INT. IZZY CORTEZ’S TOWNHOUSE – NIGHT
Dimly lit, wine gsses half full, the mood tense and reflective. The three assemblywomen—Izzy Cortez, Sofia Nguyen, Jasmine Flores—gather in Izzy’s living room, no staff, no phones. Just quiet music pying and the weight of a decision pressing down.
SOFIA NGUYEN
(sitting forward, voice low)
“We built our whole campaign around women’s autonomy. Femme households. Matriarchal reform. And now… we’re supposed to vote for a plural marriage w?”
JASMINE FLORES
(bitterly)
“Which literally enshrines male-centered family power. We know what this is. We watched it unfold in the 6C states. The same script.”
IZZY CORTEZ
(quietly swirling her wine)
“Except this time, we’re not protesting it. We’re advancing it. With our votes.”
Silence.
SOFIA
“I don’t understand the game anymore. 6C wanted us to stir up the femme group w talk. So we did. Loudly. Made it viral. Now, Republicans went even further—polygamy, max three wives per man—and we’re being told to back them and tank our own party’s bill?”
JASMINE
(shaking head)
“It’s almost like... they wanted this outcome all along.”
IZZY
(ftly)
“They did.”
The other two look at her.
IZZY (cont’d)
“They wanted to provoke the Right. Reverse psychology. Get the GOP to overextend and normalize their social model through ‘opposition.’ Then use us to make it bipartisan.”
SOFIA
(sighs, deeply conflicted)
“Even if that’s true... we’re traitors to the movement. We built something feminist—then abandoned it for the patriarchs.”
JASMINE
(stares at her wine)
“Then why do I still feel owned?”
IZZY
(pinly)
“Because we are. Each of us got a hundred million. Azure Tide Aquaculture was 6C. We know that now.”
SOFIA
“And if we don’t follow through, they’ll burn us.”
JASMINE
(softly)
“Or worse—repce us.”
IZZY
(leans back)
“Let’s be honest. With 100 million each… we don’t need the Democrats anymore. We don’t need anyone.”
SOFIA
(slow nod)
“No party can match that. No donor network can touch it.”
JASMINE
(bitter smirk)
“Congratutions, dies. We just got bought by a ghost empire.”
IZZY
(stands, raising her gss)
“To the new reality.”
SOFIA & JASMINE
(softly clinking gsses)
“To the pn.”
They drink, the room silent again, heavy with ambition and betrayal.
***
INT. UPSCALE AUSTIN CAFE – LATE AFTERNOON.
Morgan Yates sits at a shaded corner booth with a confident smile, sipping a hibiscus iced tea. Across from her is her old college friend, RYAN CAVANAUGH, a clean-cut Republican policy advisor in his mid-30s, known within party circles as the quiet architect behind the current social reform bills.
RYAN CAVANAUGH
(grinning)
“Didn’t think I’d see the great Morgan Yates back in Texas politics—at least not sitting across from a Republican.”
MORGAN YATES
(teasing)
“Oh please, I’m not back in politics. Just curious. You know I’ve always had a soft spot for bold policy experiments.”
RYAN
(sips coffee)
“Well, you’re in luck. We’re cooking up something bold enough to make the whole country talk.”
MORGAN
(nods)
“I’ve read the draft—the Plural Marriage and Femme Household Reform Act, right? Catchy.”
RYAN
(smiles)
“Yeah, we decided to merge both reforms. One big package. Shows a united vision.”
MORGAN
(casually, but with intent)
“Hm. But isn’t that risky? Tying polygamy and femme households into one bill? You’re alienating both sides at once.”
RYAN
(leans back)
“We thought about that. But we want to make a cultural statement, not just a legal change.”
MORGAN
(faux thoughtful)
“Sure, but from what I’ve heard, your female base is already nervous. The plural marriage angle freaks them out. You separate the bills? Suddenly, Femme Group reform sounds empowering. You pass something without the media confting it with wives competing for one guy.”
RYAN
(pauses, intrigued)
“You think separating them improves passage chances?”
MORGAN
(smiles warmly)
“Not just passage. Optics. Let plural marriage be debated on its own merit. Let Femme Group ws build a female-led success story. Right now, it's all one noisy tangle.”
RYAN
(frowning slightly)
“The leadership’s banking on momentum. But… if we get too much internal backsh…”
MORGAN
(sincerely)
“I’m just giving friendly advice. I want you to succeed. You’ll get both through—just not in the same box.”
