diff --git a/lips/Collector.lua b/lips/Collector.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ce86a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lips/Collector.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
+local insert = table.insert
+local unpack = unpack or table.unpack
+
+local path = string.gsub(..., "[^.]+$", "")
+local Token = require(path.."Token")
+local Statement = require(path.."Statement")
+local Muncher = require(path.."Muncher")
+
+local arg_types = { -- for instructions
+    NUM = true,
+    REG = true,
+    DEFSYM = true,
+    LABELSYM = true,
+    RELLABELSYM = true,
+}
+
+local Collector = Muncher:extend()
+function Collector:init(options)
+    self.options = options or {}
+end
+
+function Collector:statement(...)
+    local s = Statement(self.fn, self.line, ...)
+    return s
+end
+
+function Collector:format_out(t, args)
+    self:format_out_raw(t[3], t[1], args, t[4], t[5])
+end
+
+function Collector:push_data(data, size)
+    -- FIXME: local 'data' name clashes with lips.data
+    --[[ pseudo-example:
+    Statement{type='!DATA',
+        {tt='BYTES', tok={0, 1, 2}},
+        {tt='HALFWORDS', tok={3, 4, 5}},
+        {tt='WORDS', tok={6, 7, 8}},
+        {tt='LABEL', tok='myLabel'},
+    }
+    --]]
+
+    -- TODO: consider not scrunching data statements, just their tokens
+
+    local last_statement = self.statements[#self.statements]
+    local s
+    if last_statement and last_statement.type == '!DATA' then
+        s = last_statement
+    else
+        s = self:statement('!DATA')
+        insert(self.statements, s)
+    end
+
+    if type(data) == 'string' and size == 'WORD' then
+        -- labels will be assembled to words
+        insert(s, Token('LABEL', data))
+        return
+    end
+
+    if size ~= 'BYTE' and size ~= 'HALFWORD' and size ~= 'WORD' then
+        error('Internal Error: unknown data size argument')
+    end
+
+    local sizes = size..'S'
+
+    local last_token = s[#s]
+    local t
+    if last_token and last_token.tt == sizes then
+        t = last_token
+    else
+        t = self:token(sizes, {})
+        insert(s, t)
+        s:validate()
+    end
+    insert(t.tok, data)
+end
+
+function Collector:variable()
+    local t = self.t
+    local t2 = self:advance()
+
+    local s = self:statement('!DEF', t, t2)
+    insert(self.statements, s)
+    self:advance()
+end
+
+function Collector:directive()
+    local name = self.tok
+    self:advance()
+    local function add(kind, ...)
+        insert(self.statements, self:statement('!'..kind, ...))
+    end
+    if name == 'ORG' then
+        add(name, self:const(false, true))
+    elseif name == 'ALIGN' or name == 'SKIP' then
+        if self:is_EOL() and name == 'ALIGN' then
+            add(name, self:token('NUM', 0))
+        else
+            local size = self:number()
+            if self:is_EOL() then
+                add(name, size)
+            else
+                self:optional_comma()
+                add(name, size, self:number())
+            end
+            self:expect_EOL()
+        end
+    elseif name == 'BYTE' or name == 'HALFWORD' or name == 'WORD' then
+        self:push_data(self:const().tok, name)
+        while not self:is_EOL() do
+            self:advance()
+            self:optional_comma()
+            self:push_data(self:const().tok, name)
+        end
+        self:expect_EOL()
+    elseif name == 'INC' or name == 'INCBIN' then
+        -- noop, handled by lexer
+    elseif name == 'ASCII' or name == 'ASCIIZ' then
+        local bytes = self:string()
+        for i, number in ipairs(bytes.tok) do
+            self:push_data(number, 'BYTE')
+        end
