Pennsylvania Democrat State Sen. James Malone authored sexually charged lesbian fan fiction set in a Dungeons & Dragons fantasy world on Tumblr, and deleted the account only after a news outlet started asking questions.
Malone, who represents Pennsylvania's 36th Senate district in Lancaster County, published the stories under the handle "sasquatchwyo73" beginning at least as early as October 2023, Breitbart News reported, citing documentation provided to the outlet. The posts featured recurring female characters named Brylint and Zamkk engaged in romantic and physical encounters woven into a D&D narrative. Once Breitbart News began investigating, Malone scrubbed the account, but a Wayback Machine snapshot captured the content on April 2, 2025.
The revelation puts a fresh spotlight on a freshman Democrat lawmaker who won his seat in a 2025 special election by roughly 500 votes, in a district Donald Trump carried by 15 points in the 2024 general election. Malone also drew attention in 2024 for publicly defending a "Drag Queen Story Hour" event at a public library in Lancaster County aimed at an all-ages audience, calling its cancellation "sad."
The Tumblr posts, dated October 28, 2023, and November 26, 2023, follow two female characters through a fantasy world populated by fictional races, temples, and taverns. But the D&D trappings are window dressing for scenes that repeatedly return to physical intimacy between the two women.
In the October 2023 post, Brylint wakes up in Zamkk's arms after spending the night together. "After their time at the Tavern, they had a bath and more, working out there tenuous partnership," the post reads. The scene ends with Zamkk watching Brylint perform a devotional routine and reflecting that "[s]he had to learn more of this intriguing and enticing female."
The November 2023 entries escalate. One passage describes a "firm wack on the rear which evoked a hiss and no small amount of arousal." Another depicts one character "nibbling" the other's ear. A third recounts "a deep kiss, giggle, and swat" between the two women. A fourth references the pair settling in "after a rather exuberant session" of "intimate time."
Malone has not publicly responded to or denied authorship of the posts. Breitbart News did not describe the specific method by which the documentation linked the "sasquatchwyo73" account to the state senator, and the original Tumblr page now returns nothing, Malone deleted it after the outlet's inquiry.
The deletion itself raises an obvious question: if the account had nothing to do with him, why take it down? Malone has offered no public explanation.
The fan fiction is not the only item in Malone's record that sits uneasily with the voters he represents. In 2024, a "Drag Queen Story Hour" event scheduled at a public library in Lancaster County, intended for an all-ages audience, was cancelled. Malone publicly objected to the cancellation.
"It is sad that this event got negative presentation on it," Malone said at the time. He added: "This kind of come-if-you-want event can provide kids with a broader experience of life in general."
Lancaster County sits in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, home to sizable Amish and Mennonite communities whose socially conservative faith traditions are well known. Malone's enthusiasm for drag queen programming aimed at children in that community stands out, and now lands differently alongside his private creative output on Tumblr.
Democrats have faced increasing scrutiny over personal conduct scandals at the state level. In Maine, a report revealed that Democrat Troy Jackson fathered two children with his second cousin, raising questions about the party's vetting process for its candidates.
Malone did not win his 2025 special election on local name recognition alone. He had heavyweight backing. Gov. Josh Shapiro filmed a video and posted on Facebook in support of Malone's candidacy.
Shapiro's endorsement was emphatic:
"James Malone is the real deal, a thoughtful, commonsense leader who fights for Lancaster County and knows how to get stuff done. We need to reelect Malone for Senate and send him back to the State Senate this November."
DNC Chairman Ken Martin and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also backed Malone's bid. Shapiro, who was considered as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris in 2024 and is widely seen as harboring presidential ambitions for 2028, now has his name attached to a candidate whose Tumblr archive tells a story his endorsement video did not anticipate.
Scandal-plagued Democrats in competitive races are not a new phenomenon. A Fox News poll in Maine's Senate race previously showed the political cost when personal controversies catch up with party-backed candidates.
Malone squeaked into office. His roughly 500-vote margin in the special election came in a district that Trump won by 15 points just months earlier. Before that, Malone had served as mayor of East Petersburg, a small borough in Lancaster County, since 2017.
That thin margin means Malone holds one of the most vulnerable Democratic seats in the Pennsylvania Senate. Voters in the 36th district chose Trump decisively. Whether those same voters knew their new state senator was writing lesbian romance fiction on Tumblr and championing drag queen events for kids at the local library is a question that now answers itself.
Political scandals cut across party lines, an Ohio GOP deadline to replace a congressman amid abuse allegations showed that no party is immune. But the pattern of Democrats quietly pursuing agendas sharply at odds with their constituents' values, then scrubbing the evidence when reporters come calling, has become its own recurring storyline.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar offered another example of that instinct: she stayed silent on Minnesota's billion-dollar fraud scandal for years before attempting to rebrand herself as a fighter against the very misconduct she ignored.
Malone has not confirmed or denied that the Tumblr account belongs to him. He has not explained why the account was deleted. He has not addressed whether his constituents in one of Pennsylvania's most socially conservative districts knew about his online writing. And he has not said whether he sees any tension between his public advocacy for drag queen events for children and his private literary interests.
Shapiro's office, Martin, and Ocasio-Cortez have not publicly addressed the report either.
Voters in Lancaster County did not elect a fan fiction author. They elected someone Gov. Shapiro called "the real deal." The archived Tumblr page suggests the real deal comes with a few chapters the endorsement left out.
