Max Chapman/Esther Warner
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Max Chapman/Esther Warner |
| Alternative name(s): | |
| Gender category: | Femslash |
| Fandom: | A League of Their Own (TV series) |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | Uncommon |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Maxine "Max" Chapman/Esther Warner is the canonical femslash pairing between Max Chapman and Esther Warner from the TV series A League of Their Own.
Canon
While Max Chapman is a main character and co-lead of the series, Esther does not appear for the first time until episode six, "Stealing Home", where she meets Max at a party held at Bertie Hart's home. The two spend the night dancing and flirting.
In the days after the party, when they meet again, there is some short-lived tension between Esther and Max after a meeting goes awry. They reconcile when Esther pretends to be too injured to pitch, giving Max her chance to pitch for the All-Stars. Max joins Esther on the team and departs with them in the final episode of the season.
Fandom
In fan-works about Max/Esther, fans tend to focus on canon compliant works, sometimes exploring what might happen out on the road with the All Stars, traveling from city to city and finding the places that Bertie told Max were safe for them to go and be out. In GIF sets, which are relatively popular for this pairing on Tumblr, there are often scenes from Bertie's party included.
Despite Max being the dual-protagonist of the show, Max/Esther does not seem to get anywhere near the same amount of attention as Carson/Greta does; there are certainly far less works on AO3, with just 74 works tagged with Max Chapman/Esther Warner and 19 of those "otp: true".
While Esther's late arrival to the season compared with Greta Gill (who was present from the first episode) likely plays some part in this — particular in fanvids, where there is less canonical material to create vids from — fans of Max/Esther have pointed out that Max Chapman as a character receives far less fandom attention as well[1][2]. The lack of focus on Black characters, even when they are main protagonists, is one part of wider discussions about how racism in fandom can appear.
Common Tropes & Themes
- Post-Season One - A number of fan-works focus on Max and Esther's developing relationship while traveling and playing with the All Stars.
- There's only one bed - This is a canonical event, as stated by Esther in the final episode of season one: "Only two girls on the team gotta share a room, and there's only one bed. So... Don't be too long". Fans were, of course, happy to oblige this trope inclusion in their fan-works.
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan fic
- opening and emptying by bubulcitate - Max and Esther adjust to life together on the road.
Fan art
- A study of Max and Esther by vafrosaon
GIF sets
Fan vids
- Max & Esther | Just the Two of Us by anya bantik
Other fanworks
Archives and Communities
Other Fannish Resources
(Rec Lists, Big Bangs, Thing-a-thons, Holiday Exchanges, wiki links, etc.)