Dating Catwoman: Dave with Princess Irmaplotz—later on, it's revealed that Princess Irmaplotz's parents had apparently the same way.
Disappeared Dad: While he's mentioned, we never see Irmaplotz's dad in person (he's implied to be deceased).
MacGyvering: Subverted. The narrator tells how Dave's quick thinking enables him to construct a homemade megaphone, using only a squirrel, some string and a megaphone. In the next scene, Dave promptly holds up a megaphone with a squirrel tied to it.
Suckiness Is Painful: The poetry of Ped Xing is so horrible it can actually make the reader physically ill. Dave and Princess Irmaplotz are immune to it, though, and instead genuinely consider him to be a great writer. The only writer capable of equally painful poetry turns out to be Dave himself, which enables him to fight back when Irmaplotz uses the threat of Ped Xing's poetry to command her army of Filthy Pixies.