diff --git a/src/cbaselib.c b/src/cbaselib.c
index 65e02db..3a78301 100644
--- a/src/cbaselib.c
+++ b/src/cbaselib.c
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ int cosmoB_tostring(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
         return 0;
     }
 
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(cosmoV_toString(state, args[0])));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)cosmoV_toString(state, args[0]));
     return 1;
 }
 
@@ -303,11 +303,10 @@ void cosmoB_loadStrLib(CState *state) {
         cosmoV_pushString(state, identifiers[i]);
         cosmoV_pushCFunction(state, strLib[i]);
     }
-    cosmoV_makeObject(state, i);
 
-    // grab the object from the stack and set the base protoObject
-    StkPtr obj = cosmoV_getTop(state, 0);
-    state->protoObjects[COBJ_STRING] = cosmoV_readObject(*obj);
+    // make the object and set the protoobject for all strings
+    CObjObject *obj = cosmoV_makeObject(state, i);
+    cosmoV_registerProtoObject(state, COBJ_STRING, obj);
 
     // register "string" to the global table
     cosmoV_register(state, 1);
@@ -322,7 +321,7 @@ int cosmoB_dsetProto(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
 
         obj->proto = proto; // boom done
     } else {
-        cosmoV_error(state, "Expected 2 parameters, got %d!", nargs);
+        cosmoV_error(state, "Expected 2 arguments, got %d!", nargs);
     }
 
     return 0; // nothing
@@ -331,13 +330,63 @@ int cosmoB_dsetProto(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
 int cosmoB_dgetProto(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
     if (nargs != 1) {
         cosmoV_error(state, "Expected 1 argument, got %d!", nargs);
+        return 0;
     }
 
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(cosmoV_readObject(args[0])->_obj.proto)); // just return the proto
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)cosmoV_readObject(args[0])->_obj.proto); // just return the proto
 
     return 1; // 1 result
 }
 
+int cosmoB_vindexBProto(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
+    if (nargs != 2) {
+        cosmoV_error(state, "Expected 2 argument, got %d!", nargs);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (!IS_NUMBER(args[1])) {
+        cosmoV_typeError(state, "baseProtos.__index", "<number>", "%s", cosmoV_typeStr(args[0]));
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    int indx = (int)cosmoV_readNumber(args[1]);
+
+    if (indx >= COBJ_MAX || indx < 0) {
+        cosmoV_error(state, "index out of range! expected 0 - %d, got %d!", COBJ_MAX - 1, indx);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (state->protoObjects[indx] != NULL)
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)state->protoObjects[indx]);
+    else
+        cosmoV_pushNil(state);
+    
+    return 1; // 1 value pushed, 1 value returned
+}
+
+int cosmoB_vnewindexBProto(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
+    if (nargs != 3) {
+        cosmoV_error(state, "Expected 3 arguments, got %d!", nargs);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    if (!IS_NUMBER(args[1]) || !IS_OBJECT(args[2])) {
+        cosmoV_typeError(state, "baseProtos.__newindex", "<object>, <number>, <object>", "%s, %s, %s", cosmoV_typeStr(args[0]), cosmoV_typeStr(args[1]), cosmoV_typeStr(args[2]));
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    int indx = (int)cosmoV_readNumber(args[1]);
+    CObjObject *proto = cosmoV_readObject(args[2]);
+
+    if (indx >= COBJ_MAX || indx < 0) {
+        cosmoV_error(state, "index out of range! expected 0 - %d, got %d!", COBJ_MAX, indx);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    cosmoV_registerProtoObject(state, indx, proto);
+    return 0; // we don't return anything
+}
+
 void cosmoB_loadDebug(CState *state) {
     // make __getter object for debug proto
     cosmoV_pushString(state, "__getter");
@@ -357,8 +406,28 @@ void cosmoB_loadDebug(CState *state) {
     cosmoV_makeTable(state, 1);
 
     // we call makeObject leting it know there are 2 sets of key & value pairs on the stack
-    cosmoV_makeObject(state, 2);
+    CObjObject *obj = cosmoV_makeObject(state, 2);
 
