So for those of you who are new (hello!), there's this little story arc from awhile ago that explains how Restless Leg Syndrome is an STI* in the fictional land of Girls With Slingshots... kind of!

Here's the scoop: when I was writing that storyline, I was doing a LOT of research on STI's (never Google image search that shit). Around that time, a lot of people I know were being diagnosed with HSV II.

Man, lemme tell you, if you don't already know first-hand, the stigma behind herpes is awful! A lot of people only see that stigma, and because there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information about herpes (or rather, lots and lots of contradicting information), telling your partner that you have it can make some people really freak out!

The truth is, herpes is a bummer, but the way I see it, it's about as harmless as giving your partner athlete's foot. So, since the stigma is already there for herpes (and because all the strips I wrote about herpes sounded more sad than funny), I swapped the real STI out for a fake one. And I picked Restless Leg Syndrome because, while I'm sure some actual RLS sufferers may be a little miffed by it (sorry guys!), I wanted to pick a real problem that is more likely to be an inconvenience than a serious medical issue.

My backup was Spontaneous Eyebrow Syndrome. I kind of resent not picking Spontaneous Eyebrow Syndrome.

tl;dr: Restless Leg Syndrome is real but it is not sexually transmitted, and herpes isn't that big a deal.

*the new term for STD; the "I" stands for "infection" rather than "disease."