+        if name == 'ASCIIZ' then
+            self:push_data(0, 'BYTE')
+        end
+        self:expect_EOL()
+    elseif name == 'FLOAT' then
+        self:error('unimplemented directive', name)
+    else
+        self:error('unknown directive', name)
+    end
+end
+
+function Collector:basic_special()
+    local name, args = self:special()
+
+    local portion
+    if name == 'hi' then
+        portion = 'upperoff'
+    elseif name == 'up' then
+        portion = 'upper'
+    elseif name == 'lo' then
+        portion = 'lower'
+    else
+        self:error('unknown special', name)
+    end
+
+    if #args ~= 1 then
+        self:error(name..' expected one argument', #args)
+    end
+
+    local t = self:token(args[1]):set('portion', portion)
+    return t
+end
+
+function Collector:instruction()
+    local s = self:statement(self.tok)
+    insert(self.statements, s)
+    self:advance()
+
+    while self.tt ~= 'EOL' do
+        local t = self.t
+        if self.tt == 'OPEN' then
+            t = self:deref()
+            t.tt = 'DEREF' -- TODO: should just be returned by :deref
+            insert(s, t)
+        elseif self.tt == 'UNARY' then
+            local peek = self.tokens[self.i + 1]
+            if peek.tt == 'DEFSYM' then
+                t = self:advance()
+                t = Token(t):set('negate')
+                insert(s, t)
+                self:advance()
+            elseif peek.tt == 'EOL' or peek.tt == 'SEP' then
+                local tok = t.tok == 1 and '+' or t.tok == -1 and '-'
+                t = Token(self.fn, self.line, 'RELLABELSYM', tok)
+                insert(s, t)
+                self:advance()
+            else
+                self:error('unexpected token after unary operator', peek.tt)
+            end
+        elseif self.tt == 'SPECIAL' then
+            t = self:basic_special()
+            insert(s, t)
+            self:advance()
+        elseif self.tt == 'SEP' then
+            self:error('extraneous comma')
+        elseif not arg_types[self.tt] then
+            self:error('unexpected argument type in instruction', self.tt)
+        else
+            insert(s, t)
+            self:advance()
+        end
+        self:optional_comma()
+    end
+
+    self:expect_EOL()
+    s:validate()
+end
+
+function Collector:collect(tokens, fn)
+    self.tokens = tokens
+    self.fn = fn or '(string)'
+    self.main_fn = self.fn
+
+    self.statements = {}
+
+    self.i = 0 -- set up Muncher iteration
+    self:advance() -- load up the first token
+    while true do
+        if self.tt == 'EOF' then
+            -- don't break if this is an included file's EOF
+            if self.fn == self.main_fn then
+                break
+            end
+            self:advance()
+        elseif self.tt == 'EOL' then
+            -- empty line
+            self:advance()
+        elseif self.tt == 'DEF' then
+            self:variable() -- handles advancing
+        elseif self.tt == 'LABEL' or self.tt == 'RELLABEL' then
+            insert(self.statements, self:statement('!LABEL', self.t))
+            self:advance()
+        elseif self.tt == 'DIR' then
+            self:directive() -- handles advancing
+        elseif self.tt == 'INSTR' then
+            self:instruction() -- handles advancing
+        else
+            self:error('expected starting token for statement', self.tt)
+        end
+    end
+
+    return self.statements
+end
+
+return Collector
diff --git a/lips/Muncher.lua b/lips/Muncher.lua
index 235fee0..1d8842b 100644
--- a/lips/Muncher.lua
+++ b/lips/Muncher.lua
@@ -17,7 +17,10 @@ local arg_types = {
 local Muncher = Base:extend()
 -- no base init method
 
