Original-Universe Trolls confirmed for having even crazier hair than their reset counterparts. That shit is nuts.
The Homestuck Universe is fucking close to Hell.
Its Inhabitants have no individual freedom, since their actions are not only predestinated (which in itself arguably invalidates free will-or not) but forced unto them by the Alpha-timeline. Every attempt to break out of the destinated path only makes it happen and-in the most cases- kills you, your friends and your timeline, until no spectators are left.
The Heroes of our story are human only in upbringing. They are a paradox, life created out of nothing, randomly taking human form. As far as we know. they are carefully isolated from society- if such a thing even exists in HS- alone with their internet friends and a parent with varying competence. It's no wonder that Earth's annihilation has barely affected them.
While their origins as living paradoxes does make the protagonists
slightly harder to conceptualize, I don't see where it makes them any more difficult to relate to. They're like almost any other fantastical heroes, born of the heavens themselves and never knowing it until thrown into a coming-of-age adventure.
I hear people complain about this lack of reaction to Earth's annihilation, but think about it. They are definitely dysfunctional people. They are Internet stereotypes given human form, and are slowly fleshed out into complete figures. Giving them dimension made most of the characters considerably more depressing to contemplate what their lives were probably like, especially the Kids if you piece together all the clues and carry them to a logical conclusion. But then what do you have? Eight kids (and twelve aliens) for whom "real life" did them no favors, who considered people they had never seen in person their best friends, wake up one day to watch the world end, and by the time they can process that fact with all of their thirteen years of life experience, have become living gods. How would you react?
The predetermination I can swallow for two reasons. One is that the characters rage mightily against it, which makes it a lot more tangible and emphatic. But I suppose the main reason is just my interpretation of the story. Especially with Aranea hinting about how the real "villain" of the story is much bigger question than just English or Jack, there's only one endpoint I can think of that would be worthy to end the story on. The destruction of destiny. Somewhere beyond all these big spacetime controlling entities is a way to end it all, and the characters will finally do exactly what the game promised them in the first place, making a new world (however literally) with no one to tell them what to do.