Thinking about the syrup on the french toast that first morning. I live in an apartment with 3 other autistic individuals and we each have conflicting food and texture needs, but we’re chronically ill so we take turns cooking. And sometimes its annoying. I’ll take some soup out before blending the rest more because i need texture and someone else needs it smooth. It’s annoying when i have to wait longer for the over easy eggs to be done when my sunny side up ones are ready. (The trick is staggering when you put the eggs in the pan, not when you take them out). But some things are so easy. It is so easy not to put blueberries in some of the pancake batter. Its so easy not to pour syrup on someone’s french toast. It is literally easier _not_ to pour syrup on someone else’s toast. That is an extra step. I knew something was wrong-wrong as soon as that happened.
it is really the first sign that something's off!! other than the armchair thing within itself. i think its a nice contrast from the grilled cheese in cw ch3 because the french toast is such an obvious thing to get wrong. i don't see it as an intentional choice on mikey's part at all, just a mistake he made because he wasn't considering donnie's sensory issues at ALL. it was him ignoring him naturally because of the curse, not something he did out of maliciousness (i see his lie about them going to see the movie as something similar, a genuine effort to protect his feelings).
and then later with the grilled cheese, donnie in his narration mentions that mikey included things he doesn't normally complain about, not for years. it's not a NO food in the same way, he just has his preferences. mikey REMEMBERED this really particular detail about his taste that donnie wouldn't even normally kick up a fuss about; it's the exact opposite of that first morning. it was his way of trying to communicate that he wants to listen to him, that he is listening. very early sign of how mikey becomes one of the loudest voices advocating for that later.