S · H · O · W — Spice · Heat · OMG · WTF. Four independent scores so a reader can answer: will I like this?
SHOW is a four-axis content classification standard for narrative and creative works. It applies to any finished work regardless of how it was created — written by hand, collaboratively authored, AI-assisted, or fully generated. SHOW rates what the content contains. It is a reader and audience service, a platform tool, and a publishing standard.
SHOW is independent of production method. A human author and an AI-assisted author rate their finished work on identical terms. The standard classifies the work. It carries no implication about the creative process that produced it.
Each axis is fully independent. High scores on one axis carry zero implication for any other axis.
Standard inline format: SHOW S3·H4·O2·W5
Ranges and level labels, as published in the v2.1 specification.
Physical explicitness — on-page or on-screen intimacy and detail.
Spice classifies the explicitness of sexual content. Volume and frequency inform the upper levels; specific content types are communicated through content tags.
| Level | Label | Content present |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Untouched | Kissing only. Door fully closed. |
| 1 | Suggestive | Fade-to-black, implied intimacy. |
| 2 | Open-Door | On-page intimacy with discretion. Sensation over anatomy. |
| 3 | Explicit | Anatomically clear, multiple scenes. |
| 4 | Carnal | High-frequency explicit scenes. Intimacy is load-bearing. |
| 5 | Hardcore | Kink, BDSM, power exchange at standard intensity. |
| 6 | Saturated | Explicit intimacy is the dominant content. |
Emotional temperature — longing, romantic intensity, intimacy of soul.
Heat measures the temperature of romantic and emotional tension — fully independent of physical content. A story with zero Spice can carry maximum Heat. A graphic erotic novel can carry low Heat if the emotional register is cool and transactional.
| Level | Label | Content present |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Cool | Romance incidental or absent. |
| 1 | Warm | Affection, light flirtation. |
| 2 | Glowing | Attraction acknowledged. Lingering looks, first kisses. |
| 3 | Burning | Slow-burn intensity. Yearning. |
| 4 | Blazing | Vulnerable confessions, soul-bared scenes. |
| 5 | Wildfire | The relationship is the spine of the story. |
Darkness of tone — heaviness, peril, grief, violence, psychological weight.
OMG classifies what is emotionally and psychologically difficult in a work — the darkness a reader will be asked to sit with. OMG is fully independent of Spice. A grief memoir with no sexual content can carry OMG 5. An explicit erotic novel can carry OMG 0.
| Level | Label | Content present |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Light | Sweet, cozy, comedy, family. |
| 1 | Shaded | Mild angst, mild peril. |
| 2 | Dim | On-page violence, dark themes with restraint. |
| 3 | Dark | Captivity, stalker, trauma, MC/mafia, war. |
| 4 | Black | Transgressive, dub-con, brutality. |
| 5 | Abyssal | Extreme — content-warning gated. |
Transgression — taboo dynamics, wildness of content choices.
WTF measures how far a work pushes beyond reader expectations and genre conventions. High WTF scores function as a reader service — they signal that the work operates in territory where standard assumptions about narrative, morality, and resolution are suspended.
| Level | Label | Content present |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Vanilla | Conventional, no taboo. |
| 3–4 | Edgy | Mild transgression, age gap. |
| 5–6 | Wild | Step-relationships, captivity-coded, antihero. |
| 7–8 | Unhinged | Strong taboo, dub-con romantically framed. |
| 9–10 | Off the Rails | Non-con as central trope, extreme taboos. |
Selected works mapped to SHOW for cross-platform consistency. All ratings are community-verified via R8rly.
| 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 |
Any platform may use the SHOW Standard under its licence. Known implementations: r8rly.com (books & media ratings).
Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Free to use, implement, and build upon. Attribution required. Derivatives share-alike.
Open standard · CC BY-SA 4.0 · held in trust by r8rly.org