The Proper Punishment Makes You Wry (Not Cry)

 Negative consequences are a great space! They can even be enjoyable when wallowing in them is visceral, memorable (things like the wrath of chickens in Zelda); but they can be just plain annoying if they're mechanically crippling (things like Resurrection Sickness in WoW; experience-loss-on-death in Diablo 2). 

My proposal is basically that punishments should provoke more of a smilingly rueful feeling than a frustrated or stymied one. In a game where social interaction is a big important loop, and characters react to you, I think there's a lot of room for fun.

Here are some ideas for harmless oofs you can have. Things that can happen (a)when you tweak off an NPC, (b)when you fail in a way or condition that demands consequence, (c)when you behave like a general ass, or (d)when foul things conspire to roost in your life. In many of these cases, there's an opportunity for NPCs to recognize what's happening to you in funny ways.

• Punishment shoes: For a real life minute, your character is wearing weird shoes (or hats, or animal features).
• Disgraceful obelisk: An ugly apparatus appears in front of your home. Or maybe even a garbage pile. You can shovel/cut it down. The weather will wear it down in a few days. Little barely-nice resources fall off it when it breaks.
• Sheep are angry: For a while, all sheep will be a little steamed to see you. If you talk to them, they'll bite you (for no damage). This can happen with other and all animals.
• Humiliating classical: For a while, classical music plays, humiliating you.
• Rebuffed by a friend/lover: The next time you talk to a specific friend or lover, they'll bring up what you did, and say they don't want to talk right now (politely enough not to feel awful); wait five real life minutes to talk to them.
• Called out by merchants: For a while, whenever you talk to a merchant, they'll try to charge you more unless you haggle. After any transaction, they'll shake their finger at you.
• Your food is bad: For a few nights in a row, your food just tastes terrible, and you know it.
• Your sleep was troubled: You didn't sleep very well, and you know why.
• You're spilling things again!: All day, it seems, you spill stuff. You might even bonk your head on a cabinet, cleaning up. Others will notice.
• And more! (feel free to list more in comments)