Tales from the SMP

Tales from the SMP was an episodic spin-off/side series to the Dream SMP created by Dream SMP team member Karl Jacobs. It focuses on the latter's character being a "timeless time traveler" and his dealings with various eras and other characters within and outside the canon's timeline. While it had its official start around the start of 2021, with the eighth episode debuting in March 2022, the series was largely percieved as under an indefinite hiatus. Nevertheless, it gained a notable, yet smaller following on both Twitter and Youtube for its themes and wealth of side characters, the former having time (and eternity) as a major occuring theme.
==Episode Synopses==
These are a quick summary of the episodes that seem to have spawned the most fan interest and/or fanworks. It is an incomplete list and additions are welcome. It will also contain spoilers.
The Village that Went Mad - A starter episode depicting a lumberjack village being terrorized by a hidden murderer, with Karl acting as the "host" of the murder-mystery roleplay. The "game" ends with said individual escaping the hands of the townsfolk.
The Lost City of Mizu/The Lost City of the Depths - Venturing into the past, Karl and a group of fisherfolk dive deep into a secluded underwater city, whose library is currently being curated by a descendant of Ranboo; it was revealed later on that said individual had been waiting for him in the name of a deific "Dream", prompting bouts of danger and fear amongst the crew. 
The Masquerade - Karl goes to the past once again, and visits a mansion owned by a very snobby billionaire Sir Billiam III (played by Technoblade) and his unnamed butler (played by Ranboo and called "The Ranbutler" by fandom). They afterwards plan and put on a upper-crust guest list called the Masquerade Ball, which as they soon find turns into a complicated murder mystery afterwards, with winks and nods at the genre in general. Near the end of said mystery, it's then revealed that Sir Billiam and possibly his/the butler are servants of a younger version of "The Egg" - a murderous, malevolent mind-controlling force from the main Dream SMP series. Out of all the released episodes so far, this was deemed the episode both with the most popularity, as well as having the most procured written fanworks out of it.
The Wild West - Karl finds himself within a nondescript, vintage Western town, where it is currently being terrorized by unruly bandits; with a reluctant tone, he aids the townsfolk, as well as the Bartender in their defense.
The Haunted Mansion/The Mansion - Karl and some of his other friends in the future visit yet another mansion, this time haunted by Jschlatt's effervescent ghost.
The Pit - In another snapshot of the future, Karl meets the Emperor Porkius (played by Technoblade), of a large empire, and learns they will be holding a series of gladiatorial competitions to pick the next general. Karl is offered, and becomes the cameraman for said event. Among the competitors were Bartholomew (Jack Manifold), Gennie (Hannah Rose), Jackie (played by Tubbo) and Ran (played by Ranboo). Jackie ends up winning all the competitions and is told by Emperor Porkius that he must now kill all of his former opponents to prove his mettle and become a general. He protests at first, but does agree; a final battle commences, and he ends up successfully killing each one of them. Porkius then discovers that Karl somehow has botched the camera footage leaving a black screen with only sounds. He orders Jackie to kill Karl. The two acknowledge they feel different around each other and are linked somehow, but Jackie goes to kill him anyway, but moments before Karl gets the inevitable final blow, he time travels back and wakes up. This is the episode that the fic Bishop's Knifetrick is based off of.
The Maze - In the far future, several people, including Karl, wake up after being transported together into a maze. Through a video screen, Mr. Cicle (played by Charlie Slimecicle, and due to Slimecicle's long life/immortality in Dream SMP canon he may actually be, albeit ambiguously, the same person as Slimecicle in the main DSMP realm) who seems to be held there against his will as well, guides and instructs them through the maze. The team loses many members, either killed or trapped in the maze, some seemingly as a condition of moving forward. Upon finishing the maze, the remaining members of the party are informed that they didn't actually "win" the maze as there were many hidden exits or escapes they didn't see along the way, and must embark it again tomorrow. In a more extended scene than usual —Karl then time travels to the realm of The Inbetween/The Other Side and has a long conversation with the god DreamXD and the two "demigods" of the aforementioned temporal locations where they confirm their influence over these other realms and offer their own conflicting theories about Karl's memory loss. 
== Fandom ==
==Example Fanworks==
=== Fan Art ===
===Fanfic===
* Bishop's Knifetrick
=== Fan Songs ===
* The Other Side - by Precious Jewel Amor
* Turn Back Time & Tell Your Story (extended version) - by Derivakat
===Animations and Animatics===
* TftSMP The Masquerade as a Horror Trailer - by NaBaNaNaB
* Sir Billiam's Iconic Quotes Animation - by Emmyembarossa
* Cause I'm a Liar - by Cassandraa
* TftSMP The Lost City of Mizu Animation - by Patatas
* Mr. Cicle - Tales from the SMP Animation - by Butterfly-colors
* The Pit Animatic - by F-Dela-Pena
==References==
Category:Dream SMP