This isnât really my original theory, but I donât know who made the original, and I feel like I have something to add onto it. So here we go I guess:
We all know Jasper, our loveable little ghost boy who is stuck in the 1980âs. Emphasis on the word: ghost. At the end of the first episode he appears in, itâs revealed that heâs a ghost, which Iâll admit I didnât expect whatsoever. So we can assume that this is a kid from a previous generation of Camp Campbell campers (by the yellow shirt) who has died, somehow.
The next time we see him is in a flashback episode where we get a small glimpse at what it was like when David was a camper and we see Jasper was one of his fellow campers who was very much alive at the time. The episode is titled: Jasper Dies at the End, but throughout the entire episode Jasper doesnât die once. Sure he gets into scenarios where itâs completely surprising that he survived, but he doesnât physically die throughout the whole episode or at the end.
Some people speculate that David just changed up the story to deal with the trauma of watching his friend die in front of him, which is a completely appropriate theory. But thereâs some evidence that may prove that Jasper didnât die from the fall, or the bears.
Flash back to the first episode we see Jasper, when the trio enter Cameronâs mansion theyâre greeted with two stuffed bears
Which are almost definitely the two bears we see Cameron murder near the end of the next episode Jasper appears in.
So this means that Cameron and Davey DID end up going into that cave and Cameron DID kill those two bears, and they most likely saved Jasper.
But the episode is titled âJasper dies at the endâ so he has to die somewhere right?
Yeah, he does die. But not physically.
When heâs stripped of his badge and his title of 'best camperâ by the quartermaster after his 'illegal use of light up shoe technologyâ he comes to realise that Camp Campbell.. kinda sucks.
And thatâs when he dies, at the very end of the episode. His hopes and dreams die, his childhood dreams and happiness die right there. His love for camping fizzles out like a campfire in the rain.
So maybe that ghost on Spooky Island isnât referring to his dead body when he says this:
Maybe heâs saying that his physical body in the 'living realmâ needs to be put at peace, needs to be happy again, and then he can finally move on.
And here is an added bonus: Jasper is now the cold hearted counsellor for the Woodscouts, maybe out for revenge on Camp Campbell, thus why the Woodscouts are always sent over to Camp Campbell to make the campers life hell. And have we ever seen a counsellor for the Woodscouts? Weâve seen the counsellor for the Flower Scouts, and obviously for Camp Campbell.
Itâs obvious that theyâre building up the suspense for some kind of dramatic reveal.
But hey, thatâs just a theory. A camp camp theory! Thanks for reading.
âI saw them a little while ago! I think I heard Nikki talking about how she wanted to find a âfierce petâ and had just⊠dragged Neil along?â
this is an au where instead of jasper dying, it was david because iâm an angsty little shit
also i was indecisive about how i should have david die so i figured, might as well have him die by bears, just like jasper almost did!
David loved music, if it wasn't obvious already.
When he and Jasper were younger, however, David didn't want to show it. He needed to keep up his "tough guy" appearance, and so he thought showing his love for guitar and singing would make him seem weaker.
Jasper was the one who got him out of his shell.
Jasper, one year, brought his ukulele. At night, under the audience of beautiful, glittering stars, he would play soft melodies and sing to himself where the water met land. Jasper was never trying to hide the fact that he could play and sing, but rather that it wasn't one of those things that he he felt the need to bring up.
One crisp night near the middle of summer, he was watched. He was watched and observed by a certain auburn-haired boy and for three nights in a row, said boy stood silently behind a tree. He listened, completely mesmerized as if Jasper was the Pied Piper and he was under his spell. His face glowed underneath the moonlight. The auburn-haired boy could never look away, and every time Jasper was finished, he hid.
How would he begin to explain why he was just... staring?
On the fourth night, however, David made a mistake.
