Opalvira

Opalvira is the femslash ship between Kuvira and Opal from The Legend of Korra fandom.

Canon
The events in Book 4 are important to this relationship though their relationship begins earlier on. Opal and Kuvira are connected through their relationship to Suyin Beifong, though the extent of their relationship is ambiguous.

Kuvira was the guard captain in Zaofu and a dancer on Opal's mother dance troupe. The first time the audience was able to see Kuvira and Opal interact, however, was in Book 4 where it is clear that Opal and Kuvira's relationship is full of animosity. Opal sides with her mother regarding Kuvira abandoning her responsibilities in Zaofu and taking Baatar Jr. to 'unite' the Earth Empire. Meanwhile, Kuvira is focused on swaying Opal to her side while hiding the 'hard truths' of her regime.

The second time they interact is when Kuvira moves to invade Zaofu during Kuvira and Korra's first fight. Opal's bitterness towards and past knowledge of Kuvira also reveals itself when she advises Korra that Kuvira is trying to frustrate her into making a mistake. Kuvira wins the battle and takes Zaofu along with Opal's family, while Opal flies away. The moment is reminiscent of that of Opal in Book 3 flying away to begin her training as an air nomad while Kuvira, in one of the few moments she's present in Book 3, calls for the domes to be secured.

The third time Kuvira and Opal arguably could have interacted was when Kuvira attempted to kill Zhu Li, and by extension Opal and Bolin, a death only prevented by Baatar Jr. However, Opal and Kuvira do share a number of insights about each other and do generally behave in ways which suggest a deeper relationship. They are uniquely able to pinpoint each other's insecurities, for example.

During the battle for Zaofu, Kuvira suggests that Bolin and Opal are growing apart, something Opal worries about in the first episode of Book 4. Opal, on the other hand, is able to name Kuvira's exact fatal flaw which Korra is able to empathize with at the end of Book 4 - namely that Kuvira's motivation is not equality or a stronger Earth Nation but control. Furthermore, despite Opal calling for Korra to put Kuvira out of commission repeatedly, when Korra is likely about to kill or gravely injure her Opal steps forward, with an expression that suggests that she cares for Kuvira more than she lets on. One of the few times Kuvira smiles in the entirety of the series is when she is interacting with Opal in the beginning of Book 4 while she's attempting to cajole her to her side.

Three months later, as seen in Ruins of the Empire, it's shown that Opal still harbors resentment towards Kuvira for her actions, as she made a snide remark about the former regarding brainwashing people, also Opal told Bolin that Kuvira rejected her attempts at friendship when they were kids, to which Kuvira told Bolin to not believe everything Opal told him, which was later proved to be true as in one of Kuvira's flashbacks, it was shown that in their childhood Kuvira and Opal didn't get along as the former tried to make the latter to get out of her room and later crushed her metal dollhouse with her bending when Opal refused to let her play with it, and Opal in turn calls for her mother who scolded Kuvira, to which Opal critized her mother for being soft on her, but Suyin tells her to give her sister some slack as she had been through difficult times and an angry Opal replied that Kuvira wasn't her sister, going so far to calling her "a stray dog that not even her parents wanted", which was overheard by a hurt Kuvira.

When Kuvira escaped from Zaofu to stop commander Guan, Opal quickly thought that Kuvira took advantage of her mother's goodwill and betrayed them again. But she was proven wrong as Kuvira got Guan to surrender once and for all, and in Kuvira's trial for her genuine remorse and help for stopping Guan, Kuvira's sentence was changed to house arrest in the Beifong home in Zaofu, to which Opal finally forgave Kuvira and told her that despite her not being born as a Beifong, she'll always be a part of their family.

Fanon
Ultimately, most people began shipping these two based on the first episode of Book 4 when Kuvira put her hand on Opal's shoulder since this is the only moment where they actually interact. However, there are many reasons to enjoy the dynamic in canon and in more fleshed out fanon. Some people believe that Kuvira lived in the Beifong household, and had a pseudo-sisterly relationship with Opal and the other Beifong children including Baatar. Others believe that Kuvira merely lived in the city itself and had more of an acquaintanceship with the Beifongs with the exception of Suyin. Others believe a combination of the above, while others choose to focus more on the possibility of their personalities in a modern AU setting devoid of the politics. However, there's much to be enjoyed about in the dynamic of their relationship, as ill-defined as it is in canon, with the clashing of fierce and opposing moralities.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Opal/Kuvira tag on FanFiction.net
 * Opal/Kuvira tag on FanFiction.net

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * The name for this ship was coined by fanfiction user, IamthecreatorofOpalvira.