-function Muncher:error(msg)
+function Muncher:error(msg, got)
+    if got ~= nil then
+        msg = msg..', got '..tostring(got)
+    end
     error(format('%s:%d: Error: %s', self.fn, self.line, msg), 2)
 end
 
@@ -112,8 +115,8 @@ function Muncher:deref()
 end
 
 function Muncher:const(relative, no_label)
-    if self.tt ~= 'NUM' and self.tt ~= 'LABELSYM' then
-        self:error('expected constant')
+    if self.tt ~= 'NUM' and self.tt ~= 'DEFSYM' and self.tt ~= 'LABELSYM' then
+        self:error('expected constant', self.tt)
     end
     if no_label and self.tt == 'LABELSYM' then
         self:error('labels are not allowed here')
diff --git a/lips/Parser.lua b/lips/Parser.lua
index 1129dcf..2a64ddb 100644
--- a/lips/Parser.lua
+++ b/lips/Parser.lua
@@ -3,13 +3,14 @@ local insert = table.insert
 local path = string.gsub(..., "[^.]+$", "")
 local data = require(path.."data")
 local overrides = require(path.."overrides")
+local Base = require(path.."Base")
 local Token = require(path.."Token")
 local Lexer = require(path.."Lexer")
-local Dumper = require(path.."Dumper")
-local Muncher = require(path.."Muncher")
+local Collector = require(path.."Collector")
 local Preproc = require(path.."Preproc")
+local Dumper = require(path.."Dumper")
 
-local Parser = Muncher:extend()
+local Parser = Base:extend()
 function Parser:init(writer, fn, options)
     self.fn = fn or '(string)'
     self.main_fn = self.fn
@@ -17,61 +18,7 @@ function Parser:init(writer, fn, options)
     self.dumper = Dumper(writer, fn, options)
 end
 
-function Parser:directive()
-    local name = self.tok
-    self:advance()
-    local function add(...)
-        self.dumper:add_directive(self.fn, self.line, ...)
-    end
-    if name == 'ORG' then
-        add(name, self:number().tok)
-    elseif name == 'ALIGN' or name == 'SKIP' then
-        if self:is_EOL() and name == 'ALIGN' then
-            add(name, 0)
-        else
-            local size = self:number().tok
-            if self:is_EOL() then
-                add(name, size)
-            else
-                self:optional_comma()
-                add(name, size, self:number().tok)
-            end
-            self:expect_EOL()
-        end
-    elseif name == 'BYTE' or name == 'HALFWORD' then
-        add(name, self:number().tok)
-        while not self:is_EOL() do
-            self:advance()
-            self:optional_comma()
-            add(name, self:number().tok)
-        end
-        self:expect_EOL()
-    elseif name == 'WORD' then
-        -- allow labels in word directives
-        add(name, self:const().tok)
-        while not self:is_EOL() do
-            self:advance()
-            self:optional_comma()
-            add(name, self:const().tok)
-        end
-        self:expect_EOL()
-    elseif name == 'INC' or name == 'INCBIN' then
-        -- noop, handled by lexer
-    elseif name == 'ASCII' or name == 'ASCIIZ' then
-        local bytes = self:string()
-        for i, number in ipairs(bytes.tok) do
-            add('BYTE', number)
-        end
-        if name == 'ASCIIZ' then
-            add('BYTE', 0)
-        end
-        self:expect_EOL()
-    elseif name == 'FLOAT' then
-        self:error('unimplemented directive')
-    else
-        self:error('unknown directive')
-    end
-end
+--[[
 
 function Parser:format_in(informat)
     -- see data.lua for a guide on what all these mean
@@ -222,10 +169,9 @@ function Parser:instruction()
     end
     self:expect_EOL()
 end
+--]]
 
 function Parser:tokenize(asm)
-    self.i = 0
-
     local lexer = Lexer(asm, self.main_fn, self.options)
     local tokens = {}
 
@@ -242,41 +188,37 @@ function Parser:tokenize(asm)
         end)
     end
 
+    local collector = Collector(self.options)
+    local statements = collector:collect(tokens, self.main_fn)
+
+    --[[
     local preproc = Preproc(self.options)
-    self.tokens = preproc:process(tokens)
+    self.statements = preproc:process(statements)
 
