Please don't turn this into a debate thread. If you do I'll eat you. Hard. In the face. With a chair.

If someone says something you don't agree with or that you don't like, tough. That also means don't waltz in here like the Duke of Hazzard that time forgot and call the other side dunces, or post in a particularly provocative manner. This is a safe space for people to simply put across what caused them to come to the decision they did, and nothing else. If that bothers you, or you just want to bash intellectual butts, start your own thread or enter one of those already destined for obfuscation alley.

Thank you.

I'm a Stormcloak because-

I don't like empires.
I don't like the way they ruin other cultures and stuff.
I don't like Tullius.
I don't like Titus Milk II.
I don't like imperials.
I love Nords.
I like Ulfric.
Rolff is my bro.
Ulfric's goal is a good one. Even if I hated him I would support the Stormcloaks because their the main goal.
Skyrim needs a king that is not afraid to make decisions that means the deaths of many to save more.

Nice idea for a thread. I especially like the "no arguing" part.

I joined the Stormcloaks because I like large Scandinavian men with beards. Well not in that way but you get the idea.. I certainly didn't have a well thought out reason. I just wanted to kill stuff with manly men.

But I'd probably consider myself an Empire supporter now. Because, Elisif.

Talos guide you~

I may not join in on the civil war debates but I'm a stormcloak at heart. Why? Because I believe Ulfric is the best chance skyrim has to survive (It's a shallow reason I know but I don't wanna start another bethforumcivilwarlolz ). The empire is like a sinking ship and it's time to get the [censored] outta there.

@Gallow- Will the women in your avatar eat my face?

I thought that was a nice touch

I think I became a Stormcloak because of Ulfric's speech when you first meet him in the Palace of the Kings. Your leader sending countless men to die in war, wiping out enemy forces just as much as your own, then accepting the terms which had started the damn thing without so much as a whisper of protest? Seemed like a pretty good reason to rebel to me. The other parts of their arguments make sense, of course, but that's the real moral lynchpin right there. Why do they owe Titus Mede their loyalty if he thinks nothing of their deaths?

You have to defeat Javier Bardem in a duel. Besides, her sister Monica's hotter

I hope you're hungry.

And have a fresh chair at hand.

I go both ways, depending on character!

Sarth chose Empire because she supports a unified, peaceful Tamriel, and has more Dominion sympathy than she'd like to admit. She's also not big on song or grandeur. Falling in love with Hadvarr on the way to Riverwood didn't hurt.

Anjhirra joined the Stormcloaks because her heart's bigger than her head, and there was NO way she was joining the team that tried removing the latter.

My chair is saddled and hungry for souls.

I guess I have a couple of reasons why I sided with the Empire. First off, I don't hate the other side. I actually like what it stands for and completely understand why they decided to join the SC's. It's an honorable cause.

That said, I don't like Ulfric. Plain and simple. In my opinion, he started this war at the wrong time. It's a very dangerous time to go around weakening an Empire that has lost much. The Dominion has been picking off the Empire province by province. Should Ulfric succeed, he pretty much accelerates the collapse of the Empire since High Rock would likely leave. IMO, Ulfric winning makes the Dominions job easier.

I don't particularly like the amount of crazy worship given to him on these forums and in game. I've seen people comparing him to Talos, Ysgrammor, and others.

In game after a Stormcloak CW victory, I feel everything has taken a bad turn. So many NPC's have rather negative dialogue like Adrianne, Arcadia, Carlotta, and a couple of others. Right before the Battle of Whiterun (SC side) Galmar says it's time to show them that the SC's are not thugs and murderers, and yet they prove that they are a bunch of thuggish people in Whiterun (in game). I don't see those kind of negative reactions in an Imperial victory. And when I do, it's only by "hardcoe" Stormcloak supporters.

Next would be the Jarls you interact with. And my god some of them. Elisif, no opinion, she's a puppet. For Markarth, Celan actually made me think better of Thongvor. I don't like his family, and don't really care for Igmund much (he's clueless). For Morthal, it's such an insignificant hold. Igrod I have no opinion of (other than she's strange). I never understood why people praise Sorli. She's just a random NPC with no CW dialogue. She even worships the 8. Falkreath, let's face it, Dengeir is superior (even though he's extremely paranoid). On Whiterun, I again have no opinion. Both decent people. Dawnstar, I don't think I need to go into much detail. Same with Winterhold. For Riften, I like Lila alright, she isn't Maven, but Maven pretty much rules the city. And them there's Windhelm. I don't like Ulfric, but he's a strong man, no one can deny it. But I like Brunwulf up for at least talking to the minorities. I understand that Ulfric has larger concerns, but that doesn't excuse him from listening to his citizens.

I know my reasons are pretty insignificant, and probably lame. I find it a bit more difficult during CW threads to give decent counter arguments since the SC's have at least 600 years of history to work with, while we only have 30.

It's hard to really see a victor though, since the Thalmor gain something regardless. In an Empire victory, they continue their operations, causing damage. In a Stormcloak victory, they make the Empire weaker target. I know the Empire won't last forever, considering it's been going down since Arena, but it still has life in it.

I've done both sides, once. Never. Again.

I hate both sides. If the extremist Thalmor succeed in wiping Talos from the possibility of even having the possibility of possibly existing in the current pattern of possibility, then good riddance. I will be minding my own business far from the mortal world to give a damn. My Dragonborn will achieve such power by the end of 4E 202 that the petty conflicts between Men and Mer are so distantly beneath him, they don't even cross his mind.

I'll respect the OP's wishes and have no desire to turn this into a debate thread. Frankly, I don't like to argue it at all, as I've seen it all before.

I feel that given the evidence and lore of the game, the previous games, and the supplementary lore material, I think the Empire has a chance, both in continuing to exist and in successfully opposing the Dominion in the future. I feel that the Stormcloaks, while well-intentioned, will be a poorer long-term choice and will provide for a poorer defense against the Thalmor. I also feel that in a worst case scenario, a Stormcloak victory will hurt Cyrodiil more than an Imperial victory will hurt Skyrim.

Just my two septims.