Back to Sunset Valley, Part 1: The Landgraabs

We're back in Sunset Valley to be able to link to the stories we left pending. We'll start with one of the most important families in the city, the Landgraabs/Langeraks. Yes, two famous families which ended up united thanks to Clifford Landgraab and a Megan Langerak, whose story we can review in the Landgraab tag.

Although Megan and Clifford are elders now, they're still as in love as the first day they met.

Even at their age they still have fun together and they're still supporting their children, since none of the two has stopped working. Clifford in on the Game Developer career, as a Games Studio Director; and Megan is in the Alchemist career as a Senior Alchemist.

Their son Eric is already an adult, their daughter Sugar and Leah, young adults. Sugar has just enrolled in the University, in the Fine Arts career. Her sister will enroll soon too.

Fortunately for them, there's a local University in Sunset Valley, it's the Community College which opened recently, giving the young locals the oportuniy to study a university career without having to leave their city. This will allow the Landgraab youngsters to continue living with their parents while they prepare for the future. How convenient. :)

He's Sugar, on her way to her first day of school at the Sunset Valley Community College.

The first person he ran into upon arrival was her cousin Paul Bachelor, to whom she's related on the Langerak's side. Long story.

That same day she met as well the guy who is her boyfriend now: Jon Lothario, son of Don Lothario and Cassandra Goth.

Sugar and Jon fell in love at the moment they saw each other.

And their romance continues to this date, although they aren't a steady couple yet.

Like I said before, Eric is an adult already, but he haven't been able to find a job. He didn't graduate from the University either, he left halfway through his Physical Education career cause he isn't sure of what he really wants to do. He had a hard time finding a girlfriend too.

But not long ago, during the Fall Festival, he met Stacey Keaton, the daughter of Ari Keaton and Cristina Bunch, or rather Christina Langerak, which means Eric and Stacey are relatives. Distant, that is. But Sunset Valley is such a small town, and there are such a few families, that it is hard not to end up in the same family tree, although not directly related.

Of course, the family doesn't approve of Eric dating a relative, even if it's a distant one.

But Eric plans to go ahead, I mean, why not? Both he and Stacey are the fourth generation of Langeraks, that makes them third cousins, or fourth? No idea. The thing is, they're not close relatives. Period.

Plus, Eric had such a hard time finding love that he's not willing to let it go. Neither he, nor Stacey are teenagers anymore, they better hurry if they want to start a family.

They say there will be a wedding soon... we'll see about that.

Jon and Sugar. They do not have any concerns. They live their romance to the fullest without thinking about things like marraige and family. All in due time, but...  Here is a 'but' too: Sugar's family is concerned that Jon is a Lothario. With the his father Don's reputation, you know...

But Sugar doesn't have absolutely no issues with that.

Just in case, Clifford prefers to be near when Jon visits Sugar at home. Better safe than sorry.

As for Leah, there isn't much to tell, she hasn't enrolled in the University yet, nor has she found a partner. It's very  likely that she will follow the Fine Arts career like her sister, cause her lifetime wish is to be a Master of the Arts. And she will probably find a boyfriend soon, since she's very sociable and have lots of friends.

Here we see Leah at the Fall Festival, about to start the fun with other members of her family. Her mother Megan; her brother Erick, and her uncle Robert, who recently moved from Island Paradise with his wife Camille, to be near his youngest son, Antoine Langerak.

Just like Clifford, Megan is worried about the future of her children, but she tries not to interfere too much with their lives.

She seeks to concentrate in her own business, like Alchemy and her passion for horse riding.

She still keeps her old steed, Baron, who no longer run in races, but he was a champion in his time and will always be.

Now the family is training another future champion, her new horse King. And in passing, Eric tries to learn to ride. Since he didn't do very well at the University, Megan thought maybe he would like to become a jockey.

But riding isn't really Eric's calling and that was demonstrated from his first lessons. Perhaps Leah want to give it a try later.

And that's what we know about the Landgraabs so far. They're not rich, they're not poor, they're just happy. Who knows, maybe some day the kids will inherit their grandfather Malcom's fortune.

But Clifford prefers not to count on that. He never needed his father and grandfather's money; his children probably won't need it either... Or so he hopes.

What Happened With Emily Core and her Children

What happened with Emily Core after her husband Dean Lothario left? Well, had to raise her family on her own, and she didn't do so bad. She developed the Logic, Cooking, Athletic and Handiness skills; she worked hard in her Law Enforcement career, becoming a Crime Scene Technician, one of the highest positions in the Sunset Valley Police Department, where she is respected and esteemed by her workmates.

In additon to being an excellent investigatorm, Emily is also an excellente mother. She knew how to teach their children well and won their love. They are all teens now, except for Ron, who is alreqady a young adult. In the picture, Emily with her children, from left to right: Ron, Zach, Kat and Frank. 

Ron is the oldest, his traits are: workoholic, genius, angler and friendly. His best friends are Dominic and Fulton Bachelor, and his brother Zack. Ron is looking for a girlfriend, there is no candidate at the door yet. He just enrolled in the local University in the Science and Medicine career.

He had advanced his Invention, Athletic and Logic skills, and his dream is to be a scientist and an inventor, like his grandfather Don, whom he admires, although he doesn't get along with his wife Dina. But he feels a great affection for his grandmother Cassandra Goth. Ron has been a great support for her mother; for him, Dean (his father) ceased to exist the moment he left, now his father figures are his grandfather and Antoine, his mother's best friend and workmate.