     // set debug protos to the debug object
-    state->protoObjects[COBJ_OBJECT] = cosmoV_readObject(*cosmoV_pop(state));
+    cosmoV_registerProtoObject(state, COBJ_OBJECT, obj);
+
+    // make vm.* object
+    cosmoV_pushString(state, "vm");
+
+    // make vm.baseProtos object
+    cosmoV_pushString(state, "baseProtos");
+
+    cosmoV_pushString(state, "__index");
+    cosmoV_pushCFunction(state, cosmoB_vindexBProto);
+
+    cosmoV_pushString(state, "__newindex");
+    cosmoV_pushCFunction(state, cosmoB_vnewindexBProto);
+
+    cosmoV_makeObject(state, 2); // makes the baseProtos object
+    cosmoV_makeObject(state, 1); // makes the vm object
+
+    // register "vm" to the global table
+    cosmoV_register(state, 1);
+
+    printf("[WARNING] the debug library has been loaded!");
 }
diff --git a/src/cbaselib.h b/src/cbaselib.h
index 07a6aa3..b10c1af 100644
--- a/src/cbaselib.h
+++ b/src/cbaselib.h
@@ -5,15 +5,30 @@
 
 /* loads all of the base library, including:
     - base library ("print", "assert", "type", "pcall", "loadstring", etc.)
-    - string library ("string.sub", "string.split", "string.find")
+    - string library ("string.sub", "string.find", "string.split", "string.charAt")
 */
 COSMO_API void cosmoB_loadLibrary(CState *state);
+
+/* loads the base string library, including:
+    - string.sub
+    - stirng.find
+    - string.split
+    - string.charAt
+
+    The base proto object for strings is also set, allowing you to invoke the string.* api through string objects, eg.
+        `"hello world":split(" ")` is equivalent to `string.split("hello world", " ")`
+*/
 COSMO_API void cosmoB_loadStrLib(CState *state);
+
+/* sets the base proto of all objects to the debug proto which allows for
+    - manipulation of the ProtoObject of objects through the '__proto' field
+
+    additionally, the vm.* library is loaded, including:
+    - manually setting/grabbing base protos of any object (vm.baseProtos)
+
+    for this reason, it is recommended to NOT load this library in production
+*/
 COSMO_API void cosmoB_loadDebug(CState *state);
-COSMO_API int cosmoB_print(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args);
-COSMO_API int cosmoB_assert(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args);
-COSMO_API int cosmoB_type(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args);
-COSMO_API int cosmoB_pcall(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args);
 
 #define cosmoV_typeError(state, name, expectedTypes, formatStr, ...) \
         cosmoV_error(state, name " expected (" expectedTypes "), got (" formatStr ")!", __VA_ARGS__);
diff --git a/src/cobj.c b/src/cobj.c
index b499438..2b13261 100644
--- a/src/cobj.c
+++ b/src/cobj.c
@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ CObjObject *cosmoO_newObject(CState *state) {
     CObjObject *obj = (CObjObject*)cosmoO_allocateBase(state, sizeof(CObjObject), COBJ_OBJECT);
     obj->istringFlags = 0;
     obj->userP = NULL; // reserved for C API
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj)); // so our GC can keep track of it
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj); // so our GC can keep track of it
     cosmoT_initTable(state, &obj->tbl, ARRAY_START);
     cosmoV_pop(state);
 
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ CObjTable *cosmoO_newTable(CState *state) {
     CObjTable *obj = (CObjTable*)cosmoO_allocateBase(state, sizeof(CObjTable), COBJ_TABLE);
 
     // init the table (might cause a GC event)
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj)); // so our GC can keep track of obj
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj); // so our GC can keep track of obj
     cosmoT_initTable(state, &obj->tbl, ARRAY_START);
     cosmoV_pop(state);
 
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ CObjString *cosmoO_allocateString(CState *state, const char *str, size_t sz, uin
     strObj->hash = hash;
 
