I put some adoptables up awhile back that were masked characters. As I was doodling them, I thought 'hey, how cool would it be if those weren't actually masks?'

And so the Mugbug was born.

Basically, they are a parasitic beetle that has developed past just using their host for survival. They are an incredibly intelligent and sentient species that, once they've latched onto a host, they tap into the victim's brain and proceed to take total control of their body. Due to the beetle's strange nervous system, it can show 'expressions' through the spots and lines on its back. This led the first sightings of a Mugbug victim to be mistaken for someone wearing a very intricate mask.

Once a host reaches absolution, there is no hope for returning to the person they were. During assimilation, or attachment as goes the layman term, the Mugbug uses a specialized set of spiked tendrils to burrow out the host's eyes and give a more direct route to the brain. Because of chemicals secreted on the Bug's underside, this process is entirely painless for the host, but the amount of emotional and mental trauma is currently unknown. It is then quick work for the Bug to attach its own meager nerves to the new host and begin its new life.