honestly if mike hadn't kissed el in season 1 and their romantic relationship was allowed to slowly develop after she first gained her own self-autonomy and independency, it could've been a great ship that was actual competition to byler
EXCEPT without the romantic mileven dynamic and its forced heteronormativity, byler would've overpowered the game and become canon wayy earlier because their love and feelings for one another has always been an intrinsic part of their lives and their friendship
And curious, knowledge-hungry jane hopper who's trying to learn all the things she doesn't know about the world would've fallen for a different nerdy yapper instead (cough cough dustin "knows a million random facts for fun" henderson cough cough)
















