diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 6f38518..c618140 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -32,4 +32,4 @@ During distribution, there are a couple of files that should be left out:
 
 Everything related to the core functionality - loading actors, callbacks - goes in `template/main.xml`. It's not the most convinient, but I want to eventually move this out to its own Lua file.
 
-Everything related to the standard library should go into `template/stdlib/` - all files there are manually required in `template/stdlib/index.lua`.
\ No newline at end of file
+Everything related to the standard library should go into `template/stdlib/` - all files there are required by the user, so be mindful of filenames
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/main.xml b/main.xml
index c3301ea..43c1e05 100644
--- a/main.xml
+++ b/main.xml
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 <Layer Type="ActorFrame" InitCommand="%function(self)
   _G.oat = {}
   oat._main = self
+  oat.dir = GAMESTATE:GetCurrentSong():GetSongDir()
 
   setmetatable(oat, {
     -- if something isn't found in the table, fall back to a global lookup
@@ -12,6 +13,70 @@
       return f
     end
   })
+
+  -- make require work
+  -- stolen from mirin template
+  -- https://github.com/XeroOl/notitg-mirin/blob/0fbff2ee93d905feeb58c4aac4fe7f5f9ebc9647/template/std.lua#L17
+  oat.package = {
+    -- uranium template loader path
+    path = 'src/?.lua;src/?/init.lua;template/?.lua',
+    preload = {},
+    loaded = {},
+    loaders = {
+      function(modname)
+        local preload = oat.package.preload[modname]
+        return preload or 'no field oat.package.preload[\''..modname..'\']'
+      end,
+      function(modname)
+        local errors = {}
+        -- get the filename
+        local filename = string.gsub(modname, '%.', '/')
+        for path in (string.gfind or string.gmatch)(oat.package.path, '[^;]+') do
+          -- get the file path
+          local filepath = oat.dir .. string.gsub(path, '%?', filename)
+          -- check if file exists
+          if not GAMESTATE:GetFileStructure(filepath) then
+            table.insert(errors, 'no file \''..filepath..'\'')
+          else
+            local loader, err = loadfile(filepath)
+            -- check if file loads properly
+            if err then
+              error(err, 3)
+            elseif loader then
+              return oat(loader)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+        return table.concat(errors, '\n')
+      end,
+    },
+  }
+
+  function oat.require(modname)
+    local loaded = oat.package.loaded
+    if not loaded[modname] then
+      local errors = {'module \''..modname..'\' not found:'}
+      local chunk
+      for _, loader in ipairs(oat.package.loaders) do
+        local result = loader(modname)
+        if type(result) == 'string' then
+          table.insert(errors, result)
+        elseif type(result) == 'function' then
+          chunk = result
+          break
+        end
+      end
+      if not chunk then
+        error(table.concat(errors, '\n'), 2)
+      end
+      loaded[modname] = chunk()
+      if loaded[modname] == nil then
+        loaded[modname] = true
+      end
+    end
+    return loaded[modname]
+  end
+
   oat()
 
   local function copy(src)
@@ -186,115 +251,6 @@
 
   GAMESTATE:ApplyModifiers('clearall')
 
