Explanation on the R=U theory?

[Moon Rabbits]

To attempt to clear up a few things:

To say that it isn't hinted at is unfair. Some of Edea and Rinoa's lines in Edea's house show very strong foreshadowing,as if I remember correctly, does a scene where you see white feathers turn black, though I can't remember much about that. Though if the writers didn't intend R=U at all, these lose most of their force. Griever on the other hand is quite a big pointer. It's a symbol that only really connects to Squall and Rinoa, and I still think the intimidation explanation is just pointless.

I think you're referring to the very ending of the opening scene here. Feathers fly up across the screen when Squall slashes Seifer's face, and if I remember right they turn black and the opening fades out. Really, I don't think this is symbolic of anything, rather it's experimentation with the FMV technology of the game. Alot of the opening scene of FFVIII seems experimental (the theme, the text, the way the name of the game is presented (flashes of it in between scenes), Edea fading in and out of focus, etc. etc.). Tetsuya Nomura even said himself that he added the feathers to Squall's outfit because he thought 'it would be a challenge to show in the FMV movies'[source below].

Actually she'd have to be a lot older than that I think. I'm not sure how specific the dialogue is, but I always took it that Ultimecia existed at least 100 years after the game's main events, I can't actually remember why though.
It was generally taken (at least by me ), that Sorceresses either had longer lifespans than normal, or could sustain themselves magically. Evidence for this being the fact that Edea doesn't look nearly as old as she should, and arguably neither does Adel. Ultimecia in particular has a special relationship with time, though I can't remember exactly what it was, so I can't really back much up with that. I think the story of Hyne also might point towards such survival capabilities, but again, I've forgotten it.
Anyway, I don't know exactly what Ultimania says, but it seems to discredit at least a lot of the above speculation.

You remember that probably because Laguna says "Ultimecia exists in a time in which none of us can exist" (or something to that effect), she is too far in the future for any of the characters from the 'present' time in the game to survive, including Rinoa.

Also, Edea looks just as old as she should, after all she could very well only be in her late thirties - early forties. She especially looks her age when she goes back to being the good old 'matron' and dressing in her plain black dress. Furthermore, Edea was designed before Final Fantasy VIII was even conceived, thus lending light to why she may appear younger than she actually is.

Adel was sustained in a frozen reality, which explains why she did not age.

The only special relationship Ultimecia has with time is through Junction Machine Ellone. Without JME Ultimecia would have no access to the past or time in any way which discredits your statement.

Hyne also has nothing to do with this arguement, basically all it says is that Hyne made the world and his/her descendents are the sorceresses.

Sorceresses can´t die in spirit unless they pass on their powers their physical bodie dies if you kill them but their spirit which holds their power and wisdom is passed to another person, so the physical statement is still valid i think.

If I remember right, the part of the game you're referring to has Edea saying something like "a sorceress cannot rest in peace if she does not pass on her powers". She can't rest in peace, this doesn't mean she can't die and be uncomfortable in some sort of afterlife.

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I would also like to try and debunk some of the "Ultimecia and Rinoa both have wings!!!" stuff.

Tetsuya Nomura started designing characters before Kazushige Nojima and Yoshinori Kitase began to flesh out the characters and storyline. Nomura even had some input on the personalities of the characters (especially Rinoa's).

When Nomura first designed Squall he felt he needed to add something to him to make him more memorable, this is where Squall's scar came from. Nojima was left with the task of determining the origin of this scar in the game's story.

Nomura created Rinoa with the intent of making her memorable over her cute girlishness over a girl remembered over how beautiful she was, thus explaining Rinoa's attitude.

So, if Nomura had all that sway over the characters when the game was still in pre-production stages, it's plausible (although not confirmed) that the wings upon Rinoa's back were there all along and have nothing to do with Ultimecia's wings.

It's just an idea, a rather weak one, but I think it has some credibility.

Sources:

http://flaregamer.com/b2article.php?p=81&more=1
http://rinoa.nu/rinoa
http://www.wikipedia.org