Dreams

So, I have this weird fascination with natural disasters. Volcano eruptions, Tsunamis, even sand storms- they are just so awe inspiring and absolutely beautiful. However, I'm in love with tornadoes. I've never witnessed a natural disaster, but if I had to witness one, I'd choose tornadoes. There's something very very powerful about them and along with being powerful, they're beautiful. The amount of destruction they can cause is so intense and I've never been someone who's afraid of destruction. 
I'm not sure what the tornado is a metaphor for, but I have recurrent dreams about it. And even in my dreams, I want to be closer and closer to it, situate myself in its eye, experience the calm with destruction all around me.

The first dream I remember about having a tornado is being in a flat with my family. Suddenly, the lights go out and the alarms are blaring in warning. I know that we need to move out of the house but I can't describe the why yet. I look out of the window to see a tornado with the diameter of half the city moving towards me. Not in a random direction, but towards me. I don't know how I know this, but I know it is targeting only me. We move out quickly and get in the car. The tornado chases us. Soon after, I persuade my family to get out of the car. I take the car away from the city and the tornado's closing on me. But as soon as it touches the car, it disappears.
The second dream I had of tornadoes was during a metro journey in a desert. It was only me and my family in the whole metro and we were travelling fairly calmly when suddenly, the sky grows dark. Down comes one tornado. Then two. And they keep coming until they're five. And then they come for me. All of us are huddled in one compartment. The other compartments and the engine are blown away but our compartment's still moving on the track. The tornadoes surround us, but then suddenly, they disappear.
The latest tornado dream I had was yesterday. I was returning from college to home when a warning for a tornado rang out in our city. Dad offered to come and fetch me but I insisted on travelling in the metro. It was evening and the sky was pitch black. When the tornado came, I could see that it wasn't made of dust, but tar. It came very close to the metro tracks and my metro but it dissipated. But then it came back again and I was worried that the metro track will be destroyed. I wouldn't have minded dying in the tornado but I thought I'd die of the fall due to property damage rather than in a tornado and that was not acceptable to me.  Anyway, irrespective of what I wanted, the tornado barreling through the metro without causing any damage. I was in its eye for about a second, but so were the others. The tornado went on to another path, and the metro stopped at the next station. Then I had to call my dad to pick me up. I could see the tornado passing us by through the car window.

Despite these exciting dreams, I live in a pressure zone where the chances of tornadoes are next to zero. All we have here are earthquakes which are so light that I can't even feel them ._.

The Mandatory Superhero Discussion

So, it's been a very long while (a month) since I posted anything. Honestly, I have no clue how I posted what I did last month. I was so freaked out by the prospect of my final exams that I don't remember anything about May except watching Iron Man 3 twice and Bombay Talkies.

Tbh, I'm looking forward to Avengers 2 after Iron Man 3 (No spoilers for anyone, sorry). But before that, I'd love to see Captain America 1 and 2 (yes, I haven't seen Captain America 1. I'm missing out on all the Steve Rogers goodness D:). I'll probably get the first part from one of my friends (ARE YOU READING THIS, SIDDHANT?). I've never exactly been interested in Thor, mostly because he's an alien (I'll come to why I don't like alien superheroes in a while). But I'd like to read the comics at least. He's a part of the Avengers. I should really watch Thor 1 and 2 before Avengers 2. 

So, about why I don't like alien superheroes- I think it's because I like to think of superheroes in a very different way. For me, superheroes don't only have superpowers. They've also got a certain depth and it is that depth that makes them use their powers the way they do. For example, I dislike Batman (No hate please) because I feel that witnessing the murder of his parents does not justify his silent vigilante persona completely. I could understand him trying to avenge the death of his parents. But the fuel does run out, you know. Trying to keep a watch over a city so that 'good' and 'justice' can prevail is something that I cannot imagine without  a reason. I will also inform the readers that I have not seen the Nolan trilogy.

For me, superheroes are ordinary people with extraordinary powers and it is what happens to them as ordinary people that affects what they choose to do with their powers.  For example, Batman might be the justice system himself, but a guy robbing a woman of her jewellery is not personal to him. On the other hand, the villains that Iron Man have always attacked him very personally. I can't imagine anyone fighting for 'good' or 'right', but I can imagine people fighting in accordance with what is right for them at a personal level. I don't think that this makes Iron Man less of a superhero than Batman because a superhero is supposed to stand for an overarching sense of morality. But in today's world, every one has their own moral code and it's hard to label one particular thing as good or evil. That's why superheroes like Batman and Superman (read DC superheroes) don't work for me. 

However, I feel like I'm doing an injustice to Thor by saying that he's not exactly a superhero because he's an alien (and not a human). He might be from outer space, but what gives me the right to say that he's not human? Seeing his and Loki's relationship and how hard he fights for it (because Loki matters to him), I feel that he's perfectly capable of feeling and understanding human emotions. He might be from a great warrior race, but his reasons for fighting are pretty much personal. 

Some people might also attack me from the point of view of Captain America. Captain America has an overarching sense of right and wrong, what with being from the 1940s. But I still think that his reasons for fighting in 2012 are perfectly personal. He fights because that's all he knows that hasn't changed in the 70 years he's been down below. He fights because it gives him a sense of familiarity, even though his enemies seem to be chosen by S.H.I.E.L.D. However, thanks to the dialogues in Avengers, Captain America does not appear as a brainless automaton. He acknowledges that 'Fury has the same blood on his hands as Loki does', but he chooses to eradicate the bigger threat to the lives of people. His choice comes from what he knows to be 'right', and his kind of 'right' is pretty much redundant in today's world. I like the fact that the other characters seek to provide other kinds of 'rights' for the viewers and establish that no 'right' is superior or inferior to any other. Captain America's morality, in this case, becomes just one of the many. That's why I like the 'man out of time' plot of his story :D

I wrote a message to one of my friends during exams about superheroes. It was quite a general statement, but if I find it someday, I'll put it up here. It was very good :P

Till next time, lovelies!