Okok, I know this is mainly for entertainment reasons, but lets dive a bit deeper into what both options would actually mean. On the one hand, about B himself, on the other what he percieved L to be like.
(Disclaimer, not a psychologist, and in a hurry bc I actually should go to work, so take this with a heap of salt. May be edited later.)
We are really getting speculative, so hold tight. What is B portrayed to mentally/psychologically be? There is never a diagnosis, like with many other canon characters, its the fandom giving them labels and analyzing their behavior. (Correct me if I am wrong) L might be on the Asperger spectrum, B maybe a psychopath (factor one or two, both seem possible. Rather one in my opinion)
Lets go with psychopathic traits for now, since they would support the idea of B breaking character.
Most people consider F1 to be the case with murders, since a lack of affect or empathy lets us better understand how/why crimes are committed. Paired with narcissism (which is not necessary, but also possible) it would encourage the need of control with a very self-centered image. B wants to be perceived as an aggressive top, therefore he breaks character.
The type F2 is less likely, by the fact that Naomi quite outrightly does not take him as aggressive top. She is very sceptic and weirded out by him the whole way. A rejection of his self-image might rather result in a impulsive behavior of aggression. He does indeed attack her, but rather to test her abilities. (If we believe Mello)
Now what if we consider him to have/is sadistic empathy/empathic vampire. Sadistic empathy/empathic vampires are a psychological concept observed by stalkers, helicopter parents or stage parents. They have great empathy (cognitive and affective) and manipulate people, since they empathize (experience emotions) through the emotions they manipulate said people into. (Like with helicopter parents: a successful child, or stalkers: obsessively behaving, having stuff, of said person to live with or through them) Ringing a bell?
B fits very much in the image of an imitator, a stalker. And being assigned the successor role by Wammys House, found a way to channel emotions through someone else. This is supported by this sentence:
(Again, disclaimer, Mello is an unreliable narrator, and I love the theories that Mello just assumed B to have shinigamis eyes, but actually didnt. So thats how far I trust Mellos assumption and description of B. But lets go with it for now)
„If L is a freak, B’s is an extreme freak.“ (p.96, AN)
Its not only to act like him, or make fun of him, but experience him through his lens. And the true lens of L is being the most/greatest. The most intelligent, the biggest freak. Etc. To be more, in some weird sense of the way, means to really getting L. This could lead to a possible conclusion of this „im an aggressive top statement“ in the sense of working with a true conception of L, but in such an exaggerated way it becomes absurd.
What do we know about L? He hates to lose, he does anything (!) to get answers and resolutions to his cases. The definition of a „top“, further an „aggressive top“ is so meme and pop-culturally fueled, its hard to break it apart. To understand it as „dominating in every situation, like not even letting a stoplight stop you“ would be very fitting to an L that calls himself justice but doesn’t follow simple human right laws whilst interrogating. Always in control.
B understands this damn hypocrisy and acts according to it. But just MORE.
Furthermore the case itself. the solem fact that B goes to such measures to prove something to L. Or rather To hurt L in the only way he knows how. Giving him an unsolvable case and hurting Ls known pride.
Even though this might have been the goal, the way he approaches it, by taking the role of L, shows rather what he himself, tries to experience. The role of L. And therefore, to break character would break with his want to finally and truly, in his final weeks of his life, be the most genius person on this earth. Since only him would know the true killer./be the one to catch the killer.
So, hereby I take my stance to say:
B did not break character. He acted in Line of Ls thinking/behavior patterns but with an extreme, that makes it obscure to a point of disbelieve. L was a top, B wanted to be an aggressive top. Because only then would he be truly like L.
![[ LIGHT YAGAMI ]](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6a0910c58516274c4dc66a147d8a712a/tumblr_nt7alspGQj1u157hgo1_1280.jpg "[ LIGHT YAGAMI ]")
