#now viktor surviving the council bombing and then leaving because of jayce's actions against the undercity? i could easily see that

[danidoesathing]

I think the only way Arcane Viktor could become like his counterpart is if he thought Jayce had betrayed him.

In the original League Lore, part of the reason things are so bitter between them is that Giopara didn't do anything when his Viktor was exiled. (My own interpretation of that is that his inaction was more damning than actual condemnation and rejection.) So if something like that had happened, I could absolutely see Arcane Viktor going down a similar route. (Hell, since they're so much closer in Arcane and their bond is so much stronger (to the point of being literal Multiversal Soulmates)... I think it'd break him even more, and push him even further down that path.)

(The sad thing is, I could see S1 Talis being manipulated into making such a decision-like, if he'd been convinced he could give Viktor a lighter sentence (exile instead of Stillwater), if they took advantage of his emotional state after Cassandra's death, or even if he was also paralyzed with indecision and couldn't bring himself to vote... It's not likely, true, but it's also not impossible. It's a painful What Could Have Been.)

All that said, I still think they'd reconcile and make amends much more quickly than their counterparts, due to how much deeper their connection runs. (It's still take a while-but it wouldn't be an entire decade like it was for their League counterparts.)

if jayce betrayed him to the same extent Giopara did i could see him go down a similar path, and even start on the removal of emotions thing. Viktor's machine herald transformation always depends on Jayce's actions (as does the Defender of Tomorrow, but that part comes more in response to the Machine Herald).

the problem is. Talis is a loyal loyal bitch and i dont think he would ever exile viktor unless it was part of a bigger plan. like i get in season one act 2/3 he being kind of an asshole and had the moral backbone of hot pudding but he still very much ready to commit corruption and crimes to protect the people he loves. like when marcus mentioned Caitlyn using his name to get VI out of prison to try and catch her up, and he immediately yeah no i did that. dont even worry about that ill take care of it. or the fact he kicked his mentor off the council just to give Viktor a shot at survival. If viktor got exiled i think talis would at best follow him down and at worst do everything in his power to cause a massive political hellstorm.

and ok sure yeah i could understand the idea that him betraying Viktor with exile if we only had his s1 characterization. but with s2 we get a full scope of how far he'd go to be with Viktor. actual fucking nercomancy. If Talis were more like Giopara or if their bond wasn't nearly as strong as it was in canon, sure. but Talis literally fist fought the narrative and archetype he was assigned to be with Viktor and won.

(I could see ambessa/the council exploiting his anger and guilt, but i dont think even that could be turned effective towards Viktor. the undercity and Jinx? yeah, he could turn into someone like Caitlyn very easily. But even putting aside all the codependency issues, after losing Cassandra and seeing the death and devstation of the war (and then mel's eventual disappearance), i dont think he'd risk losing anyone else, no matter what Viktor did)