Franks is the second son, he's the one who resented Dean's abscence the most, because he was very attached to him, and because he's not as sociable as Ron. He's rather rebellious and complicated, his traits are Natural Cook, Clumsy, Evil and Lucky. He's developed the Athletic and Social Network skills - what a combination! His best friends are his brother Zack, Nadia Strong and Allison McCoy (daugher of the explorer Allister McCoy). He likes Allison a lot, but she is now Orlando Langerak's girlfriend. Orlando is his mother's workmate Antoine's oldest son.

This is Zach, he's a teen too, more relaxed than Frank. He wasn't affected by his father's abandonment, since he was always more attached to Emily. His traits are: Hypersensible, Couch Potato, Easy to Impress and Artistic. His skills (though not quite developed) are Cooking and Social Network. Obviously, he rather play video games than to study, that's why he's not doing very well at school. His best friends are his brothers Ron and Frank, and  Marcel Langerak (Antoine's second son). For the time being, no girl has stolen his heart.

Last, but not least, this is Kat, the living portrait of Emily. She's active and ambitious, her dream is to be a businesswoman or a police woman like her mother. Her traits are: Brave, Great Kisser, Perfectionist, Athletic and Social Network. Her best friend is Misty McCoy (Allison's sister), and recently, she started a romance with Marcel Langerak, Zach's best friend, son of Special Agent Antoine Langerak, her mother's colleague.

As you can see, life went on for Emily, and although she hopes Dean will come back someday, for now she finds support in Antoine's friendship, which has grown along with her feelings for him. Antoine has had some problems in his marriage, and the attraction they feel for each other is evident, but none of the two has corssed the line of the strictly platonic... yet.

Not long ago, Emily got a letter from Dean, asking her for a divorce. He said he needed it cause he wanted to marry his new girlfriend, Cassandra Steele.

He also informed Emily that he wouldn't be able to continue  sending her money to mantain the house, cause he has to take care of his 'new family'  in Island Paradise.

The news came as a shock to Emily, not because of Dean himself, (he's a closed case already, and bit she has gradually forgotten him), but because of her children who still need his financial support. Other than that, she has no objection to sign the divorce, the sooner the better, there is only one thing that she would like to know...

His new girlfriend and wife-to-be, this Cassandra woman... does she know that Dean had four children? Does she know Ron, Frank, Zach and Kat exist? If she doesn't, she'll have to inform her. But Emily doesn't know her phone number or her adress... How to find out to go look for her?

Fortunately, her best friend, Special Agent Antoine Langerak offered her his help. But when Emily mentioned Cassandra's name and where she lived, Antoine knew they were talking about his cousin Tony Langerak's wife. Antoine of course know her adress and phone number, so he promised to Emily that he would talk to her, but first, he needed to inform Tony what he was about to do. Just in case.

Antoine has no idea how Tony is going to react to this. Maybe he is not married to Cassandra anymore, but it's no secret to anyone in Island that he's still in love with Cassandra; that he protects her and is looking out for her and his son, Bradley. Let that Dean guy get ready if he's cheated on Cass, cause he's going to be in serious trouble! 

This is where the series Sunset Valley Memories ends, since the purpose of this prequel was to arrive to the present time, to the point where the Sunset Valley and Island Paradise link up. Soon we'll know what happened with Cassandra and Dean, but first we'll see what had been happening at the island before Cassandra decided to marry Dean, and before Antoine talked to Tony.

The End of the Lothario-Core Family

For a while, everything went smoothly for Dean and Emily. She had left her job temporarily to take care of her childre; he had gotten a new job in the Politics Career as a Ballot Counter. It wasn't the best of salaries, but they were getting by, Ron was a happy child...

Frank was growing without issues, he even had learned to walk.

Everything was harmony in the Lothario-Core household... Until Emily announced to Dean that she was pregnant for the third time.

And shortly after, Zach Lothario came into the world.

Dean started to worry. They had three kids already, and his salary was barely enough to support them, although, luckily, they were growin healthy and happy.

   

Oblivious to his father's worries, and in the company of his brothers, Frank enjoyed of his own birthday party.

And became a child.

Then Zack grew up as well and they had to buy bunk beds so the three kids would fit in their tiny bedroom.

Ron was glad he didn't have to sleep alone. Now Frank and Zach kept him company.

But later, Ron became a teen and moved to his own room.

Then he asked his father to teach him to drive, Dean accepted on the condition that Ron would help his mother with the grocery shopping and other house chores.

And that he would take care of his younger brothers in the afternoons, so that Emily could rest.

For a while, peace reigned at the Lotharios' home, but then Emily announced that she was pregnant for the fourth time. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Dean didn't say anything, but started to be more and more absent, partly because he had to work overtime to earn more money. But also because, for some time now, he had stopped feeling happy.

At the beginning, Dean's abscence didn't affect Emily, cause she was busy taking care of the children, but some time later, Frank and Zach became teens, began to stand on their own, and she started to have a lot of free time.

She still had to look after Kat, her youngest daughter, who, by the way, was very cheerful and independent.

She had even open her own business, a lemonade stand.

Kat was good with the numbers, just like Dean.

And she knew how to win over her customers, cause she was smart and very charismatic. It was a shame that her father wasn't there to see her.

Suddenly one night, Dean didn't return from work anymore. Emily waited for him until dawn, thinking he had had some kind of mishap at work. But Dean didn't show up, and shortly after, Emily got a letter from him, telling her that he couldn't take it anymore, so he had to leave. He didn't say where, he just asked for forgiveness and promised he'd come back as soon as he had something better to offer to her. Emily was devastated. Now, what was she going to tell her kids?