Something inside of David wanted to get closer. He wanted to hear Jasper's voice clearly, to see the peaceful expression on his face as he strummed on chords so that night, David risked it and crept closer. He hid behind a different tree, and he could feel his heart flutter in his chest at Jasper's song.
I'm lying on the moon
My dear, I'll be there soon
It's a quiet and starry place
Times were swallowed up in space
We're here a million miles away
There's things I wish I knew
There's no thing I'd keep from you
It's a dark and shiny place
But with you my dear I'm safe
We're here; a million miles away
x
It must have been approximately 10 pm when Jasper finished his performance, stars clapping silently with their twinkling light. Just like every night, Jasper slowly stood up, dusting off his navy blue shorts and turned around.
David slowly backed up, trying to keep out of sight. He hadn't noticed the sudden descent of the terrain, so as he inched backwards, David lost his balance and tumbled down with a little bit of grunting.
"Ow..." David grumbled to himself, looking at the scratches on his bare arms. He guessed he had some on his face, too, because there was a dull pain on his right cheek. Suddenly, he remembered what he was doing and looked up the miniature hill he fell down, embarrassment creeping up on him.
From the top, Jasper looked at him with worry. "Oh gosh, Davey, are you alright?" he asked, then cautiously made his way down the hill. Once he got to the bottom, Jasper put his ukulele down and examined David, making sure he hadn't broken anything.
"I'm... fine," David said in a small voice. He looked away from Jasper's face, the beautiful images of the boy singing underneath the moonlight flashing in his mind.
Jasper noticed the injuries on his cheek and arms, and frowned. "What were you even doing here? It's late."
David froze.
Should he... lie?
"I..." David started, cheeks reddening. Â He desperately wanted to flee from the situation, but something made him stay. "I was... watching you--watching you play and sing."
This time, it was Jasper who reddened. The blush of embarrassment was a tiny bit visible at night. "Oh... that's... kind of embarrassing," Jasper stated awkwardly, laughing a bit.
David quickly apologized, then lowered his head. "For what it's worth... I think you're cool."
Jasper made a strange, almost choking noise. He thought he was cool?
"Oh wait--no no, that's not--I meant your singing and playing!!" David gasped out, waving his hands like a mad man.
Jasper chuckled a little, then picked up his uke from the ground. "Well thanks, spangler. It's getting late, though, so we should probably start heading back to camp." Jasper held out his hand to help David up. "'course, we gotta clean you up a little bit."
David looked up at Jasper and once more, something in his chest clenched.
What was wrong with him?
David took Jasper's hand.
It was the first step towards him finally opening up; his first step towards him discovering who he really was.
Jasper and David practically knew one another like the back of their hands.
After years of spending the entire summer and as much time as they could during the school year together, the two boys grew closer and closer. Jasper helped David explore parts of himself, and David even helped Jasper through some things.
Jasper didn't exactly enjoy camp. The only reason he stayed was for David, who seemingly loved it.
However, that changed quickly.
One day, David said he was going to go and get wood for something he was making. Jasper wasn't sure what exactly it was since David kept insisting it was a secret. Jasper wanted to help the boy, but he let David go by himself. He claimed he was only going to be gone for a little while; half an hour, max.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty.
Half an hour.
Forty minutes.
Jasper grew impatient and worried while he paced back and forth in front of their shared tent. Why hadn't David come back yet? He wasn't the type to be late to things on purpose. Should he go out and look for him?
Jasper let out a loud sigh, then began running. He ran into the forest, looking around.
What if David had hurt himself? What if he was stuck underneath a log and couldn't get out?
Millions of questions ran through Jasper's mind, which only worried the sage-haired boy even more.
"Davey!" Jasper called out, stopping to turn in a circle. "Davey, can you hear me?"
Jasper got no response.
And then he did.
A very faint rustling sound came from Jasper's right side, and he snapped his head in that direction. There was a weak, familiar voice that called out his name.
"Jasp..."