-  local function formatError(file, e)
-    local _, _, err = string.find(e, 'error loading package `[^`\']+\' %((.+)%)')
-    return (file and err) and ('error loading \'' .. file .. '\':\n' .. err) or e
-  end
-
-  local songName = GAMESTATE:GetCurrentSong():GetSongDir()
-  local additionalSongFolders = PREFSMAN:GetPreference('AdditionalSongFolders')
-  local additionalFolders = PREFSMAN:GetPreference('AdditionalFolders')
-  local function attemptload(f, filename) -- not to be confused with tryload
-    local err = ''
-    local lasterr = ''
-    local func
-
-    local s = '.' .. songName .. f
-
-    func, lasterr = loadfile(s)
-    if func then return func end
-    if not string.find(lasterr, '\' from path `') then return nil, formatError(filename, lasterr), nil end
-    err = err .. s .. '\n'
-
-    s = f
-
-    func, lasterr = loadfile(s)
-    if func then return func end
-    if not string.find(lasterr, '\' from path `') then return nil, formatError(filename, lasterr), nil end
-    err = err .. s .. '\n'
-
-    -- cut off 'Songs/' from the path
-    local _,index = string.find(songName,'Songs/')
-    local songLoc = string.sub(songName,index)
-
-    -- for every songfolder in the additionalsongfolders
-    if additionalSongFolders and additionalSongFolders ~= '' then
-      for songFolder in string.gfind(additionalSongFolders,'[^,]+') do
-        s = songFolder .. songLoc .. f
-
-        func, lasterr = loadfile(s)
-        if func then return func end
-        err = err .. s .. '\n'
-      end
-    end
-
-    if additionalFolders and additionalFolders ~= '' then
-      for folder in string.gfind(additionalFolders,'[^,]+') do
-        s = folder .. songName .. f
-
-        func, lasterr = loadfile(s)
-        if func then return func end
-        err = err .. s .. '\n'
-      end
-    end
-
-    return nil, lasterr, string.sub(err, 0, -2)
-  end
-
-  oat._loadPath = ''
-
-  function tryload(f)
-    local func, err, trace = attemptload(oat._loadPath .. f, f)
-    if not func then
-      if trace then
-        backToSongWheel('finding \'' .. f .. '\' failed, check log for more details')
-        error('uranium: finding \'' .. f .. '\' failed! tried these paths: ' .. '\n' .. trace, 2)
-        Trace(trace)
-      else
-        error(err, 2)
-        Trace('loading \'' .. f .. '\' failed!' .. '\n' .. err)
-      end
-    else
-      return oat(func)
-    end
-  end
-
-  local function getFolderStructure(path)
-    local folders = {}
-    for folder in string.gfind(path, '[^/]+') do
-      table.insert(folders, folder)
-    end
-    table.remove(folders, #folders)
-    return table.concat(folders, '/')
-  end
-
-  oat._requirePath = ''
-
-  function require(f)
-    -- . -> /
-    f = string.gsub(f, '%.', '/')
-    -- add .lua
-    f = f .. '.lua'
-
-    local oldpath = oat._requirePath
-    local folder = getFolderStructure(f)
-    if folder ~= '' then
-      oat._requirePath = oat._requirePath .. folder .. '/'
-    end
-    local res, c = pcall(tryload, oldpath .. f)
-    if not res then
-      error(c, 2)
-    else
-      local success, s = pcall(c)
-      if success then
-        return s
-      else
-        error('uranium: error loading \'' .. f .. '\':\n' .. s, 2)
-      end
-    end
-    oat._requirePath = oldpath
-  end
-
   -- actors
 
   local actorQueue = {}
@@ -447,7 +403,7 @@
     if not file then type = 'Sprite' end
     table.insert(actorQueue, {
       type = type,
-      file = file and '../src/' .. oat._requirePath .. file,
+      file = file and oat.dir .. file,
       init = function(a)
         actor.__lock(a)
       end
@@ -461,7 +417,7 @@
     local actor = createProxyActor('Model')
     table.insert(actorQueue, {
       type = nil,
-      file = '../src/' .. oat._requirePath .. file,
+      file = file and oat.dir .. file,
       init = function(a)
         actor.__lock(a)
       end
@@ -474,7 +430,7 @@
     local actor = createProxyActor('BitmapText')
     table.insert(actorQueue, {
       type = 'BitmapText',
-      font = font and ('../src/' .. oat._requirePath .. font) or 'common',
+      font = font and (oat.dir .. font) or 'common',
       init = function(a)
         if text then a:settext(text) end
         actor.__lock(a)
@@ -489,7 +445,7 @@
     local actor = createProxyActor('ActorSound')
     table.insert(actorQueue, {
       type = 'ActorSound',
-      file = '../src/' .. oat._requirePath .. file,
+      file = oat.dir .. file,
       init = function(a)
         actor.__lock(a)
       end
@@ -497,29 +453,21 @@
     return actor
   end
 
-  oat._loadPath = 'template/stdlib/'
-  oat.tryload('index')()
-  oat._loadPath = 'src/'
-  lua = oat.tryload('main')
+  local success, result = pcall(function()
+    require('main')
+  end)
 
-  if lua then
-    local success, result = pcall(lua)
-    if success then
-      luaobj = result
+  if success then
+    luaobj = result
 
-      self:addcommand('On', onCommand)
-      self:addcommand('Ready', screen_ready_command)
-      self:queuecommand('Ready')
-    else
-      Trace('got an error loading main.lua!')
-      Trace(result)
-      backToSongWheel('loading .lua file failed, check log for details')
-      error('uranium: loading main.lua file failed:\n' .. result)
-    end
+    self:addcommand('On', onCommand)
+    self:addcommand('Ready', screen_ready_command)
+    self:queuecommand('Ready')
   else
-    Trace('luaobj doesnt exist despite passing checks. thats VERY odd')
-    backToSongWheel('uranium: loading .lua file failed, check log for details')
-    error('loading main.lua file failed: \'lua\' variable doesn\'t exist despite passing checks')
+    Trace('got an error loading main.lua!')
+    Trace(result)
+    backToSongWheel('loading .lua file failed, check log for details')
+    error('uranium: loading main.lua file failed:\n' .. result)
   end
 
   -- NotITG and OpenITG have a long standing bug where the InitCommand on an actor can run twice in certain cases.
diff --git a/stdlib/aft.lua b/stdlib/aft.lua
index 84fba3d..861a2a4 100644
--- a/stdlib/aft.lua
+++ b/stdlib/aft.lua
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
-function sprite(self)
+local self = {}
+
+function self.sprite(self)
   self:basezoomx(sw / dw)
   self:basezoomy(-sh / dh)
   self:x(scx)
   self:y(scy)
 end
 