RYAN
(slow nod)
“I’ll take that back to the team. Might be worth splitting the package.”
MORGAN
(sips her tea)
“Smart man.”
As they stand to leave, Morgan’s smile lingers—polished, practiced, pleased.
***
INT. TEXAS STATE CAPITOL – REPUBLICAN STRATEGY ROOM – NIGHT
The air is tense but focused. Seated around a long table are key members of the Texas Republican leadership—House Majority Leader Chuck Redding, State Senate Whip Janice Holloway, and several legistive aides. Ryan Cavanaugh, calm but deliberate, stands at the front with a ptop open.
CHUCK REDDING
(curt)
“So what’s this I hear about you wanting to unbundle our damn signature bill, Ryan?”
RYAN CAVANAUGH
(smoothly)
“Not unbundle. Strategically divide. The polling’s clear: the polygamy cuse energizes male voters, but it’s tanking us with suburban women and moderates.”
JANICE HOLLOWAY
(arms crossed)
“And you think splitting the bills changes that?”
RYAN
“It gives us flexibility. Let the Plural Marriage Reform Act stand alone—keep the three-wife limit. But pass the Femme Group Household Act separately. Market it as pro-women, pro-independence. It softens our image.”
AIDE 1
“But won’t the media just say we’re copying 6C anyway?”
RYAN
“They already are. But two separate bills let us manage the narrative. If one gets backsh, the other survives. Right now? It’s all-or-nothing.”
CHUCK
(grimaces, thinking)
“We did originally pn two drafts. Bundled them ter to ‘unify the message.’ Maybe that was too ambitious.”
JANICE
(sighs)
“We can’t lose the base. But we do need to keep women from jumping ship entirely. Maybe this buys us time.”
CHUCK
(nods reluctantly)
“Alright. Two bills. Keep the plural marriage cap at three. Push Femme Group ws next week, market it as female-empowering. Let’s see who bites.”
RYAN
(grinning)
“I’ll get the revised drafts ready tonight.”
JANICE
(to Chuck, low)
“If this works, we beat the Democrats at their own game and keep the alpha crowd happy.”
CHUCK
(smiles thinly)
“God bless Texas.”
***
INT. TEXAS DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS – STRATEGY ROOM – MORNING
A roundtable discussion is underway. State party chair Luis Herrera, communications director Ange Kim, and a group of senior strategists are watching the test news coverage in stunned silence.
NEWS CLIP (TV)
“…The Texas GOP has now officially split its controversial proposal into two bills: the Plural Marriage Reform Act, allowing up to three wives per husband, and the Femme Group Household Act, which would legalize all-female, non-marital cooperative living arrangements…”
ANGELA KIM
(irritated)
“This is calcuted. They're co-opting both our feminist base and their male base in one move.”
LUIS HERRERA
(bitter)
“They’re scrambling to outfnk us on both ends. We spent years nurturing the equity narrative, and now the GOP’s spping a new bel on it—with 6C-style packaging.”
In the corner, Rep. Jasmine Flores, Rep. Sofia Nguyen, and Rep. Izzy Cortez sit side-by-side, unusually silent.
STRATEGIST 1
(curious)
“Funny how this ‘Femme Group’ idea suddenly appears in GOP nguage after our three reps spent weeks pushing it…”
ANGELA
(suspicious)
“Yeah… Jasmine? Sofia? Izzy? You were the first ones to bring this to the table. Any clue how the Republicans picked it up so quickly?”
JASMINE FLORES
(smoothly)
“Guess they’re finally listening to women. Shame it had to come bundled with polygamy.”
SOFIA NGUYEN
(quietly)
“They’re trying to rebrand patriarchy as liberation. It’s… twisted.”
IZZY CORTEZ
(forceful, but evasive)
“What matters is we respond. We propose our Femme Group model—no marriage, no patriarchs, just women supporting women.”
The three exchange a tense gnce. They suspect the truth. This calcuted GOP maneuver feels too perfect—like someone orchestrated the whole thing.
They each think the same thing but none dare say it out loud:
This smells like 6C.
LUIS HERRERA
“Fine. We double down. We draw a line. Call their bluff. Make this a referendum on patriarchy vs real empowerment.”
The trio nod in agreement… but deep down, they know they’re pying a rigged game.