     // we push & pop the string so our GC can find it (we don't use freezeGC/unfreezeGC because we *want* a GC event to happen)
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(strObj)); 
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)strObj); 
     cosmoT_insert(state, &state->strings, cosmoV_newObj((CObj*)strObj));
     cosmoV_pop(state);
 
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ bool cosmoO_getRawObject(CState *state, CObjObject *proto, CValue key, CValue *v
     if (!cosmoT_get(&proto->tbl, key, val)) { // if the field doesn't exist in the object, check the proto
         if (cosmoO_getIString(state, proto, ISTRING_GETTER, val) && IS_TABLE(*val) && cosmoT_get(&cosmoV_readTable(*val)->tbl, key, val)) {
             cosmoV_pushValue(state, *val); // push function
-            cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj)); // push object
+            cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj); // push object
             if (cosmoV_call(state, 1, 1) != COSMOVM_OK) // call the function with the 1 argument
                 return false;
             *val = *cosmoV_pop(state); // set value to the return value of __index
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@ void cosmoO_setRawObject(CState *state, CObjObject *proto, CValue key, CValue va
     // first check for __setters
     if (cosmoO_getIString(state, proto, ISTRING_SETTER, &ret) && IS_TABLE(ret) && cosmoT_get(&cosmoV_readTable(ret)->tbl, key, &ret)) {
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, ret); // push function
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj)); // push object
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj); // push object
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, val); // push new value
         cosmoV_call(state, 2, 0);
         return;
@@ -378,7 +378,7 @@ bool cosmoO_getIString(CState *state, CObjObject *object, int flag, CValue *val)
 bool cosmoO_indexObject(CState *state, CObjObject *object, CValue key, CValue *val) {
     if (cosmoO_getIString(state, object, ISTRING_INDEX, val)) {
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, *val); // push function
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(object)); // push object
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)object); // push object
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, key); // push key
         if (cosmoV_call(state, 2, 1) != COSMOVM_OK) // call the function with the 2 arguments
             return false;
@@ -396,7 +396,7 @@ bool cosmoO_newIndexObject(CState *state, CObjObject *object, CValue key, CValue
 
     if (cosmoO_getIString(state, object, ISTRING_NEWINDEX, &ret)) {
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, ret); // push function
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(object)); // push object
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)object); // push object
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, key); // push key & value pair
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, val);
         return cosmoV_call(state, 3, 0) == COSMOVM_OK;
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ CObjString *cosmoO_toString(CState *state, CObj *obj) {
     // use user-defined __tostring
     if (protoObject != NULL && cosmoO_getIString(state, protoObject, ISTRING_TOSTRING, &res)) {
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, res);
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj));
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj);
         if (cosmoV_call(state, 1, 1) != COSMOVM_OK)
             return cosmoO_copyString(state, "<err>", 5);
 
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ cosmo_Number cosmoO_toNumber(CState *state, CObj *obj) {
 
     if (proto != NULL && cosmoO_getIString(state, proto, ISTRING_TONUMBER, &res)) {
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, res);
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj));
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj);
         if (cosmoV_call(state, 1, 1) != COSMOVM_OK) // call res, expect 1 return val of <number>
             return 0;
         
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@ int cosmoO_count(CState *state, CObj *obj) {
 
     if (proto != NULL && cosmoO_getIString(state, proto, ISTRING_COUNT, &res)) {
         cosmoV_pushValue(state, res);
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj));
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj);
         if (cosmoV_call(state, 1, 1) != COSMOVM_OK) // call res, we expect 1 return value of type <number>
             return 0;
 
diff --git a/src/cobj.h b/src/cobj.h
index 3cfe3ce..22ee177 100644
--- a/src/cobj.h
+++ b/src/cobj.h
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 #include "cosmo.h"
 
