Motion covers are costumes, not sequels
A motion cover can look like a new issue because the file name carries a different suffix and the thumbnail loops. Inside, the recap box and the last-page prompt often match the standard chapter exactly. Filing that file as beat 4.5 invents a scene the writer never drew.
Variant registers pin treatments to the parent beat. If a motion file adds a pinup after the credits, we note an interior difference without promoting the pinup to a chapter. Completionists can still keep both files; they simply stop expecting a missing fight between them.
This distinction matters during crossovers, when five treatments of the same spine issue can flood a shelf. The grid still has one station that week.