As usual, ninjas are going to win this poll, because many people think ninjas are 'cool', and they want to be associated with that particular aura.
However, when you get right down to it, ninjas are quintessential examples of sneaky effing bastards, and they are really nothing more than contract killers.
They certainly don't play fair; they generally work only at night, like vampires; they don't care who their victims are, so they are essentially amoral; they spend all their spare time keeping in perfect shape so they can scale walls and leap high into the air to administer fatal kicks to the throat - so they must be pretty insufferable to be around: always eating the right thing, seldom enjoying the pleasures of alcoholic beverages, never wanting to let their hair down and party.
I mean, just *think* about it. Do they *really* seem like fun guys to hang around? Would you really want a ninja as a best friend? How could you ever trust someone whose primary job and source of income is to sneak up on people, preferably when they're asleep, and slit their throats?
Now pirates, on the other hand, are a fairly straightforward,
joi de vivre lot.
I especially like the ones who look like Errol Flynn in that old Captain Blood movie.
Loose flowing shirt with blousy sleeves, neck open halfway down the chest, tight pirate pants showing off hard muscular thighs
, knee-high leather boots
, waist sash with dagger tucked in, long flowing hair.
What's not to love?
Plus, they *love* to party and heartily enjoy the odd flagon of robust spirits; they spend most of their time in ships on the glorious ocean, with sails tautly filled, snapping and billowing with fresh sea breezes. They put ashore on the most gorgeous tropical islands replete with colorful parrots, swaying palms, exotic fruits, and partially-clad indigenous people.
And their employment duties, which take up only a miniscule amount of their time, consist of relieving rich exploitive types of their ill-gotten gains.
But, all in all, surely a pirate who looks you straight in the eye and says Yo-ho-ho is preferable to a hooded ninja who sneaks around and specializes in slitting throats.
Betcha there aren't any Leo ninjas. That whole sneaking-around assassin thing is *so* not our style.
haha