On an amused note re your LOL cartoon - at first sight, I misread it and thought he was saying "I'm going to do Valinor".
As in "I'm going to do lunch."

Looks so to me he's got the best teacher after all. And I thought you might liked the father and son combo

And... oooh! Look, he's got his sword drawn!

Yeah, she looks odd. Actually, that star-crossed lovers reaching across an impossible chasm vibe of Ganddy and Glady isn't impressing me either. Elrond standing there looking all justified just makes him look like the jerk who came between them.

So yes, I agree Thranduil will be King of the Elves in ME. For a very long time. But I imagine also that, being lesser elves, the

Sylvan's hroar would be consumed faster than Thranduil's would be. And being lesser in being, their houseless fear may not be capable of

cogent thoughts for ever. At some point, all that may be left of the Sylvan are half-conscious disembodied spirits, like the Huorns and

ancients sentient trees the Ents shepherded. At that point, Thranduil, who I believe would stay in ME regardless of hell or high water

because of his love and sense of responsibility for his subjects, will see that there's no need and no one to keep him in ME. He really

doesn't strike me as the type to accept or be satisfied with the fate of ultimately being just a diminished version of himself, a

wandering forgetful spirit just roaming ME until the end of days.

And also, with the advent of Man, forests will diminish. It is sad, but I believe at some point beyond TA, there may not be any forests

large enough for the Woodland Realm to endure within ME at all. Thranduil may end up moving his people out to somewhere like that little

islet in the Bay of Balar just for peace's sake. In fact, I'd think they'd have to move a few times. He may also get more Elves as time

passes since the other Eldar would all depart at some point, including Galadriel and Celeborn. At some point, Thranduil and his folks

might be bunking in with Elrond or the twins. (OT: Hmm... would Arwen be in tow as well? Could get mighty crowded eh?)

Lastly, I feel that Thranduil will feel the tug for family, especially as his people dwindled. And he might want to spend time with the

clan when he gets to the West rather than arrive there dead and languishing in the Halls of Mandos waiting his turn for re-embodiment

(may be getting it wrong here but I think that's the deal with Mandos' pad). I think it's safe to say he's the one Elf who doesn't leave

things to chance if he had any say in the matter. He wants things done on his terms. So when the above happens, I'd think he would make

the Journey. There may be a fellow Sindar or two who have been with him since the beginning of Greenwood. But I also do not see a grand

procession. He has no need for pomp at this point and there's just not enough participants anyway. And who knows, he may just make a

return trip to ME after cooling his heels in the West for a couple of Ages. It's been done before. Smile

*pauses* Well, I'm still shaky on Elvenlore so the above could all be untenable crap. But yeah, that's what I think.

Btw, have you read about the Dwarves and Thingol in the Silm?