I found a small and friendly SMP called the Underground SMP. It is a Java server on 1.21.11 and it is all about living under a giant bedrock wall.
Everyone starts trapped underground and you get to pick one of four kingdoms or areas to begin in. The server runs events where players can unlock certain items that are up above the bedrock wall.
The community is open to all people and they also want content creators to join in too. It sounds like a chill place to meet others and take on the underground challenge together.
Trapped Underground Kingdom SMP
GG.MINEWIND.NET New Server IPCollideCraft Time-Zero Semi-Vanilla SMP
This server feels like you just crashed into a broken world and now you have to figure out what happens next. It is called CollideCraft Time Zero and it is a semi vanilla SMP with some light lore and an active community.
The world has this whole rift event theme going on so it is not really a fresh start. It feels like you dropped into the middle of a story and now you have to survive it.
There are plugins that the players chose themselves so the gameplay feels more like what the community actually wants. There are factions so you can team up or go against other groups.
The server uses proximity chat so talking in game feels way more real. There are also frequent events so things stay interesting and not just basic survival.
It works for both Bedrock and Java and they made it feel seamless so different versions can play together without it being weird.
There is more stuff hidden under the surface but a lot of it you just have to discover by playing.GG.MINEWIND.NET New Server IP