diff --git a/discord/compat.py b/discord/compat.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2cb2ec982
--- /dev/null
+++ b/discord/compat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+"""
+The MIT License (MIT)
+
+Copyright (c) 2015-2016 Rapptz
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
+copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
+to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
+the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
+and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
+Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
+OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
+FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
+DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
+"""
+
+import concurrent.futures
+import asyncio
+
+try:
+    create_task = asyncio.ensure_future
+except AttributeError:
+    create_task = asyncio.async
+
+try:
+    run_coroutine_threadsafe = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe
+except AttributeError:
+    # the following code is slightly modified from the
+    # official asyncio repository that could be found here:
+    # https://github.com/python/asyncio/blob/master/asyncio/futures.py
+    # with a commit hash of 5c7efbcdfbe6a5c25b4cd5df22d9a15ab4062c8e
+    # this portion is licensed under Apache license 2.0
+
+    def _set_concurrent_future_state(concurrent, source):
+        """Copy state from a future to a concurrent.futures.Future."""
+        assert source.done()
+        if source.cancelled():
+            concurrent.cancel()
+        if not concurrent.set_running_or_notify_cancel():
+            return
+        exception = source.exception()
+        if exception is not None:
+            concurrent.set_exception(exception)
+        else:
+            result = source.result()
+            concurrent.set_result(result)
+
+
+    def _copy_future_state(source, dest):
+        """Internal helper to copy state from another Future.
+        The other Future may be a concurrent.futures.Future.
+        """
+        assert source.done()
+        if dest.cancelled():
+            return
+        assert not dest.done()
+        if source.cancelled():
+            dest.cancel()
+        else:
+            exception = source.exception()
+            if exception is not None:
+                dest.set_exception(exception)
+            else:
+                result = source.result()
+                dest.set_result(result)
+
+    def _chain_future(source, destination):
+        """Chain two futures so that when one completes, so does the other.
+        The result (or exception) of source will be copied to destination.
+        If destination is cancelled, source gets cancelled too.
+        Compatible with both asyncio.Future and concurrent.futures.Future.
+        """
+        if not isinstance(source, (asyncio.Future, concurrent.futures.Future)):
+            raise TypeError('A future is required for source argument')
+
+        if not isinstance(destination, (asyncio.Future, concurrent.futures.Future)):
+            raise TypeError('A future is required for destination argument')
+
+        source_loop = source._loop if isinstance(source, asyncio.Future) else None
+        dest_loop = destination._loop if isinstance(destination, asyncio.Future) else None
+
+        def _set_state(future, other):
+            if isinstance(future, asyncio.Future):
+                _copy_future_state(other, future)
+            else:
+                _set_concurrent_future_state(future, other)
+
+        def _call_check_cancel(destination):
+            if destination.cancelled():
+                if source_loop is None or source_loop is dest_loop:
+                    source.cancel()
+                else:
+                    source_loop.call_soon_threadsafe(source.cancel)
+
+        def _call_set_state(source):
+            if dest_loop is None or dest_loop is source_loop:
+                _set_state(destination, source)
+            else:
+                dest_loop.call_soon_threadsafe(_set_state, destination, source)
+
+        destination.add_done_callback(_call_check_cancel)
+        source.add_done_callback(_call_set_state)
+
+    def run_coroutine_threadsafe(coro, loop):
+        """Submit a coroutine object to a given event loop.
+
+        Return a concurrent.futures.Future to access the result.
+        """
+        if not asyncio.iscoroutine(coro):
+            raise TypeError('A coroutine object is required')
+
+        future = concurrent.futures.Future()
+
+        def callback():
+            try:
+                _chain_future(create_task(coro, loop=loop), future)
+            except Exception as exc:
+                if future.set_running_or_notify_cancel():
+                    future.set_exception(exc)
+                raise
+        loop.call_soon_threadsafe(callback)
+        return future
diff --git a/discord/utils.py b/discord/utils.py
index 2d19597f6..d4056b23a 100644
--- a/discord/utils.py
+++ b/discord/utils.py
@@ -236,7 +236,3 @@ def _bytes_to_base64_data(data):
 def to_json(obj):
     return json.dumps(obj, separators=(',', ':'), ensure_ascii=True)
 
-try:
-    create_task = asyncio.ensure_future
-except AttributeError:
-    create_task = asyncio.async