yes by all means let's talk about the crossply of will and pull! i am quite happy with that! chemistry as a metaphor doesn't (necessarily) ignore the crossply -- influence as a metaphor precisely refuses to distinguish will from pull; it shuts down discussion of same, because it endlessly confuses one with the other (obviously people often do this too, that's why they need a word which DOESN'T do it...)

i am totally happy to divorce this discussion from the word influence, for more than a second: it is totally unnecessary and unhelpful