
| OMG | O | 0–5 | Darkness of tone — heaviness, peril, grief, violence, psychological weight |
| WTF | W | 0–10 | Transgression — taboo content, off-limits dynamics, wildness of choices |
Full Scale Definitions
Physical explicitness. What the body experiences. The scene, not the relationship.
| Lvl | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Untouched | No physical intimacy. Kissing only. Door fully closed. |
| 1 | Suggestive | Sensual moments, undressing, fade-to-black, implied intimacy. |
| 2 | Open-Door | On-page intimacy with discretion. Sensation over anatomy. |
| 3 | Explicit | Fully on-page, anatomically clear, multiple scenes. |
| 4 | Carnal | High-frequency explicit scenes, vivid detail. Structurally load-bearing. |
| 5 | Hardcore | Hardcore erotic content. Kink, fetish, BDSM. Power exchange. |
| 6 | Saturated | Explicit intimacy is the dominant content, near-constant. |
Emotional temperature. What the room feels like. The relationship, not the scene.
| Lvl | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Cool | Romance is incidental or absent. Mission-driven stories. |
| 1 | Warm | Affection, fondness, light flirtation. |
| 2 | Glowing | Mutual attraction acknowledged. Lingering looks, first kisses. |
| 3 | Burning | Slow-burn intensity. Yearning, restraint, sustained charge. |
| 4 | Blazing | Deep emotional intimacy. Vulnerable confessions, soul-bared scenes. |
| 5 | Wildfire | All-consuming. The relationship is the spine of the story. |
Darkness of tone. Heaviness, peril, grief — independent of explicitness.
| Lvl | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Light | No darkness. Sweet romance, cozy, family entertainment. |
| 1 | Shaded | Mild edge — angst, grief, mild peril, morally grey choices. |
| 2 | Dim | On-page violence, antiheroes, dark themes with restraint. |
| 3 | Dark | Genuine darkness — captivity, stalker dynamics, trauma, MC/mafia, war. |
| 4 | Black | Transgressive — dub-con, monster narratives, brutality. |
| 5 | Abyssal | Extreme — explicit non-con as central trope. Content-warning gated. |
Transgression. Taboo content, off-limits dynamics — independent of tone.
| Score | Band | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Vanilla | Conventional content. No taboo dynamics. |
| 3–4 | Edgy | Mild transgression — age gap, mild moral ambiguity. |
| 5–6 | Wild | Taboo content — step-relationships, captivity-coded, MC/mafia, antihero. |
| 7–8 | Unhinged | Strong taboo — dub-con romantically framed, monster pairings. |
| 9–10 | Off the Rails | Maximum transgression — non-con as central trope, extreme taboos. |
Core Principle
Each SHOW axis measures a fully independent dimension of content. High scores on one axis carry zero implication for any other. Readers, platforms, and distribution systems read each axis as its own signal — no axis modifies the meaning of any other.
| Profile | What it describes |
|---|---|
| S0 · H5 | No sexual content, maximum romantic intensity |
| S6 · H0 | Fully saturated sexual content, no romantic emotion |
| O5 · W0 | Devastating darkness, fully conventional narrative structure |
| W10 · O0 | Maximum transgression, no emotional darkness |
Because the axes are independent, the same trope can register on more than one axis. An MC/mafia romance may read O3 for its darkness of tone and W5–6 for its taboo coding — both readings are correct, and each axis reports its own dimension.
Calibration Anchors
Representative works mapped to SHOW ratings — so creators and readers can self-locate on the scale.
| Work | S | H | O | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Court of Thorns and Roses | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Fourth Wing | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Haunting Adeline | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Captive in the Dark | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| The Notebook | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| Redeeming Love | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| American Psycho | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| The Road | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Normal People | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Twilight | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Fifty Shades of Grey | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
Platform Certification
"Verified Explicit" is a platform certification, not an axis level. Works carrying high-Spice content (typically Spice 5–6) may apply for R8rly Tier A certification, which verifies the classification, applies platform age-gating, and authorises the "Verified Explicit" designation alongside the R8rly Compass mark.
Tier A certification is administered by the R8rly platform and is not part of the open CC BY-SA standard.
Reader Service Layer
Content tags sit beneath SHOW scores as a secondary reader service layer. Where SHOW axes give intensity levels, content tags name specific content types that readers may wish to know about before engaging with a work. Tags are applied per work, not per axis.
on-page grief · captivity dynamics · non-consensual elements · step-romance · on-page violence · suicidal ideation · addiction · forced proximity · morally grey protagonist · dark humour · religious themes · revenge arc · trauma recovery
Content tags are community-sourced and platform-curated. The SHOW Standard defines the axis framework; tag vocabulary is maintained by the R8rly platform and open for community contribution.
Using the Standard
For Creators
For Platforms & Retailers
For Developers
The Standard Family
SHOW is one of three companion standards published by Modern Media Mastery & LMDC.
| Standard | Function | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| SHOW | Content classification | Any finished work, any creation method |
| VEIL | Generation authorisation | AI-assisted creation sessions |
| SCRIPTS | Experience rating | Reader/viewer/listener experience |
SHOW and VEIL share axis vocabulary — the four SHOW axes map directly into the VEIL generation envelope, so creators working with AI tools move between classification and generation without re-learning any terminology. SHOW is fully functional as a standalone standard: creators and publishers with no AI generation workflow use SHOW entirely on its own.
Glossary
Closed-door
No on-page/screen intimacy beyond kissing. Maps to Spice 0–1.
Open-door
On-page/screen intimacy. Maps to Spice 2+.
Fade-to-black
Scene begins but cuts away before explicit content. Maps to Spice 1.
Dub-con (primary dynamic)
Dubious consent is the defining, central element of the narrative. Coercive power or captivity frames the romance from the outset. W7+.
Dub-con (incidental element)
Dubious consent appears as one element within otherwise lighter content. Ambiguous framing or author-labelled kink dynamics. W5+.
Content warning
Always recommended for OMG 4+ and WTF 7+.
Applying SHOW
Who rates a work: The author or publisher applies an initial SHOW rating on publication. The R8rly community verifies and may adjust ratings through a structured review process. R8rly Verified ratings carry the R8rly Compass mark.
When to rate: At publication. Ratings may be revised if content is substantially edited post-publication.
How to display: SHOW S3·H4·O2·W5 — standard inline format. SHOW Verified S3·H4·O2·W5 — R8rly verified format with Compass mark. The slash rendering (S3 / H4 / O2 / W5) is equally valid — like a date format, both express the same rating.
| Version | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | May 2026 | Initial release. Four axes. |
| 1.1 | May 2026 | Calibration set expanded. Content tag framework added. |
| 2.0 | Jun 2026 | VEIL axes separated into standalone companion standard. W scale expanded to 10. Spice scale expanded to 6. Standard family architecture formalised. Calibration set updated. |
| 2.1 | Jul 2026 | All level vocabulary aligned with the tables published on the R8rly platform (authoritative). "Verified Explicit" clarified as R8rly Tier A platform certification, not an axis level. |
Attribution
Long Form
Based on the SHOW Standard v2.1, created by Modern Media Mastery & LMDC · held in trust by r8rly.org · verified on r8rly.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
https://modernmediamastery.com/show-standard.html
Short Form
SHOW Standard v2.1 · MMM & LMDC · CC BY-SA 4.0
Full specification — all four axes, calibration anchors, glossary, and attribution guide.