diff --git a/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginLoader.cs b/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginLoader.cs
index bab9cfba..d2735b21 100644
--- a/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginLoader.cs
+++ b/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginLoader.cs
@@ -132,6 +132,7 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
 
                     string pluginNs = "";
 
+                    PluginManifest? pluginManifest = null;
                     foreach (var resource in pluginModule.Resources)
                     {
                         const string manifestSuffix = ".manifest.json";
@@ -144,11 +145,11 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
                         using (var manifestReader = new StreamReader(embedded.GetResourceStream()))
                             manifest = manifestReader.ReadToEnd();
 
-                        metadata.Manifest = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<PluginManifest>(manifest);
+                        pluginManifest = JsonConvert.DeserializeObject<PluginManifest?>(manifest);
                         break;
                     }
 
-                    if (metadata.Manifest == null)
+                    if (pluginManifest == null)
                     {
 #if DIRE_LOADER_WARNINGS
                         Logger.loader.Error($"Could not find manifest.json for {Path.GetFileName(plugin)}");
@@ -158,6 +159,8 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
                         continue;
                     }
 
+                    metadata.Manifest = pluginManifest;
+
                     void TryGetNamespacedPluginType(string ns, PluginMetadata meta)
                     {
                         foreach (var type in pluginModule.Types)
@@ -277,7 +280,8 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
                     string description;
                     if (!meta.IsSelf)
                     {
-                        var resc = meta.PluginType.Module.Resources.Select(r => r as EmbeddedResource)
+                        // plugin type must be non-null for non-self plugins
+                        var resc = meta.PluginType!.Module.Resources.Select(r => r as EmbeddedResource)
                                                                    .NonNull()
                                                                    .FirstOrDefault(r => r.Name == name);
                         if (resc == null)
@@ -747,7 +751,7 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
                 {
                     if (feature.TryGetDefiningPlugin(out var plugin))
                     {
-                        if (plugin != meta)
+                        if (plugin != meta && plugin != null)
                         { // if the feature is not applied to the defining feature
                             _ = meta.LoadsAfter.Add(plugin);
                         }
@@ -777,7 +781,7 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
                 { // clean them up so we can still use the metadata for updates
                     m.InternalFeatures.Clear();
                     m.PluginType = null;
-                    m.Assembly = null;
+                    m.Assembly = null!;
                 }
             }
             PluginsMetadata = new List<PluginMetadata>();
diff --git a/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginMetadata.cs b/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginMetadata.cs
index 5ff7b92b..10c13394 100644
--- a/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginMetadata.cs
+++ b/IPA.Loader/Loader/PluginMetadata.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-using IPA.Loader.Features;
+#nullable enable
+using IPA.Loader.Features;
 using IPA.Utilities;
 using Mono.Cecil;
 using System;
@@ -23,13 +24,13 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
         /// The assembly the plugin was loaded from.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>the loaded Assembly that contains the plugin main type</value>
-        public Assembly Assembly { get; internal set; }
+        public Assembly Assembly { get; internal set; } = null!;
 
         /// <summary>
         /// The TypeDefinition for the main type of the plugin.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>the Cecil definition for the plugin main type</value>
-        public TypeDefinition PluginType { get; internal set; }
+        public TypeDefinition? PluginType { get; internal set; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// The human readable name of the plugin.
@@ -65,7 +66,7 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
         /// The file the plugin was loaded from.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>the file the plugin was loaded from</value>
-        public FileInfo File { get; internal set; }
+        public FileInfo File { get; internal set; } = null!;
 
         // ReSharper disable once UnusedAutoPropertyAccessor.Global
         /// <summary>
@@ -74,11 +75,11 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
         /// <value>the list of features requested by the plugin</value>
         public IReadOnlyList<Feature> Features => InternalFeatures;
 
-        internal readonly List<Feature> InternalFeatures = new List<Feature>();
+        internal readonly List<Feature> InternalFeatures = new();
 
-        internal readonly HashSet<Feature.Instance> UnloadedFeatures = new HashSet<Feature.Instance>();
+        internal readonly HashSet<Feature.Instance> UnloadedFeatures = new();
 
-        internal readonly List<Feature.Instance> CreateFeaturesWhenLoaded = new List<Feature.Instance>();
+        internal readonly List<Feature.Instance> CreateFeaturesWhenLoaded = new();
 
         /// <summary>
         /// A list of files (that aren't <see cref="File"/>) that are associated with this plugin.
@@ -96,18 +97,18 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
         /// A link to this plugin's home page, if any.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>the <see cref="Uri"/> of the plugin's home page</value>
-        public Uri PluginHomeLink => manifest.Links?.ProjectHome;
+        public Uri? PluginHomeLink => manifest.Links?.ProjectHome;
 
         /// <summary>
         /// A link to this plugin's source code, if avaliable.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>the <see cref="Uri"/> of the plugin's source code</value>
-        public Uri PluginSourceLink => manifest.Links?.ProjectSource;
+        public Uri? PluginSourceLink => manifest.Links?.ProjectSource;
         /// <summary>
         /// A link to a donate page for the author of this plugin, if avaliable.
         /// </summary>
         /// <value>the <see cref="Uri"/> of the author's donate page</value>
-        public Uri DonateLink => manifest.Links?.Donate;
+        public Uri? DonateLink => manifest.Links?.Donate;
 
         internal bool IsSelf;
 
@@ -117,10 +118,10 @@ namespace IPA.Loader
         /// <value><see langword="true"/> if it is bare, <see langword="false"/> otherwise</value>
         public bool IsBare { get; internal set; }
 
-        private PluginManifest manifest;
+        private PluginManifest manifest = null!;
 
-        internal HashSet<PluginMetadata> Dependencies { get; } = new HashSet<PluginMetadata>();
-        internal HashSet<PluginMetadata> LoadsAfter { get; } = new HashSet<PluginMetadata>();
+        internal HashSet<PluginMetadata> Dependencies { get; } = new();
+        internal HashSet<PluginMetadata> LoadsAfter { get; } = new();
 
         internal PluginManifest Manifest
         {