diff --git a/tests/test_patreon_ingester.py b/tests/test_patreon_ingester.py
index bfe20a0..b96fa00 100644
--- a/tests/test_patreon_ingester.py
+++ b/tests/test_patreon_ingester.py
@@ -349,11 +349,14 @@ async def test_tick_does_not_checkpoint_cursor(source_id, sync_engine, tmp_path,
 async def test_backfill_budget_cut_returns_partial_with_progress(
     source_id, sync_engine, tmp_path, monkeypatch,
 ):
-    # Deterministic clock: start=0, post1 check=10 (ok), post2 check=200 (>budget).
-    # run() lives in ingest_core now, so patch the clock there (the same global
-    # time module object, but we reference it through the module that uses it).
+    # Deterministic clock: start=0; post1 gate=10 (ok); post1's per-media
+    # should_stop=20 (still ok, so post1's item downloads); post1 live-progress
+    # read=200; post2 gate=250 (>budget → cut). The per-media should_stop check
+    # (added 2026-06-07 to bound media-dense posts) reads the clock once more per
+    # post, so the sequence carries the extra tick. run() lives in ingest_core
+    # now, so patch the clock there.
     import backend.app.services.ingest_core as core
-    ticks = iter([0.0, 10.0, 200.0, 250.0])
+    ticks = iter([0.0, 10.0, 20.0, 200.0, 250.0])
     last = [0.0]
 
     def fake_monotonic():