Sure, real life is varied and in the grand scheme of life, everything goes. But an example … I work on a college campus in real life. A place where, when I am there, I expect active debates, studying, quiet libraries, student filled coffee shops, labs churning out stressed out grads and papers…ya know…academic shite. If I went to work and all of the sudden the campus is filled with amusement park rides, fireworks, kids running around with balloons, stuffed animals lining the corridor, etc? Well…I would wonder what the hell was going on and how on earth I could take my scholarly pursuits seriously in such an environment.
That is the best comparison I can make.
Now is academia humorless? Hell no. There are hilarious people and silly stuff all the time. It is mot all serious professors and dour students and sacred texts. Ie, there are for sure tonal variations and random silliness. But it is not an amusement park, and kids screaming on roller coasters and clowns juggling fire are simply out of place.
One moment on campus, someone is telling a corny joke. Nearby, a couple walks arm-in-arm, head on shoulder. Next, there's a tragedy and cell phones are pinging with the message, "Run, Hide, Fight."
Clearly, a lot of shifting feelings are happening on campus, all around. Someone is high and laughing. Someone is frantic and stressed out. Someone is falling in love. Someone was recently abused.
But let's tackle this from another angle.
Things are one way while the characters are in the grove. (This can substitute for the campus in your example.)
Things are another way while the characters are in the goblin fortress. (This can substitute for the amusement park.)
See what I mean? How each of those places has a different feel, although each place also has shifts within, as well, and as should be expected.
