Hey Everyone! 
Today marks the 20th blog post! いつも読んでくれてありがとう！まじ感謝。
Today we will be covering…
フラグ 
Any guesses for this one?
No clue? Let’s look at the origins of this word, it might give you the answer.
Origin 
フラグ comes from the English word ‘flag’. This ‘flag’ does not refer to a physical ‘flag’, but it comes from a term used in programming. In programming, a flag is a condition under which a particular process is executed. For example, in a game, the story will only progress when the conditions are correctly manipulated by the player.
Due to this meaning, it is said that gamers started to use this term to describe an action that triggered an event or a different ending. In this kind of context, the phrase「フラグが立（た）つ」was used, and it was used when ‘all the conditions to reach a certain checkpoint or an ending has been met’.
As time went by, different communities adopted 「フラグが立つ」and started to use it to describe cliches and phrases that would foreshadow a predictable outcome.
Example:
ドラマ：『戦争から帰ってきたら、結婚しよう。』
視聴者：「フラグ立った。こいつ死ぬな。」
- TV show: ‘Let’s get married when I come back from the war.’
Audience: ‘That’s a flag. This guy’s gonna die. (What a cliche. Watch, I bet he’ll die. Such a cliche)’
As you can see in the example above, it is a cliche that people that say these kinds of phrases usually die in the next few episodes or scenes.
Different Uses 
Since this is a word that is used to describe a predictable outcome of a cliche, it can be attached to words that describe the outcome.
For example, 死亡 can be attached to the フラグ used in the example above.
Example:
ドラマ：『戦争から帰ってきたら、結婚しよう。』
視聴者：「死亡フラグ立った」or 「今の死亡フラグじゃね。」
- TV show: ‘Let’s get married when I come back from the war.’
Audience: ‘Death prediction’ or ‘Did they just predict his death?’Unlike the first example, the こいつ死ぬな part can be omitted since that is a bit redundant.
Just like the example above, there are many other variation of フラグ that could be used. Let’s take a look at some other types of flags that you may encounter.
Types of フラグ:
生存フラグ
- This is used when it is foreshadowed that a character will survive a non-survivable situation
- For example, if the antagonist in an action/thriller movie says something like 「このゲームに参加して、成功した奴はまだ一人もいない」, it is a guarantee that the protagonist will successfully complete the game without dying.
恋愛フラグ
- This is used when it is foreshadowed that two characters will end up in a romantic relationship.
- For example, if a character in a rom-com says something like 「お前みたいなブスとは絶対付き合えない」to another character, it is usually guaranteed that those two characters will end up dating.
負け・勝ちフラグ
- These are used when it is foreshadowed that the protagonist will either win/lose in a battle.
- For example, if a character is cocky before a fight, they will lose, and if they are calm and collected, they will most-likely win.
When a word is attached to the front, the フラグ can be abbreviated as フラ.
Exceptions 
You might be thinking, ‘But Fuga, sometimes there are plot twists, sometimes those ‘foreshadowings’ are red herrings!’
This is absolutely true!
When the outcome is as expected the phrase フラグ回収（かいしゅう） is used. This has the meaning of ‘flag collected’, and has the nuance of ‘well, that was very predictable’.
However, as mentioned above, those cliches are sometimes put in to distract the audience. When something unexpected or unpredictable happens, the phrase フラグを折る is used. An example of this would be a character with a 生存フラグ dying like every other person, and the audience finding out that the character they were following was not even the main focus of the story. Sometimes, characters that cause these unpredictability are referred to as the フラグクラッシャー.
フラグ IRL
Although this is an internet slang, you may hear it in real life between younger folks, most of the time as a joke.
Examples:
A: この車昨日納車したばっかだから、ピッカピッカだよ！
B: あ、事故フラ。今日事故るの確定だね。
- A: This car just got delivered to me today so it is shiny!
B: Haha you just jinxed yourself. You are destined to get into an accident now.A: もしもーし？聞こえてる？急に話さなくなったけど、どうした？
B: 親フラ。ミュートにするね。
- A: Hello? Can you hear me? You suddenly stopped talking. Is everything okay?
B: Parents incoming. Muting.
Unlike many of the slang that I have introduced in the past, this one is relatively new, so you wont sound too 時代遅れ using this word. However, slang like this go out of commission with absolute quickness so I cannot guarantee that this will still be a ‘cool’ word to use by the time you read this.
みんなは Final Destination という映画は見たことある？俺は小学生ぐらいの頃に見てしまった 
あの映画のせいで、いまだになんでも死亡フラグに見えてしまう。とくにこういうの…
こんなの死亡フラグでしかないだろ
Fuga
If you missed the previous posts, you can check them out here!
Previous posts
草［乙～スラ（１）］
2ちゃんねる［乙～スラ（２）］
乙［乙～スラ（３）］
ワンチャン［乙～スラ（４）］
炎上［乙～スラ（5）］
飛ぶぞ［乙～スラ（６）］
今北産業［乙～スラ（７）］
特級呪物［乙～スラ（8）］
〇〇構文［乙～スラ（9）］
陰キャ・陽キャ [乙〜スラ（10）]
〇〇ガチャ[乙〜スラ（11）]
自宅警備員[乙〜スラ（12）]
DQN [乙〜スラ（13）]
Semi-useful 2ch Slang［乙～スラ（14）］
FF［乙～スラ（15）］…FF15?
厨二病［乙～スラ（16）］
マジ卍［乙～スラ（17）］
ROM ［乙～スラ（18）］
大きいお友達［乙～スラ（1９）］