-function aft(self)
+function self.aft(self)
   self:SetWidth(dw)
   self:SetHeight(dh)
   self:EnableDepthBuffer(false)
@@ -13,4 +15,6 @@ function aft(self)
   self:EnableFloat(false)
   self:EnablePreserveTexture(true)
   self:Create()
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
+
+return self
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/stdlib/bitop.lua b/stdlib/bitop.lua
index a40b31c..016f4a1 100644
--- a/stdlib/bitop.lua
+++ b/stdlib/bitop.lua
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+-- TODO: tons of this is commented out because of '...'. FIX. IT.
+
 local M = {_TYPE='module', _NAME='bitop.funcs', _VERSION='1.0-0'}
 
 local floor = math.floor
diff --git a/stdlib/easable.lua b/stdlib/easable.lua
index 6e3e453..5737087 100644
--- a/stdlib/easable.lua
+++ b/stdlib/easable.lua
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ end
 
 ---@param default number
 ---@return easable
-function easable(default)
+return function(default)
   default = default or 0
   return setmetatable({a = default, toa = default}, easmeta)
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/stdlib/index.lua b/stdlib/index.lua
deleted file mode 100644
index ad87662..0000000
--- a/stdlib/index.lua
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-require('input')
-require('scheduler')
-bitop = require('bitop') -- TODO: tons of this is commented out because of '...'. FIX. IT.
-require('rng')
-require('easable')
-require('color')
-require('vector2D')
-require('ease')
-uwuify = require('uwuify')
-require('util')
-require('aft')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/stdlib/input.lua b/stdlib/input.lua
index 3b4c9ee..99ae689 100644
--- a/stdlib/input.lua
+++ b/stdlib/input.lua
@@ -1,17 +1,19 @@
-inputs = { -- -1 for not pressed, time for time of press
+local self = {}
+
+self.inputs = { -- -1 for not pressed, time for time of press
   Left = -1,
   Down = -1,
   Up = -1,
   Right = -1
 }
-rawInputs = {
+self.rawInputs = {
   Left = -1,
   Down = -1,
   Up = -1,
   Right = -1
 }
 
-directions = {
+self.directions = {
   Left = {-1, 0},
   Down = {0, 1},
   Up = {0, -1},
@@ -25,15 +27,17 @@ function uranium.init()
       local j = j
   
       _main:addcommand('StepP' .. pn .. j .. 'PressMessage', function()
-        rawInputs[j] = t
+        self.rawInputs[j] = t
         if uranium:call('press', j) then return end
-        inputs[j] = t
+        self.inputs[j] = t
       end)
       _main:addcommand('StepP' .. pn .. j .. 'LiftMessage', function()
         if uranium:call('release', j) then return end
-        inputs[j] = -1
-        rawInputs[j] = -1
+        self.inputs[j] = -1
+        self.rawInputs[j] = -1
       end)
     end
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
+
+return self
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/stdlib/rng.lua b/stdlib/rng.lua
index dad337c..059b52e 100644
--- a/stdlib/rng.lua
+++ b/stdlib/rng.lua
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 -- Lua implementation by Jill "oatmealine" Monoids
 -- Licensed under CC-BY-SA
 
+local bitop = require('stdlib.bitop')
+
 local RAND_MAX = 4294967295
 
 ---@param x int
diff --git a/stdlib/scheduler.lua b/stdlib/scheduler.lua
index e253f3f..5f356ce 100644
--- a/stdlib/scheduler.lua
+++ b/stdlib/scheduler.lua
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+local self = {}
+
 local scheduled = {
 }
 local scheduledTicks = {
@@ -11,19 +13,19 @@ local function getHighestKey(t)
   return s
 end
 
-function schedule(when, func)
+function self:schedule(when, func)
   local index = getHighestKey(scheduled) + 1
   scheduled[index] = {when, func}
   return index
 end
 
-function scheduleInTicks(when, func)
+function self:scheduleInTicks(when, func)
   local index = getHighestKey(scheduledTicks) + 1
   scheduledTicks[index] = {when, func}
   return index
 end
 
-function unschedule(i)
+function self:unschedule(i)
   if not i then
     print('warning: trying to unschedule a non-existent event')
     return
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ function unschedule(i)
   scheduled[i] = nil
 end
 
-function unscheduleInTicks(i)
+function self:unscheduleInTicks(i)
   if not i then
     print('warning: trying to unschedule a non-existent event')
   end
@@ -54,4 +56,6 @@ function uranium.update(dt)
       scheduled[k] = nil
     end
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end
+
+return self
\ No newline at end of file