diff --git a/libdc/include/dc/account.h b/libdc/include/dc/account.h
index 1428a9e..dab9024 100644
--- a/libdc/include/dc/account.h
+++ b/libdc/include/dc/account.h
@@ -46,7 +46,9 @@ dc_account_t dc_account_new2(char const *email, char const *pass);
 dc_account_t dc_account_from_fullname(char const *fullid);
 
 dc_account_t dc_account_from_json(json_t *j);
+dc_account_t dc_account_from_relationship(json_t *j);
 json_t *dc_account_to_json(dc_account_t a);
+bool dc_account_load(dc_account_t a, json_t *j);
 
 void dc_account_set_email(dc_account_t a, char const *email);
 char const *dc_account_email(dc_account_t a);
@@ -76,6 +78,7 @@ bool dc_account_equal(dc_account_t a, dc_account_t b);
 /* relationships
  */
 void dc_account_set_friends(dc_account_t a, dc_account_t *ptr, size_t len);
+void dc_account_add_friend(dc_account_t a, dc_account_t friend);
 dc_account_t dc_account_nthfriend(dc_account_t a, size_t i);
 size_t dc_account_friends_size(dc_account_t a);
 dc_account_t dc_account_findfriend(dc_account_t a, char const *fullname);
diff --git a/libdc/include/dc/channel.h b/libdc/include/dc/channel.h
index ce0b1f5..31a229a 100644
--- a/libdc/include/dc/channel.h
+++ b/libdc/include/dc/channel.h
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ dc_channel_type_t dc_channel_type(dc_channel_t c);
 void dc_channel_set_type(dc_channel_t c, dc_channel_type_t t);
 
 size_t dc_channel_recipients(dc_channel_t c);
+void dc_channel_addrecipient(dc_channel_t c, dc_account_t a);
 dc_account_t dc_channel_nthrecipient(dc_channel_t c, size_t i);
 
 size_t dc_channel_messages(dc_channel_t c);
diff --git a/libdc/include/dc/event.h b/libdc/include/dc/event.h
index 4a6e49c..1a5bdd6 100644
--- a/libdc/include/dc/event.h
+++ b/libdc/include/dc/event.h
@@ -7,6 +7,13 @@
 struct dc_event_;
 typedef struct dc_event_ *dc_event_t;
 
+typedef enum {
+    DC_EVENT_TYPE_UNKNOWN = 0,
+    DC_EVENT_TYPE_READY,
+
+    DC_EVENT_TYPE_LAST,
+} dc_event_type_t;
+
 dc_event_t dc_event_new(char const *type, json_t *payload);
 
 /**
@@ -22,4 +29,9 @@ char const *dc_event_type(dc_event_t e);
  */
 json_t *dc_event_payload(dc_event_t e);
 
+/**
+ * Returns an integer code representing the given type string.
+ */
+dc_event_type_t dc_event_type_code(dc_event_t e);
+
 #endif
diff --git a/libdc/include/dc/session.h b/libdc/include/dc/session.h
index ec41417..fd914b3 100644
--- a/libdc/include/dc/session.h
+++ b/libdc/include/dc/session.h
@@ -52,6 +52,19 @@ bool dc_session_has_token(dc_session_t s);
  */
 dc_account_t dc_session_me(dc_session_t s);
 
+/**
+ * access to the internal account cache
+ */
+void dc_session_add_account(dc_session_t s, dc_account_t u);
+
+/**
+ * access to the internal channel cache
+ */
+void dc_session_add_channel(dc_session_t s, dc_channel_t u);
+
+/**
+ * comparision functions for sorting, and finding
+ */
 bool dc_session_equal_me(dc_session_t s, dc_account_t a);
 bool dc_session_equal_me_fullname(dc_session_t s, char const *a);
 
diff --git a/libdc/src/account.c b/libdc/src/account.c
index b1205a1..93da004 100644
--- a/libdc/src/account.c
+++ b/libdc/src/account.c
@@ -116,24 +116,43 @@ dc_account_t dc_account_from_fullname(char const *fullid)
     return acc;
 }
 
-dc_account_t dc_account_from_json(json_t *j)
+bool dc_account_load(dc_account_t user, json_t *j)
+{
+    json_t *val = NULL;
+
+    return_if_true(!json_is_object(j), false);
+
+    val = json_object_get(j, "id");
+    return_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_string(val), false);
+    dc_account_set_id(user, json_string_value(val));
+
+    val = json_object_get(j, "username");
+    return_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_string(val), false);
+    dc_account_set_username(user, json_string_value(val));
+
+    val = json_object_get(j, "discriminator");
+    return_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_string(val), false);
+    dc_account_set_discriminator(user, json_string_value(val));
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+dc_account_t dc_account_from_relationship(json_t *j)
 {
     dc_account_t user = dc_account_new();
     json_t *val = NULL;
 
-    goto_if_true(!json_is_object(j), error);
+    val = json_object_get(j, "user");
+    goto_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_object(val), error);
 
-    val = json_object_get(j, "username");
-    goto_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_string(val), error);
-    dc_account_set_username(user, json_string_value(val));
+    if (!dc_account_load(user, val)) {
+        goto error;
+    }
 
