Species/magic system.

[Gasper he/him]

So I have been tossing around this idea for sometime. A species that has basically a mental social media/texting system. They live among humans and typically look human except if they decide to show the designs covering their bodies. If they use magic, the designs change. They have to have connections with their immediate family or they start to get sick/ go insane. Example, you kill one of them and the rest know automatically. lets say you pull an Deathstar on their planet and some where off world, they would feel it and most likely die. If they did not die, they would probably end up something like River Tam on a bad day, if not totally catatonic. I am thinking that the older the species gets, the more the designs cover their bodies. the designs, even if a human can see them, are not readily seen on paler skin tones. They look like very thin scars that are flush with the skin have a similar color and tone to pearls. They do not look like listener blotches, but are more like very fine tattoos. They can be used in touch telepathy and are sensitive when being shown. 

What do you think and how would you expand this?

[Zath he/him]

Are the designs related to their mind-network? In what way (other than touch telepathy)?  Other than the mind-network and touch telepathy, can they do anything else magical?

Do they know that they're not human?  Presumably yes, so how do young "design mind-network beings" (for lack of a better term at the moment) react when their parents tell them that they're not human?  How do/would humans react to the knowledge of all these strange mind-network beings living amongst the general populace? 

How would growing up with your mind always connected to your parents and siblings and every other mind-network being affect your growth and behavior?  How do they deal with the sudden death of a close family member?  Do they have community leaders?  What happens when one of them acts or tries to act in a manner that runs contrary to the values of the whole?

Are the designs organic-looking, like vines?  Or are they science fiction-y, with hard angles and straight lines like a motherboard or some other kind of tech?  Or something else entirely?

Those are the first questions that popped into my head, maybe these will help you round out the magic system/ society.  Interesting idea!