Create individual event topics for recurring events

would it be acceptable if secondary events in a topic had a different appearence such as outline, via eventBorderColor and eventBackgroundColor

You simulate layering by combining:

Property Primary (confirmed) Tentative / secondary
eventBackgroundColor solid different / light
eventBorderColor same as fill strong contrast
border style solid dashed
opacity 1 1

This creates a visual hierarchy without needing actual stacking.