-typedef enum {
+typedef enum CObjType {
     COBJ_STRING,
     COBJ_OBJECT,
     COBJ_TABLE,
diff --git a/src/cparse.c b/src/cparse.c
index 61f10c9..dc20fb5 100644
--- a/src/cparse.c
+++ b/src/cparse.c
@@ -1630,7 +1630,7 @@ CObjFunction* cosmoP_compileString(CState *state, const char *source, const char
     freeParseState(&parser);
 
     // push the funciton onto the stack so if we cause an GC event, it won't be free'd
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(resFunc));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)resFunc);
     cosmoM_unfreezeGC(state);
     cosmoV_pop(state);
     return resFunc;
diff --git a/src/cvm.c b/src/cvm.c
index f37212e..667b746 100644
--- a/src/cvm.c
+++ b/src/cvm.c
@@ -37,14 +37,14 @@ COSMO_API bool cosmoV_compileString(CState *state, const char *src, const char *
         disasmChunk(&func->chunk, func->module->str, 0);
 #endif
         // push function onto the stack so it doesn't it cleaned up by the GC, at the same stack location put our closure
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(func));
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)func);
         *(cosmoV_getTop(state, 0)) = cosmoV_newObj(cosmoO_newClosure(state, func));
         return true;
     }
 
     // fail
     state->panic = false;
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(state->error));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)state->error);
     return false;
 }
 
@@ -173,9 +173,9 @@ void cosmoV_concat(CState *state, int vals) {
 
     CObjString *result = cosmoV_toString(state, *start);
     for (StkPtr current = start + 1; current <= end; current++) {
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(result)); // so our GC can find our current result string
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)result); // so our GC can find our current result string
         CObjString *otherStr = cosmoV_toString(state, *current);
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(otherStr)); // also so our GC won't free otherStr
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)otherStr); // also so our GC won't free otherStr
 
         // concat the two strings together
         size_t sz = result->length + otherStr->length;
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ void cosmoV_concat(CState *state, int vals) {
     }
 
     state->top = start;
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(result));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)result);
 }
 
 int cosmoV_execute(CState *state);
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ bool callCValue(CState *state, CValue func, int args, int nresults, int offset)
             CObjObject *protoObj = (CObjObject*)cosmoV_readObj(func);
             CValue ret;
 
-            cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(protoObj)); // push proto to stack for GC to find
+            cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)protoObj); // push proto to stack for GC to find
             CObjObject *newObj = cosmoO_newObject(state);
             newObj->_obj.proto = protoObj;
             cosmoV_pop(state); // pop proto
@@ -340,7 +340,7 @@ bool callCValue(CState *state, CValue func, int args, int nresults, int offset)
             }
 
             if (nresults > 0) {
-                cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj));
+                cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj);
 
                 // push the nils to fill up the expected return values
                 for (int i = 0; i < nresults - 1; i++) { // -1 since the we already pushed the important value
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ COSMOVMRESULT cosmoV_pcall(CState *state, int args, int nresults) {
         state->panic = false;
 
         if (nresults > 0) {
-            cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(state->error));
+            cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)state->error);
             
             // push other expected results onto the stack
             for (int i = 0; i < nresults-1; i++)
@@ -404,10 +404,10 @@ static inline bool isFalsey(StkPtr val) {
     return IS_NIL(*val) || (IS_BOOLEAN(*val) && !cosmoV_readBoolean(*val));
 }
 
-COSMO_API void cosmoV_makeObject(CState *state, int pairs) {
+COSMO_API CObjObject* cosmoV_makeObject(CState *state, int pairs) {
     StkPtr key, val;
     CObjObject *newObj = cosmoO_newObject(state);
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj)); // so our GC doesn't free our new object
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj); // so our GC doesn't free our new object
 
     for (int i = 0; i < pairs; i++) {
         val = cosmoV_getTop(state, (i*2) + 1);
@@ -420,13 +420,20 @@ COSMO_API void cosmoV_makeObject(CState *state, int pairs) {
 
     // once done, pop everything off the stack + push new object
     cosmoV_setTop(state, (pairs * 2) + 1); // + 1 for our object
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj);
+    return newObj;
+}
+
+COSMO_API bool cosmoV_registerProtoObject(CState *state, CObjType objType, CObjObject *obj) {
+    bool replaced = state->protoObjects[objType] != NULL;
+    state->protoObjects[objType] = obj;
+    return replaced;
 }
 
