Hi Sarah! That's perfectly normal and quite common, especially during humid weather. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it will absorb and attract as much moisture as it possibly can, including from the air. Usually, the cupcakes don't necessarily come out of the oven sticky, but the sugar attracts the moisture as they cool and become sticky that way. They'd also become sticky if stored before fully cooled. The mottled appearance could be an indicator that a little bit of the batter (usually either at the bottom of the bowl or stuck to the paddle or bowl sides) wasn't whipped as much as the rest of the batter so it had a dark color. Giving a good swipe of a spatula through the bowl all the way to the bottom and around the edges can help incorporate any potentially darker, less aerated batter into the mix. We hope this helps! Annabelle@KAF

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