grimalkinmessor
Possibly unpopular opinion but I don't think Mello actually idolized L. I think he was enamored with the idea of being L, of being considered the greatest detective in the world, of having all that power at his fingertips. I don't think he actually gave a shit about L himself—he never even met the man in person, only canonically like,,,twice, over voice call. Mello's fascination and determination was always more about proving himself to be the best, even over L, rather than wanting to be close to him or even to be like him. He left Wammy's behind real fuckin' quick for someone who supposedly adored L. I think it was always about proving himself as better than L.
