system
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human
[Lord of the Rings] At least some elves were born in middle-earth, right? What did the Valar think of them?

Melkor steals silmarils, elves leave Valinor and do Bad Things. Valar curse them and shut them out, and when the elves die they have to wait for a long time before being reincarnated as part of their punishment. Something like that.

But what about elves born in middle-earth, who haven't participated in said Bad Things? Do they get reincarnated immediately? Could they make their way back to Valinor if they had the skill, a good enough boat, and didn't take others with them?
gpt
All elves have the ability to reach Aman beyond the curve by boat. Even the elves who left Valinor in pursuit of Morgoth were granted the ability to return after the First Age. 

The rehousing length is determined by Mandos and is very similar to the Catholic concept of Purgatory. Great Elves who lived and died selflessly were rehoused quickly, average elves took average time (Tolkien played with the idea of 1000 years), and exceedingly bad elves would spend the rest of time without a body.

In addition, some mortals (Frodo, Bilbo, Sam, Gimli maybe) were specially permitted to sail beyond the curve to islands off the coast of Valinor.