He almost started sobbing right then and there. Looking at him with a pale face and a weak smile was David. Three large scratch wounds ran down his chest, crimson blood seeping through his yellow camper t-shirt.
"Davey... Davey, no, no, no, no," Jasper muttered rushing towards him. Jasper held out his arms and almost instantly, David fell right into them. Jasper's hands shook violently, mind frantically trying to figure out a way to help him, to save him.
David's head rested on Jasper's chest, Jasper holding him with one arm while the other tried to put pressure on the wounds. Blood spilled out the more he did it, though, and showed no sign of stopping.
"Jasp..." David's breathing was laboured and heavy, "I'm... sorry."
Jasper shook his head. "No. Don't apologize... you're okay. I should've been with you."
David smiled, and Jasper almost lost it.
How could he smile at a time like this? He was dying, yet he still found some way to smile?
Tears welled up in Jasper's eyes. He had to control himself. David was fatally wounded in his arms--Jasper had to be the one comforting him, not the other way around.
"I am not letting you die," Jasper said, then made an attempt at picking David up. David let out a strangled cry, and Jasper immediately stopped.
"Jasper, I'm... I'm d-done for."
The boy closed his eyes and shook his head. He wanted to wake up. He wanted to wake up from this nightmare. He wanted to wake up and see David peacefully asleep in their tent, curled up with his hair slightly hanging over his face. He wanted to see his smile, hear his bubbly laugh, feel his warm hugs.
Just then, David put a sticky hand on Jasper's cheek, eyes tearing up as well.
"I'm lying on the moon; My dear, I'll be there soon," David sang softly, a few salty tears rolling down his cheeks.
Jasper lost all self-control as a steady stream of tears made their way down his face.
He was singing the song they met with.
With a shaky voice, Jasper sang with him. "It's a quiet and starry place; Times were swallowed up in space."
The two of them sang softly underneath the shade of a large oak tree. Jasper hunched his back, pressing his forehead to David's. Both of their tears mixed together, and Jasper held on to David's hand tightly.
He didn't want to let him go.
"It's a dark and shiny place; But with you my dear I'm safe," they both sang, and Jasper could feel David's grip slowly loosen.
David looked up at Jasper, eyes taking in Jasper's face one last time. "We're here; a million..."
David didn't finish the line.
His grip on Jasper's hand was no more, and his eyes had closed completely.
"Davey?" Jasper called out softly, face red and blotchy
That's when it hit him.
Jasper wouldn't get to go out to the docks with him again.
Jasper wouldn't get to see the look of pure joy on his face while they hiked again.
Jasper wouldn't get to joke around with him again.
Jasper would get to sing with him again.
Jasper sobbed. He sobbed and sobbed until there were no more tears left for him to produce. He never moved from that position of holding David close to his body. He didn't want to let go of him ever again.
Counsellors eventually came looking for the two of them. Night had fallen and they were out with flashlights.
Jasper didn't say a word when he saw the bright light, or when he heard one of the counsellors shout "they're over here!". He didn't say a word when they came rushing over to them, or when one of them asked what had happened.
The counsellors brought David back to camp, Jasper silently following behind.
He didn't even bother washing up. He simply went down to the lake, sat at the edge of the water and tucked his knees into his chest.
Jasper looked down at his hands with a sullen look.
Hey question, who was the first person you talked to at this size?
âI donât know if this counts but⊠those dickweeds on the other side of Camp Campbell â the WoodâŠWoodscouts? âwell they came when on the look for more campers to drag to their camp.â
Jasper let out a long, exhausted sigh. âI barely got one word out before the zit-faced one screamed about seeing a âdwarfââŠâ
Jaspvid, sitting in the back of the room because they already know that their ship will never be canon unless AUs are involved or Davey and Jasper dated before Jasper died, which is almost impossible since theyâre just kids, and theyâve already gotten over the pain and suffering of the realization theyâll never be canon: Arenât you two cute.
