Pushing and Pulling Own Metalminds

[FieldSurgeon she/her]

I've been unsuccessful in finding an answer: Can a twinborn Steel/Iron Allomancer push/pull on their own metalminds if said metalminds are separated from their person?

Could Wax push on his iron metalminds if he dropped them on the ground, since they're his own (keyed to him), despite being filled/invested?

[Quantus he/him]

I dont think so, but I could be wrong.  My understanding of the push/pull issue for metalminds is more from their being Invested at all but not so much from Identity interference.  I think the same can be said for the resistance to Pushing/Pulling on metal that is inside somebody.  A case example being that Drabs are easier to Push but seem to have fully functioning and unique Identity (which is why an awakener cant take their animating Breath back.

 

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Questioner

So I have heard that it is harder to Push a Shardblade with Allomancy than it is a normal sword.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Is that true of both living and dead Shardblades?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Equally?

Brandon Sanderson

Uh, no.

Questioner

Okay, so it's even more difficult to Push one alive.

Brandon Sanderson

The thing-- An Invested object is more difficult with any of the magics. So, for instance, even a Feruchemical metalmind is going to be harder. Depends on how much it is Invested, and things like that. But, y'know, it can range from you barely notice it or don't even notice it to "Wow, that's hard to Push on". Same for a Hemalurgical spike, depending on how much Investiture is left over, how long has it been outside of a body, and things like that. Same thing Pushing on something inside a person's body, their Investiture is going to interfere with it.

Same thing, when you read White Sand, why a person slapping their hand through someone's stream of sand can throw off the entire creation of the sand mastery. It's just-- There's interference patterns, and things like that.

Questioner

And is that true of a Drab as well? Does the body affect--

Brandon Sanderson

The Drab is going to have less.

Questioner

So they just have less Investiture, but they still have some natural Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

They do still have some. They've lost their Breath but that isn't the entirety of the Investiture inside of them.

Almost all of the times we see Vin--in fact I think every time--we see Vin, or someone in the Mistborn books, Pushing or Pulling on an Invested metal they are either drawing on the mist or they're Elend or the Lord Ruler who have the enhanced power, or something like that. Or it's a duralumin Push, or its one of the Inquisitors who's had a spike-- y'know, and things like that, that've-- And so it's not something that you see done very often in the Mistborn books.

Rubix

I can actually confirm that's correct.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh you guys looked it up?

Rubix

I checked.

Brandon Sanderson

I mean it can be done. And depending on Investiture it can be not even that hard to do but--

Firefight release party (Jan. 5, 2015)

 

 

 

[DoctaDajman]

5 hours ago, Quantus said:

I dont think so, but I could be wrong.  My understanding of the push/pull issue for metalminds is more from their being Invested at all but not so much from Identity interference.  I think the same can be said for the resistance to Pushing/Pulling on metal that is inside somebody.  A case example being that Drabs are easier to Push but seem to have fully functioning and unique Identity (which is why an awakener cant take their animating Breath back.

 

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I do wonder if it is more of a connection thing as opposed to identity?  Not saying this would be extremely useful but say a duralumin ferring being able to fill a metalmind and push / pull on it while tapping another metalmind boosting a connection to the first?  

Its probably a wildly out there thought. It seems like making metalminds, even those belonging to the twinborn, able to be manipulated by the twinborn as normal would really trivialize a lot of conflicts. 

Wax would not need special bullets against Push and Pull because he could just push his metalminds into their faces and that entire epic chase / fight along with the fun preparation and introduction of Ranette would be wasted. 

In this case the rool of cool fits more into limitations being more exciting that the powers themselves.