You can stop X then and run from CLI. Even in runlevel 5. You'll have to get a text based browser though to FReep, and you'll miss out on the pic intensive threads, but what the hey.
I don't know why you have a problem with X though. You have a choice of window managers. And SSHing into another system with X redirection allows you to run any GUI app from that machine, with the UI displayed on yours with no problems what-so-ever. No resource intensive VNC required.
I do it all the time, while I'm sitting on my couch with the laptop FReeping, and playing MP3's on my desktop via Amarok UI redirection. X is quite versatile.
You know, that gives me an idea... I've got a copy of DesqView/X, still in the box, in my basement... And I've got an ancient 486 system with 32MB of RAM that still boots... I'll bet I could load up MS-DOS 6.22 on it and use it as an Xterm...
It would be an interesting experiment to play with, but I'm just too busy for that sort of nonsense right now.
Mark