#david cain being associated with rain and tears... ajksbfakb

[casscainmainly]

This is not really anything coherent but I was thinking about Cass and Shiva's trip in the water in Batgirl (2024) #6:

And how water, particularly drowning, is associated with parenthood and relationships for Cass. Here, her drowning, and her choice to take Shiva's hand, symbolises their distant relationship (Shiva on land while Cass is in the water) and how she has to decide whether to trust Shiva's actions or not. She does - she takes Shiva's hand, which foreshadows the ending of this issue where Cass accepts their mother-daughter relationship and the "ties that bind" them.

This calls back to Batgirl (2000) #50, where Cass and Bruce plunge into the water after their fight:

Bruce and Cass enter the water together - even when they're fighting (like they were in this issue), they're in sync. And they choose to bend towards each other, achieving the contact that Cass longed for from David Cain (Horrocks-era David at least). They then both rise out of the water together, signifying they've both learned/accepted something about each other: Bruce is seeing her for who she is, not who he wants her to be, and Cass is learning how to love and be loved by Bruce without subsuming herself in him. After this Bruce and Cass never have a serious fight again, and it's a nice development after Bruce's earlier behaviour and misunderstandings.

With Babs, the water moment is a bit less focal but still poignant:

Batgirl (2000) #52

Babs, under the spell of Poison Ivy's garden, attacks Cass and pushes her into the water. Cass manages to rescue her, and after Babs comes to her senses she apologises to Cass and they hug. It's a snapshot of what's to come in their relationship, where Babs hurts Cass by calling her stupid. This moment is full of the pain Babs has caused Cass, but also their closeness; this panel of them looking at each other is just so good, and they're so intimate throughout this. And it ends with a loving hug. They've been separated a lot, but at the end of the day they always find a way back to each other.

David Cain is the only one who doesn't have a moment like this. If anything, he's associated with the air - from Cass jumping out a window with him in her first appearance to stargazing, it's more about the sky for him and Cass. So it's no surprise his big moment happens in the rain:

It's just so interesting to see the differences. Shiva saves Cass, Bruce and Cass both swim up together, Cass saves Babs, and Cass fails to save David. Cass' failure to save David symbolises that their relationship isn't one that can be salvaged, no matter how much either of them still love or care about each other. What David did to Cass is unforgivable; they will never have a moment like the rest.

The water motif of course also ties into Cass' relationship with Stephanie, with 2/3 death hallucinations occurring in the water (and the first one is particularly important, since Cass' decision to live is directly tied to her swimming out of the ocean). But that could be a post for another day, I just think it's cool to see how water figures as a prominent symbol in a lot of Cass' relationships!