Anyway.. A though has been rattling around my brain.

If Melkor didn't go off the deep end, what was the original plan?

Aman was only set up as a response to Melkor wreaking havoc in Middle Earth. Assume for a second, that Melkor played ball. Would the Vala and Maia have lived in Middle Earth along with the Elves and Man? (and how would that have affected Man?)

If the Vala and Maia never left to go to Aman, would Elves have faded in Middle Earth. In other words, was their fading a result of their innate being or was it a result of the departure of the Ainur?

Russ