#hashtag eventually

(Ask's context, TLDR in tags, and acknowledgment this is how I'VE come to characterize Rekrap2-- these are my thoughts and not necessarily canon even though i try to keep it semi canon. Also be prepared for rambling but ill try to keep it cohesive-ish. Most of this im talking about s3 to early s7ish)

This practical-ness train of thought comes from just how my characterization process works in the first place, i wont get into it too much as that could be its whole own post, but the gists is that i start by finding facts about how Rekrap2 (the creator) portrays situations and so on. Rek's s6 idea to trap people in sand? A fun experiment and challenge! Jumper accidentally killing Rek by setting off a trap? Ah it's all good dont worry about it! Getting betrayed/ trapped? Paranoid, yes, but ultimately all in good fun/to be expected on a server like lifesteal, it happens-- its expected-- no hard feelings.

Then i ask myself, why would C!Rek do that? I find a way to twist a very meta reasoning into a story perspective. What line of thoughts would make it to where he doesn't really care about betrayals or some big fight or even hold grudges? What is Rek's motivation for being on lifesteal? What makes him seemingly so carefree in a world/story of betrayal and power and death?

In the end i landed on the idea of having a practical way of thinking.

why WOULD Rek hold a grudge on a server like Lifesteal? Why would he fault someone for killing him, trapping him, betraying him when thats the name of the game? in a server they ALL signed up to play, or in a different setting where they were all trapped on the server together anyway, why would he limit who he could talk to because of grudges?

( Rek is also undoubtedly a people person. Even though he's more than willing to do things alone/secretive, he thrives with interaction. (tunnel rats: basically one long game of reverse hidenseek. Pangis recordings, the sand prank, hiring flame to practice fighting). It wouldn't be pratical to cut off people in the server over what was always going to happen anyways right? )

He's not a pushover, ofc if you betray or trap him then he's not just gonna come waltzing up ready to trust you just because he's not holding a grudge. But then on the other side he also isn't going to make it a huge deal.Really he gives what you give him or a little less, he wont return a heavy grudge; its not who he is (it's not practical). He isn't the type to hold month long grudges or try to go out of his way for revenge, he'll most likely just regear and poke fun at it. Practically carefree in a way. Hell he'll probably even resume talking like normal with a reassurance that 'that's how lifesteal is'.

In my head this also gets dragged over to the 'feels' side of things in an interesting way. Unlike players like Zam (ily zam, he's basically Reks polar opposite) who are very emotional and allow themselves to stew in their emotions and grudges-- allow themselves to just FEEL things-- Rek doesn't really do that.

Does it make sense to be upset at a betrayal in a server like Lifesteal, an 'anarchy' server? Is it helpful in any capacity to stew in these 'wrong' emotions, anger and sadness at something that was always going to happen, when he could instead be regearing? When he could be doing something useful? What good does it do him to hold grudges even if wanted to? Grudges don't make him feel good.

Just because he basically shuts down any 'wrong' emotion for himself, he's not emotionless or blind to others emotions/mental state. Just because he's practical doesn't mean he's this robot who does everything right-- Rek doesn't want to be perfect he just wants to be good, useful. He gets and would comfort those going through it emotionally, he gets other people holding grudges, just HE doesn't see the point to them for himself. Doesn't see himself as someone who would be able to rely on someone like that, have that type of connection.

Speaking of connections, of teams, i dont think he really TRUSTS them more as he's more loyal to the idea of them. The sticklers is a great example.He's teamed with them, builds and gears with them, trust they'll have his back in a fight or if he needed materials, but would he really RELY on them for anything personal? In the end they all are kind of just a team in name, always doing their own thing individually most times, until its basically just Rekrap2 there holding out the stickler name despite the other two being inactive. In my made up thoughts i'd say his trust is more like a dogs loyalty. Loyal to his team and them, trusting they'll help him if needed, but ultimately he goes off and does his own thing. He'll come back if called, jump at the chance to hang out, but is loyalty really the same as trust? Would he trust his teammates not to betray him, is that very practical on a sever like this? I'd say not. Tunnel rats even encompasses this idea as well. He has a team in name, with a level of trust while in the tunnels, but they're not a REAL team. They're really just there to have fun, spy on people, be apart of a community without having to bare your soul open and place your undying trust in them.

