Make restraint an active choice by showing both the tempting action and the problem left unsolved when it is refused.
In a contemporary superhero setting, Taylor is bullied at school and secretly controls bugs. Other heroes already operate in her city; she hopes to become one.
Worm, Gestation 1.1 only; bullying and threatened retaliation.
After an assault, Taylor gathers a swarm and considers retaliation. She thinks about arrest and her father's reaction, but describes her decision to disperse it in terms of being better than that and wanting to be a superhero.
Repeated restraint without changing tactics or consequences can still leave the protagonist inert. This opening does not establish permanent moral consistency.
Bathroom scene: the gathered swarm, considered retaliation, dispersal and closing superhero ambition. ↗
Selected bathroom and closing passages of Gestation 1.1
Taylor has a usable means of retaliation. Dispersing the swarm therefore changes what happens in the moment and expresses the person she wants to become. The bullying remains a problem, so the choice cannot carry the whole arc unless something else follows it.
Write an action your character could take now, why it would help, and the commitment it would break. Show them stop it through a concrete action. Then give them a different next move, such as gathering evidence, seeking an ally or changing where they meet the threat. Restraint should redirect the story.
Use in my storyExpose a boastful character through an ordinary shared task, then let them become the irritating spectator they were just complaining about.
A small promise puts the protagonist in the right place to survive a disaster and leaves them badly equipped for what follows.
A recurring argument needs more than another order to behave. Let a character identify the small, specific attraction behind it.