     -- the lexer guarantees an EOL and EOF for a blank file
     assert(#self.tokens > 0, 'Internal Error: no tokens after preprocessing')
+    --]]
+    self.statements = statements
 end
 
 function Parser:parse(asm)
     self:tokenize(asm)
-    self:advance() -- load up the first token
-    while true do
-        if self.tt == 'EOF' then
-            -- don't break if this is an included file's EOF
-            if self.fn == self.main_fn then
-                break
-            end
-            self:advance()
-        elseif self.tt == 'EOL' then
-            -- empty line
-            self:advance()
-        elseif self.tt == 'DIR' then
-            self:directive() -- handles advancing
-        elseif self.tt == 'LABEL' then
-            self.dumper:add_label(self.tok)
-            self:advance()
-        elseif self.tt == 'INSTR' then
-            self:instruction() -- handles advancing
-        else
-            self:error('unexpected token (unknown instruction?)')
+
+    -- DEBUG
+    for i, s in ipairs(self.statements) do
+        local values = ''
+        for j, v in ipairs(s) do
+            values = values..'\t'..v.tt
         end
+        values = values:sub(2)
+        print(i, s.type, values)
     end
+    --[[
     if self.options.labels then
         self.dumper:export_labels(self.options.labels)
     end
     return self.dumper:dump()
+    --]]
 end
 
 return Parser
diff --git a/lips/Statement.lua b/lips/Statement.lua
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f1f726
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lips/Statement.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+local path = string.gsub(..., "[^.]+$", "")
+local util = require(path.."util")
+local Base = require(path.."Base")
+local Token = require(path.."Token")
+
+local Statement = Base:extend()
+function Statement:init(...)
+    local args = {...}
+    if #args == 1 then
+        local t = args[1]
+        if util.parent(t) ~= Statement then
+            error('Internal Error: 1-arg Statement:init expected a Statement')
+        end
+        if type(t) == 'table' then
+            for k, v in pairs(t) do
+                self[k] = v
+            end
+        end
+    elseif #args >= 3 then
+        self.fn = args[1]
+        self.line = args[2]
+        self.type = args[3]
+        for i, v in ipairs(args) do
+            if i > 3 then
+                self[i - 3] = v
+            end
+        end
+    else
+        error('Internal Error: Statement:init takes 1 or 3+ arguments', 3)
+    end
+    self:validate(1)
+    return self
+end
+
+function Statement:validate(n)
+    n = (n or 0) + 3 -- depth for error message
+    if not self.fn then
+        error('Internal Error: statements require a filename', n)
+    end
+    if not self.line then
+        error('Internal Error: statements require a line number', n)
+    end
+    if not self.type then
+        error('Internal Error: statement is missing a type', n)
+    end
+    for i, v in ipairs(self) do
+        if util.parent(v) ~= Token then
+            error(('Internal Error: Statement[%i] is not a Token'):format(i), n)
+        end
+    end
+end
+
+return Statement
diff --git a/lips/util.lua b/lips/util.lua
index 717fa2d..d2cdcf5 100644
--- a/lips/util.lua
+++ b/lips/util.lua
@@ -17,7 +17,31 @@ local function bitrange(x, lower, upper)
     return floor(x/2^lower) % 2^(upper - lower + 1)
 end
 
+local function parent(t)
+    local mt = getmetatable(t)
+    if mt == nil then
+        return nil
+    end
+    return mt.__index
+end
+
+-- http://stackoverflow.com/a/9279009
+local loadcode
+if setfenv and loadstring then -- 5.1, JIT
+    loadcode = function(code, environment)
+        local f = assert(loadstring(code))
+        setfenv(f, environment)
+        return f
+    end
+else -- 5.2, 5.3
+    loadcode = function(code, environment)
+        return assert(load(code, nil, 't', environment))
+    end
+end
+
 return {
     readfile = readfile,
     bitrange = bitrange,
+    parent = parent,
+    loadcode = loadcode,
 }