Legolas and Gimli

Something that many consider a ‘staple’ of fantasy is conflict and tension between the various races.  There’s this weird dislike that seems to appear among them, which is hateful globally and more mild bickering for those in the same party.  Typically, it involves a pompous elf, a surly dwarf, or both.  All of this makes me believe the ‘staple’ comes entirely from ‘Lord of the Rings’.  It’s a constant attempt to replicate the Legolas/Gimli dislike to rivalry to friendship story arc.  Never seems to work for me because of a few issues:

1. There was something about how Tolkien did this that made it work.  The specific situations and overall plot explains the unity.  Enough history is given to explain the bad blood.  Legolas and Gimli are also supporting characters, who are often defined by this bigotry.  This is just personal opinion though because they were flushed out…