The pen-and-paper method we propose in this work is not limited to anions nor to iodine-based species. As a demonstration, we will consider here the case in point of the polyiodonium I5 + cation, which results from eliminating two electrons from the I5 -molecule (blue extra ones in Figure ). This leads to the scheme depicted in Figure , in which a chain containing four 2c-1e bonds is obtained. Much like the impossibility of having ERMBs in molecules longer than 3 centers, this linear configuration of EDMBs is also not stable since the octet rule would be satisfied for the internal atoms (2, 3, and 4) but not for the external ones (there is a lack of one electron for each of the external atoms 1 and 5 of the chain). This chain could formally restore a 2e per bond situation by bending on atoms 2 and 4. In this way, atoms 1 and 5 can fully accept a further electron (achieving 8 electron count), while the central atom (atom 3) cannot: this explains bond length alternation (longer internal bonds than external bonds) in the I5 + cation. Atomic experimental coordinates from the IZUXOS 56 crystal structure correspond exactly to our conclusions. The stability and geometries of polyiodionium cations could be thus estimated with this approach. As our Lewis dot model uses the infinite linear I∞ chain (any finite charge irrelevant), its conclusions, as demonstrated in the case of I5 + cation, remain valid whatever the charge. Concerning the extension of our reasoning to non-iodine-containing systems, the easiest ones to examine are clearly other systems with 7-valence electrons, such as the rest of the halogens. Accordingly, we searched the CSD for polyhalides, excluding iodine atoms. It turns out, of course, that general odd/even, charge/electron count, and bending sites, are all congruent with what we have previously proposed for polyiodides (Table ).