-    val = json_object_get(j, "discriminator");
-    goto_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_string(val), error);
-    dc_account_set_discriminator(user, json_string_value(val));
-
-    val = json_object_get(j, "id");
-    goto_if_true(val == NULL || !json_is_string(val), error);
-    dc_account_set_id(user, json_string_value(val));
+    val = json_object_get(j, "type");
+    if (val != NULL && json_is_integer(val)) {
+        dc_account_set_friend_state(user, json_integer_value(val));
+    }
 
     return user;
 
@@ -143,6 +162,18 @@ error:
     return NULL;
 }
 
+dc_account_t dc_account_from_json(json_t *j)
+{
+    dc_account_t user = dc_account_new();
+
+    if (!dc_account_load(user, j)) {
+        dc_unref(user);
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    return user;
+}
+
 json_t *dc_account_to_json(dc_account_t a)
 {
     json_t *j = NULL;
@@ -315,6 +346,12 @@ dc_account_t dc_account_findfriend(dc_account_t a, char const *fullname)
     return NULL;
 }
 
+void dc_account_add_friend(dc_account_t a, dc_account_t friend)
+{
+    return_if_true(a == NULL || friend == NULL,);
+    g_ptr_array_add(a->friends, dc_ref(friend));
+}
+
 dc_account_t dc_account_nthfriend(dc_account_t a, size_t i)
 {
     return_if_true(a == NULL || a->friends == NULL, NULL);
diff --git a/libdc/src/channel.c b/libdc/src/channel.c
index 8f370d0..3a72801 100644
--- a/libdc/src/channel.c
+++ b/libdc/src/channel.c
@@ -256,6 +256,12 @@ dc_account_t dc_channel_nthrecipient(dc_channel_t c, size_t i)
     return g_ptr_array_index(c->recipients, i);
 }
 
+void dc_channel_addrecipient(dc_channel_t c, dc_account_t a)
+{
+    return_if_true(c == NULL || a == NULL,);
+    g_ptr_array_add(c->recipients, dc_ref(a));
+}
+
 size_t dc_channel_messages(dc_channel_t c)
 {
     return_if_true(c == NULL || c->messages == NULL, 0);
diff --git a/libdc/src/event.c b/libdc/src/event.c
index f9ed42c..7328b0e 100644
--- a/libdc/src/event.c
+++ b/libdc/src/event.c
@@ -57,3 +57,22 @@ json_t *dc_event_payload(dc_event_t e)
     return_if_true(e == NULL, NULL);
     return e->payload;
 }
+
+dc_event_type_t dc_event_type_code(dc_event_t e)
+{
+    static char const *types[] = {
+        "UNKNOWN",
+        "READY",
+        NULL
+    };
+
+    int i = 0;
+
+    for (i = 0; types[i] != NULL; i++) {
+        if (strcmp(types[i], e->type) == 0) {
+            return (dc_event_type_t)i;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return DC_EVENT_TYPE_UNKNOWN;
+}
diff --git a/libdc/src/gateway.c b/libdc/src/gateway.c
index 64a7b79..ec2b6cf 100644
--- a/libdc/src/gateway.c
+++ b/libdc/src/gateway.c
@@ -309,10 +309,6 @@ static void dc_gateway_process_read(dc_gateway_t gw)
     do {
         ret = curl_easy_recv(gw->easy, buf, sizeof(buf), &outlen);
         if (ret == CURLE_OK && outlen > 0) {
-            FILE *f = fopen("output.txt", "a+");
-            fwrite(buf, outlen, sizeof(char), f);
-            fputc('\n', f);
-            fclose(f);
             g_byte_array_append(gw->buffer, (uint8_t const*)buf, outlen);
         }
     } while (ret == CURLE_OK && outlen > 0);
diff --git a/libdc/src/session.c b/libdc/src/session.c
index 1ad012b..8373d8e 100644
--- a/libdc/src/session.c
+++ b/libdc/src/session.c
@@ -9,12 +9,35 @@ struct dc_session_
     dc_api_t api;
     dc_account_t login;
     dc_gateway_t gateway;
+
+    GHashTable *accounts;
+    GHashTable *channels;
+};
+
+/* event handlers
+ */
+typedef void (*dc_session_handler_t)(dc_session_t s, dc_event_t e);
+static void dc_session_handle_ready(dc_session_t s, dc_event_t e);
+
+static dc_session_handler_t handlers[DC_EVENT_TYPE_LAST] = {
+    [DC_EVENT_TYPE_UNKNOWN] = NULL,
+    [DC_EVENT_TYPE_READY] = dc_session_handle_ready,
 };
 
 static void dc_session_free(dc_session_t s)
 {
     return_if_true(s == NULL,);
 
+    if (s->accounts != NULL) {
+        g_hash_table_unref(s->accounts);
+        s->accounts = NULL;
+    }
+
+    if (s->channels != NULL) {
+        g_hash_table_unref(s->channels);
+        s->channels = NULL;
+    }
+
     dc_session_logout(s);
 
     dc_unref(s->api);
@@ -23,14 +46,68 @@ static void dc_session_free(dc_session_t s)
     free(s);
 }
 
