She watched as El touched her own face, then stepped a little closer to her so she was standing behind her. "You're already very pretty," she said earnestly, slowly moving her hand up to caress that buzzed head. "But - makeup is like a game, you know? Like.. Playing with dolls, or .. dressing up. It's fun." It wasn't until she'd finished talking that she realized, El probably had no idea what playing with dolls or dressing up was like – but it only made the mother more determined.

"Come on, sit down," she said, pulling out the little seat tucked under the vanity and then waiting for the girl to sit down.

Dolls? Dressing up?

El did not know these words. She knew about Papa's games. They were not fun. But the Party's games seemed fun, even if El did not always 'get' them.

Slowly, El sat down on the seat and looked at herself in the mirror. Watched Mrs. Wheeler look at her. There was something different in her eyes than Papa's. Mrs. Wheeler's eyes looked at El the same way that she looked at Mike, Nancy, Holly. What did that mean?

"Is this okay?"

Every Lumax Scene in Stranger Things: s2e9 - The Gate