 COSMO_API void cosmoV_makeTable(CState *state, int pairs) {
     StkPtr key, val;
     CObjTable *newObj = cosmoO_newTable(state);
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj)); // so our GC doesn't free our new table
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj); // so our GC doesn't free our new table
 
     for (int i = 0; i < pairs; i++) {
         val = cosmoV_getTop(state, (i*2) + 1);
@@ -439,7 +446,7 @@ COSMO_API void cosmoV_makeTable(CState *state, int pairs) {
 
     // once done, pop everything off the stack + push new table
     cosmoV_setTop(state, (pairs * 2) + 1); // + 1 for our table
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj);
 }
 
 COSMO_API bool cosmoV_get(CState *state, CObj *_obj, CValue key, CValue *val) {
@@ -454,7 +461,7 @@ COSMO_API bool cosmoV_get(CState *state, CObj *_obj, CValue key, CValue *val) {
     }
 
     // push the object onto the stack so the GC can find it
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(object));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)object);
     if (cosmoO_getRawObject(state, object, key, val, _obj)) {
         // *val now equals the response, pop the object
         cosmoV_pop(state);
@@ -486,7 +493,7 @@ COSMO_API bool cosmoV_getMethod(CState *state, CObj *obj, CValue key, CValue *va
     // if the result is callable, wrap it in an method
     if (IS_CALLABLE(*val)) {
         // push object to stack so the GC can find it
-        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj));
+        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj);
         CObjMethod *method = cosmoO_newMethod(state, *val, obj);
         cosmoV_pop(state); // pop the object
         *val = cosmoV_newObj(method);
@@ -643,7 +650,7 @@ int cosmoV_execute(CState *state) {
                 uint16_t index = READUINT();
                 CObjFunction *func = cosmoV_readFunction(constants[index]);
                 CObjClosure *closure = cosmoO_newClosure(state, func);
-                cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj((CObj*)closure));
+                cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)closure);
 
                 for (int i = 0; i < closure->upvalueCount; i++) {
                     uint8_t encoding = READBYTE();
@@ -673,7 +680,7 @@ int cosmoV_execute(CState *state) {
                 uint16_t pairs = READUINT();
                 StkPtr val;
                 CObjTable *newObj = cosmoO_newTable(state);
-                cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj)); // so our GC doesn't free our new table
+                cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj); // so our GC doesn't free our new table
 
                 for (int i = 0; i < pairs; i++) {
                     val = cosmoV_getTop(state, i + 1);
@@ -685,7 +692,7 @@ int cosmoV_execute(CState *state) {
 
                 // once done, pop everything off the stack + push new table
                 cosmoV_setTop(state, pairs + 1); // + 1 for our table
-                cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(newObj));
+                cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)newObj);
                 continue;
             }
             case OP_INDEX: {
@@ -851,7 +858,7 @@ int cosmoV_execute(CState *state) {
                     if (cosmoO_getIString(state, proto, ISTRING_ITER, &val)) {
                         cosmoV_pop(state); // pop the object from the stack
                         cosmoV_pushValue(state, val);
-                        cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj));
+                        cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)obj);
                         if (cosmoV_call(state, 1, 1) != COSMOVM_OK) // we expect 1 return value on the stack, the iterable object
                             return -1;
 
@@ -871,23 +878,21 @@ int cosmoV_execute(CState *state) {
                 } else if (obj->type == COBJ_TABLE) {
                     CObjTable *tbl = (CObjTable*)obj;
 
-                    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(state->iStrings[ISTRING_RESERVED])); // key
-                    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(tbl)); // value
+                    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)state->iStrings[ISTRING_RESERVED]); // key
+                    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)tbl); // value
 
                     cosmoV_pushString(state, "__next"); // key
                     CObjCFunction *tbl_next = cosmoO_newCFunction(state, _tbl__next);
-                    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(tbl_next)); // value
+                    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)tbl_next); // value
 