And so Rek bottles and shoves away any "incorrect" feelings, anything that's not useful to surviving or his new goal, and continues on. This isn't like a super angsty thing, i think it would be more interesting if Rek himself didn't even really realize the extent of his compartmentalizing. he IS happy, most the time, and he truly just wants to have fun and hang out with some friends while doing so, so really him being so practical is a good thing! Keeps him from stewing on useless things, lets him move on and forget.

It's kind of hard to do that with the end of a season. When you're out of interesting ideas, with tensions only rising as most are trying to collect more hearts for themselves or not risk any chance at loosing one. Some don't even come back for the end, the inactiveness being an end before the end. It's hard to stay in that practical mindset with the knoweldge that the servers basically over already and he's left without a role.

( The idea of a big fight to end the season doesn't excite Rekrap, whether it's because its happened too many times before, or he just doesn't care for it in general, its not something worth sticking around for. Sure, he could fight, but is he really fighting for anyone? For any reason? )

I think that's the main anguish of the end of the seasons, not having a purpose, no role to play. And i think because of this he looses this practicalness, becomes more reckless with himself and the server. Being banned doesn't really mean anything if the server will just end in the next couple days anyway. There's no team he needs to participate with, no reason to stay so guarded with nothing to protect. in s3 he tricks Zam into hitting him, withdrawing all but one heart and dying in one swing. He gives them those hearts and his alts acc hearts too despite 'not being on the same team'. But didn't that make things a whole lot more interesting? A spectacle and a hunt to find his hidden hearts. Nothing to keep him tied to the server anymore, just one last fun idea-- one last role in the season.

Three seasons later, s6, there's really no purpose to that type of spectacle. It's not even on his mind although he ends up repeating it in a way. He gets asked by Minute to meet him at spawn to talk about going against teh servers exploiters, something that excites Rek. It's a purpose, a possibly teammate, its something to stick around for. When it turns out to be a trap, minute killing him with an arrow rail canon, he basically just tosses any idea of last minute plans out the window. He hides, turns down picking up his stuff and gear, and instead runs through the world with iron armor and practically nothing to his name. and then he goes in the NETHER, if u ask me this is pretty reckless of him!! but he doesn't worry, doesn't care, bc why should he? Theres not really a point to anything anymore.

And then he accidentally self bans himself, the lava poking him instead of the hearts he dropped to burned, and yeah i can only picture this as being reckless. If he was being careful he wouldve avoided the lava, broken the snow layer, if he didn't try to burn his hearts in the first place he wouldn't have even banned himself on accident. (the whole converstation and scene with woogie could be its own ramble omg i love it so bad sm exposes how rek thinks if u just watch his pov onmnhhhg)

s7 has not ended yet, and ill admit im behind bc of my baconnwaffles warden arc obsession that caught me in october and hasnt left, but it leaves sm to play with his character. Rek having a team with an overarching goal(s)? A team who really works together for the most part? But even so Rek still not relying on them completely? It's hard to unlearn the temporary/surface level trust you put in people, hard to hope for something that would end any differently than everything before has ended. Maybe someone more up to date on s7 could tell me how wrong or right i am and carry on my idea but for now i just play with the early beginnings of s7 and blissfully ignore everything im missing.

Basically, I think the idea of Rek thinking very practical makes for an interesting take and i have ran with it. The idea of surface level trust/not relying comes a lot from the paranoid hcs but i didn't touch on it much here bc i rambled too much. In my characterization i think his paranoidness was much more destabilizing in the early seasons, and is kinda just there as a buzzing reminder in the newer ones.