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, 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. |
| 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. |
Calibration Anchors
Representative works mapped to SHOW ratings — so creators and readers can self-locate on the scale.
| Work | S | H | O | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redeeming Love · Francine Rivers | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| The Notebook · Nicholas Sparks | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Christian historical romance | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Cozy mystery (light romance) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| ACOTAR (series) | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| Fourth Wing · Rebecca Yarros | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Penelope Douglas · Credence | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Haunting Adeline | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Soul Eater | 3 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| Pepper Winters · Tears of Tess | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| C.J. Roberts · Captive in the Dark | 5 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
Using the Standard
For Creators
For Platforms & Retailers
For Developers
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+.
Attribution
Long Form
Based on the SHOW Standard, originated by Modern Media Mastery (2026) through R8rly and The Lyceum. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
https://modernmediamastery.com/show-standard
Short Form
SHOW Standard by Modern Media Mastery · CC BY-SA 4.0
Full specification — all four axes, calibration anchors, glossary, and attribution guide.