Editing LeviathanTempest:ArchivedSocialLife (section)

=== Atolls ===
The mirror image of the Beloved, an Atoll is an otherwise normal human being who, for whatever reason, is unaffected by the Wake. They serve as naturally-occuring sinkholes for the forces surrounding the Tribe and the Deep. This ability - to stand unmoved and untouched by the Deep - also means that contact - social or physical - with an Atoll has an immediate calming effect on members of the Tribe. An Atoll's touch, or smile, clears the fog of rage and discontent that surrounds a Leviathan, leaving them with a deep sense of peace and security. Unsurprisingly, the Tribe are obsessed with Atolls, reacting to them in much the same way as they react to anything else they want - overwhelming desire, tinged with the implied privilege of their divine natures. 

But Atolls are untouched by the supposed majesty of the Tribe; if a Leviathan wants to interact with one, they have to do so on the level of mere men. Frustrated Leviathans, desperate for the tranquility of contact with an Atoll, go to huge lengths to attempt to secure them - resorting to kidnapping or stalking. More moderate Leviathans are no less obsessed, merely more subtle - they find themselves drawn to the places the Atoll works or resides, and attempt, with all the awkwardness that the absence of the Wake brings to their social endeavors, to find a place in the Atoll's life. 

Even if access to an Atoll can be secured, the threat to a Leviathan is not diminished. The addictive effect of an Atoll's presence is such that an Atoll, wittingly or not, can easily manipulate a member of the Tribe - the terror of losing their source of comfort can drive them to absurd lengths to please the Atoll. Unscrupulous Atolls, or those that become aware of what power they have, can enslave a Leviathan and his Cult with hardly any effort at all. For a Leviathan, subverting or ignoring their divine nature is just as dangerous as denying their humanity, and even the most mild of Atolls will eventually force a Leviathan to choose between two forms of damnation.