well said
Griever is a ring that depicts a higher consciousness that Squall embodies. A ring represents a vow, or psychological loop that manifests as the time compression event.
I think of Griever as Squall's Stay-puft marshmallow man except in this case Squall wasn't thinking of a (supposed to be)harmless being but rather the most powerful guardian foce. Ultimecia knows that Squall regards Griver as the most powerful GF. As previously referenced from the scan, it seems to be public knowledge:I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us. Mr. Stay Puft! - Ray
Griever
In Squall's mind, the strongest GF.
I think Ultimecia wanted to intimidate Squall by forcing him to face what he regarded as the most powerful force. At least in the GF world.
Griever was probably one of my favorite bosses in that whole game. The look, the music and the difficulty were all great.
I'm gonna go ahead and play devils advocate and say that Squall IS Griever. When Squall dies he becomes a GF and in contrast to the R=U theory, he promised to always protect Rinoa and be her knight even if she is the worlds enemy
ROYALE WITH CHEESE
The question of 'what is a GF' has always kinda troubled and confused me. I still have the facts about their nature and source down in my head to this day, and it annoys me that they seem so inconsistent:
- GFs can be drawn from living things. The living things GFs are initially drawn from don't seem capable of summoning them.
- GFs appear to feed on the memories of their users, or at least cause memory loss if junctioned for a long time.
- They're somewhat mortal, so they can die. But they don't seem to age, either. See Bahamut, who had been sitting around collecting dust for centuries... same for the brothers Sacred and Minotaur.
- Like Sacred and Minotaur, they don't seem to die with their users. They don't need a human mind in order to exist, so they're not brain monsters.
- Are the non-junctionable GFs actually GFs?? I mean, this actually includes Moombas, MiniMog, Chocobos and GILGAMESH.
- You draw Cactuar from Jumbo Cactuar and Tonberry from Tonberry King. Siren, sorta wind elemental seeming, is drawn from Elvoret, a wind elemental, and Griever is (presumably) drawn from Squall. This would make one assume that they're extensions of the self, but AGAIN, they can be drawn from multiple sources (Eden can either be drawn from Tiamat or Ultima Weapon) and sometimes their sources aren't even living things (Doomtrain has to be assembled with items).
- They can be junctioned, transferred digitally, and stored in a database like data, but they definitely have a physical form as well.
Using this knowledge I can at least assume that GFs aren't really Gods, but they are godlike in that they seem to link themselves to certain beings and kind of define their traits, like a zodiac. So to the real point; is Griever an extension of Squall's mind/soul? Did he make Griever up with his wishes and deepest darkest secrets? Uh... probably not. But he might be Squall's 'zodiac creature', at least.
Jodo's probably got a good idea there, though. It's not like we know HOW GFs are made. For all we know, they are like Aeons, and Griever is like Squall's berserkified future self after he's died.
Well, they are not really the same kind of GF, especially Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is just Gilgamesh, multiversally travelling through the rift to collect swords (Final Fantasy XII, where it was introduced that he wanders through dimensions) until he dies by sacrificing himself (Final Fantasy V). He is just a gag character who has a connection to the multiverse.
Griever is a mental embodiment of everything Squall wants to be: brave, strong, powerful. Squall is obsessed with lions, that's why Griever has the shape of one, only much more powerful.
Ultimecia takes the concept of Griever out of Squall's head (let's remember her powers to read & manipulate the minds of people) and grants it "life". If you remember Krysta, it was originally a simple jewel.
I think what she wanted to do was corrupt what Squall held in the highest regard, what he aimed to become and, in a way, what was his way of life. That was a low blow, imo.