one might also take note of how Aranea describes the rings --
firstly, she describes them as "near identical" (when we see they're in fact totally identical -- the above picture I think it representational rather than literal, but whenever we see them in the comic they're exactly the same) with "different origins" but then immediately admits there IS no true origin to the Ring of Life. She goes on to describe the "f8 of each ring" as "entangled with the other" -- "When one is lost, the other is serendipitously found".
I remember even the very first time I read this page thinking, "Wow, it sure does sound like she's clueless and the rings are in fact the same" -- In the picture of the rings when Aranea's describing them they're literally depicted as physically linked between each other -- as I said, I think this panel is representational rather than literal, but it does sort of demand the reader to consider in what way these two rings might be connected -- and whether that might be a literal, physical link.
I see no reason why this might not be one ring, a single Ring of Life and Void whose properties are dependent on circumstance. I mean, where else have we seen this before on MS Paint Adventures Dot Com?
Also, check this out: within Homestuck proper, as far as I can remember, only six people have worn the(se) ring(s) -- Roxy and Caliborn wore the Ring of Void,
whereas Gamzee, Aranea and Calliope wore the Ring of Life.
Noticing a pattern? Roxy and Caliborn are Derse dreamers, whereas Gamzee, Aranea & Calliope are Prospit dreamers. The Draconian Dignitary is the other person, and he's a memebr of the Dersite court who also used the Ring of Void, so that tracks to me with my theory too -- what if the ring has different properties based primarily on who is using it rather than "which one"?
As of the Epilogues, Meenah (who is a Derse dreamer) also uses the Ring of Life -- but I feel like this is an exception that proves the rule. After all -- she is a Thief of Life; if anybody could steal the Ring of Life from a Prospit player and utilise its powers that way, it would surely be her.
When I was compiling the points for this post I also realised that the basic events of Homestuck contradict Aranea's interpretation of the rings -- we do literally see both iterations of the ring simultaneously in the struggle towards the lead up to Game Over, only mere pages apart. If Aranea's belief about one ring being lost whilst the other is found were true, this wouldn't be the case -- but if they are a single object travelling circuitously across paradox space like many magical artefacts, suddenly it makes perfect sense. This also fits in perfectly with what we already know of jujus; they are supposedly unique and if copies exist, then these are exceptions that paradox space will soon correct, often seemingly through chance encounters (like "losing" a copy -- this happens to Dirk, even!)
In THAT case, that would validate both my theory AND Aranea's theory about the rings -- if the rings are a single object then the brief moments where they co-exist are accounted for by paradox's snaking histories (ala Lil Cal in Dave's apartment at the same time as his dreams) by being later/earlier in its own timeline, but ultimately corrected by paradox space to appear "lost" to the average observer -- especially, it seems, the audience.
Interestingly, I went to check where Roxy loses the Ring of Void (when it next turns up it's in Caliborn's masterpiece) and it turns out the answer is "during trickster mode" -- the last time we see it is when Roxy's trying to slip it onto Dirk's finger, and Gamzee is indeed present, so I guess this begs a series of crazy questions: did he pilfer the ring from our inebriated friend to deliver to Caliborn? Was Gamzee -- under the control of both Serket Senior and Lil Cal -- briefly in possession of both (iterations of) the ring(s) simultaneously, before Aranea took the Ring of Life back from him? And, if the Ring of Life and Void are indeed one object, does that explain how Gamzee was unable to be killed by Caliborn during his session? Was Gamzee delivering the Ring of Void -- perhaps acting as a Ring of Life under his possession -- to Caliborn when he unleashed his violence upon him?
I'm not sure, but this has given me a lot to think about!
