He didn't specify anything about that. Is that likely to also be a thing that's not safe to ask?

No, that's fine, it's not like if the answer is 'no' you might end up in a situation of needing to do it anyway and hoping for the leniency of not having known it was forbidden.

Yeah, it might just look like I'm trying to find an exploit. Which I am.

The Valar aren't omniscient. You might be able to visit Tirion unnoticed. I have no idea.

Maybe there's some innocuous reason to be in Valinor temporarily so it's not so obvious that I'm nipping in to lay groundwork for importing cities. I want to compliment Aulë on Dwarves? I'd open with that anyway if I were asking him for a favor, all, 'congratulations on Dwarves, they're awesome'.

I don't know if Dwarves are a touchy subject among the other Valar. Hmm. You could take Lúthien to visit her family there?

Is she allowed to leave Doriath? What if it's not up to her parents' safety standards in Valinor?

It's Valinor. You'd have to ask them, obviously, but I can't imagine they'd worry Valinor's not safe enough.

I was making a joke. I do that sometimes.

I have spent so much time around Thingol that satire of his paranoia is indistinguishable from the real thing.

Sorry.

Hmm? Don't be, I quite like everyone in Doriath. I have to, it makes me more effective.

Anyway, sounds like the order of operations would be 'ask Lúthien how to ask her parents if they'd let her go if Ulmo said she could, ask Ulmo if she can, bring her, talk to your mom and maybe Aulë while we're there'?"

My mother will give you a good sense of whether and how to talk to Aulë.

What do I even tell her. Maitimo sent me only he's going by Maedhros now it's a long story hi I'm an alien.

Telvo's dead, she had foresight about that so she probably already knows it, everyone else is alive.

Nod.

She's a very sensible person, you won't have trouble working with her.

That's good. Any sensitive subjects I should watch out for?

Literally all possible subjects are going to be sensitive, under the circumstances.

I know. I mean "is the subject of her husband really awkward", stuff like that.

My parents' separation was very very ugly and awful, yes.

Nod.

She was trying to petition the Valar to let us leave. Aulë told her it was the only path that didn't end in disaster and Father was sick of begging at their feet for rights he felt they had no right to deny us, and petitioning the Valar is slow - this was before the Darkening - when he was exiled she did not come, and they did not speak again until she begged him to leave her some of the children, to which he said 'they're not children, and they're not mine to distribute as favors' which was true and fair, and then that if she really loved us she'd be at his side which was not.