+static void dc_session_handle_ready(dc_session_t s, dc_event_t e)
+{
+    json_t *r = dc_event_payload(e);
+    json_t *user = NULL;
+    json_t *relationships = NULL;
+    size_t idx = 0;
+    json_t *c = NULL;
+    json_t *channels = NULL;
+
+    /* retrieve user information about ourselves, including snowflake,
+     * discriminator, and other things
+     */
+    user = json_object_get(r, "user");
+    if (user != NULL && json_is_object(user)) {
+        dc_account_load(s->login, user);
+        dc_session_add_account(s, s->login);
+    }
+
+    /* load relationships, aka friends
+     */
+    relationships = json_object_get(r, "relationships");
+    if (relationships != NULL && json_is_array(relationships)) {
+        json_array_foreach(relationships, idx, c) {
+            dc_account_t u = dc_account_from_relationship(user);
+
+            if (u == NULL) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            dc_account_add_friend(s->login, u);
+            dc_session_add_account(s, u);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /* load channels
+     */
+    channels = json_object_get(r, "private_channels");
+    if (channels != NULL && json_is_array(channels)) {
+        json_array_foreach(channels, idx, c) {
+            dc_channel_t chan = dc_channel_from_json(c);
+            if (chan == NULL) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            dc_session_add_channel(s, chan);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 static void dc_session_handler(dc_gateway_t gw, dc_event_t e, void *p)
 {
     dc_session_t s = (dc_session_t)p;
+    dc_session_handler_t h = handlers[dc_event_type_code(e)];
+
+    if (h != NULL) {
+        h(s, e);
+    }
 
     char *str = NULL;
     str = json_dumps(dc_event_payload(e), 0);
     FILE *f = fopen("events.txt", "a+");
-    fprintf(f, "%p: %s: %s\n", s, dc_event_type(e), str);
+    fprintf(f, "%s: %s\n", dc_event_type(e), str);
     free(str);
     fclose(f);
 }
@@ -44,17 +121,29 @@ dc_session_t dc_session_new(dc_loop_t loop)
 
     s->ref.cleanup = (dc_cleanup_t)dc_session_free;
 
+    s->accounts = g_hash_table_new_full(g_str_hash, g_str_equal,
+                                        free, dc_unref
+        );
+    goto_if_true(s->accounts == NULL, error);
+
+    s->channels = g_hash_table_new_full(g_str_hash, g_str_equal,
+                                        free, dc_unref
+        );
+    goto_if_true(s->channels == NULL, error);
+
     s->loop = dc_ref(loop);
 
     s->api = dc_api_new();
-    if (s->api == NULL) {
-        dc_session_free(s);
-        return NULL;
-    }
+    goto_if_true(s->api == NULL, error);
 
     dc_loop_add_api(s->loop, s->api);
 
     return dc_ref(s);
+
+error:
+
+    dc_session_free(s);
+    return NULL;
 }
 
 bool dc_session_logout(dc_session_t s)
@@ -133,3 +222,29 @@ bool dc_session_equal_me_fullname(dc_session_t s, char const *a)
     return_if_true(s == NULL || s->login == NULL || a == NULL, false);
     return (strcmp(dc_account_fullname(s->login), a) == 0);
 }
+
+void dc_session_add_account(dc_session_t s, dc_account_t u)
+{
+    return_if_true(s == NULL || u == NULL,);
+    return_if_true(dc_account_id(u) == NULL,);
+
+    char const *id = dc_account_id(u);
+
+    if (!g_hash_table_contains(s->accounts, id)) {
+        g_hash_table_insert(s->accounts, strdup(id), dc_ref(u));
+    }
+}
+
+void dc_session_add_channel(dc_session_t s, dc_channel_t u)
+{
+    return_if_true(s == NULL || u == NULL,);
+    return_if_true(dc_channel_id(u) == NULL,);
+
+    char const *id = dc_channel_id(u);
+
+    if (!g_hash_table_contains(s->channels, id)) {
+        g_hash_table_insert(s->channels, strdup(id), dc_ref(u));
+        /* TODO: dedup for saving storage
+         */
+    }
+}
diff --git a/libdc/src/ws-frames.c b/libdc/src/ws-frames.c
index 091205e..2e36902 100644
--- a/libdc/src/ws-frames.c
+++ b/libdc/src/ws-frames.c
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ dc_gateway_parseframe(uint8_t const *data, size_t datalen,
         goto_if_true(datalen <= idx, cleanup);
         memcpy(&len, data+idx, sizeof(len));
 
-        data_len = len;
+        data_len = GUINT16_TO_BE(len);
         idx += sizeof(len);
     } else if (l == 127) {
         /* read an uint16_t from the data
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ dc_gateway_parseframe(uint8_t const *data, size_t datalen,
         goto_if_true(datalen <= idx, cleanup);
         memcpy(&len, data+idx, sizeof(len));
 
-        data_len = len;
+        data_len = GUINT64_TO_BE(len);
         idx += sizeof(len);
     }