-                    cosmoV_makeObject(state, 2); // pushes the new object to the stack
-
-                    CObjObject *obj = cosmoV_readObject(*(cosmoV_getTop(state, 0)));
+                    CObjObject *obj = cosmoV_makeObject(state, 2); // pushes the new object to the stack
                     cosmoO_setUserI(state, obj, 0); // increment for iterator
 
                     // make our CObjMethod for OP_NEXT to call
                     CObjMethod *method = cosmoO_newMethod(state, cosmoV_newObj(tbl_next), (CObj*)obj);
 
                     cosmoV_setTop(state, 2); // pops the object & the tbl
-                    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(method)); // pushes the method for OP_NEXT
+                    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)method); // pushes the method for OP_NEXT
                 } else {
                     cosmoV_error(state, "No proto defined! Couldn't get from type %s", cosmoO_typeStr(obj));
                     return -1;
diff --git a/src/cvm.h b/src/cvm.h
index 8e676e4..70847c7 100644
--- a/src/cvm.h
+++ b/src/cvm.h
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ typedef enum {
 // args = # of pass parameters, nresults = # of expected results
 COSMO_API COSMOVMRESULT cosmoV_call(CState *state, int args, int nresults);
 COSMO_API COSMOVMRESULT cosmoV_pcall(CState *state, int args, int nresults);
-COSMO_API void cosmoV_makeObject(CState *state, int pairs);
+
+// pushes new object onto the stack & returns a pointer to the new object
+COSMO_API CObjObject* cosmoV_makeObject(CState *state, int pairs);
 COSMO_API void cosmoV_makeTable(CState *state, int pairs);
 COSMO_API void cosmoV_concat(CState *state, int vals);
 COSMO_API void cosmoV_pushFString(CState *state, const char *format, ...);
@@ -26,6 +28,9 @@ COSMO_API CObjError* cosmoV_throw(CState *state);
 COSMO_API void cosmoV_error(CState *state, const char *format, ...);
 COSMO_API void cosmo_insert(CState *state, int indx, CValue val);
 
+// returns true if replacing a previously registered proto object for this type
+COSMO_API bool cosmoV_registerProtoObject(CState *state, CObjType objType, CObjObject *obj);
+
 /*
     compiles string into a <closure>, if successful, <closure> will be pushed onto the stack otherwise the <error> will be pushed.
 
@@ -90,13 +95,17 @@ static inline void cosmoV_pushBoolean(CState *state, bool b) {
     cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newBoolean(b));
 }
 
+static inline void cosmoV_pushObj(CState *state, CObj *obj) {
+    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(obj));
+}
+
 // pushes a C Function to the stack
 static inline void cosmoV_pushCFunction(CState *state, CosmoCFunction func) {
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(cosmoO_newCFunction(state, func)));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)cosmoO_newCFunction(state, func));
 }
 
 static inline void cosmoV_pushLString(CState *state, const char *str, size_t len) {
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(cosmoO_copyString(state, str, len)));
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)cosmoO_copyString(state, str, len));
 }
 
 // accepts a null terminated string and copys the buffer to the VM heap
@@ -104,4 +113,8 @@ static inline void cosmoV_pushString(CState *state, const char *str) {
     cosmoV_pushLString(state, str, strlen(str));
 }
 
+static inline void cosmoV_pushNil(CState *state) {
+    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newNil());
+}
+
 #endif
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index c7d5586..ecc1284 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ int cosmoB_input(CState *state, int nargs, CValue *args) {
     char line[1024];
     fgets(line, sizeof(line), stdin);
 
-    cosmoV_pushValue(state, cosmoV_newObj(cosmoO_copyString(state, line, strlen(line)-1))); // -1 for the \n
+    cosmoV_pushObj(state, (CObj*)cosmoO_copyString(state, line, strlen(line)-1)); // -1 for the \n
 
     return 1; // 1 return value
 }