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Originally Posted by Elladan

What would take place? What would they think of the Earth they find? Would they try to re-establish themselves with humans? Would they turn tail, and go back?

Sorry, Elladan, for the late reply, but those pesky elves keep interfering with my posting... And I've been thinking about this, but that might not be apparent from this post.

• Either the elves have returned across the Straight Road or they have not.
  Best guess is that the elves - those that weren’t trapped here by Straight Road construction - are gone and are not coming back before the Dagor Dagorath.
  
  
• Why would they return?
  Do they want to visit/rescue abandoned/distant kin? Also, Paris is in jail, and so the world is a safer place or, Paris is in jail, and they’ve come back to spring her. And when the Gondolindrim unexpectedly appeared, they weren't wearing party hats.
  
  
• If they have, are we aware of them, or was their return secret?
  If they did return, then it was in secret. People would go nuts hearing that our cousins have come back, and a whole commercial industry would arise to take advantage of both sides in the event. As no infomercials have appeared hocking elven fitness equipment, I’m guessing that there hasn’t been even a whiff of the return. Even if the world governments know and are covering the return up, I’m still guessing that we would see a hint of something somewhere. Also, if the elves did come back and have done so in a way that we cannot detect, and also remain hidden, then there’s really not much to talk about. And though this may not be true for all elves, surely some vain elves exist that would let us know that they returned with a message or some wisdom or other.
  
  
• Did they stay, or did they return into the West (after a shopping binge)?
  Not sure why the elves would set up shop. The earth is somewhat dirtier and messier since the Third Age, and the elves were setting sail then because Middle Earth even at that time was no Lothlórien (and that no Laurelindórenan). The reason many elves departed at the end of the Third/beginning of the Fourth Ages was (1) boat fare was discounted and (2) with the loss of the Rings, the embalmed oases in which they lived and hid were returning to the normal flow of time. So even if the elves came back, I don’t think that they would stay unless there was some compelling reason or they brought back some artifact that would rejuvenate the land in which they lived.
  
  
• If they left, what made them leave?
  These elves left after thousands of years already spent on these mortal shores, and so even if they did come back, I’m not sure why, given the opportunity, they wouldn't go/flee back West yet again. If it weren’t for Fëanor, how many would have come back the first time? Anyway, you’d better head for the hills if these twice-returned elves began leaving again, as that’s never been a good sign for the near future.
  
  
• If they stayed, why?
  So, given our shorter spans, let’s say that in our life times they return and seem to stay. Would they try to reintregrate with the Second Born? How would that benefit the elves? Has some darkness finally found its way into Aman, and so the elves are returning as refugees? Do they need our help, our phoenix-like ability of continually arising from our own ashes? Regardless, if they did come and began building fortresses, again that wouldn’t bode well.
  
  If they decided to come back to help us out, would we be beholden to follow their lead? Would they be, as some see them, as hippies/environmentalists? Would they, for our own good, set up a supreme worldwide government in an attempt to balance out the world (we know how well that’s worked)? Or, having actually remembered their own past, say neither yea nor nay when we ask for help?
  
  And just what would they think of our space program?
  
  
• And do they participate in human society or are they since hidden?
  So if they did show up, undetected at large, has anyone reported seeing any being that would fit the description? Alien encounters, such as those purported by UFO enthusiast, may mistakenly be elvish in nature (that cause is just as likely as extra-solar beings ). Or are they hidden in plain sight, such as in the fashion industry, which is the phenotype that Peter Jackson sought for his elves (tall models)?

Anyway, so I conclude that even if they had some reason to return, that they would soon leave, and that the whole affair was completely done right under our noses.

Not that I’m not looking…