diff --git a/data/core/common.lua b/data/core/common.lua
index e459476a..fcc16102 100644
--- a/data/core/common.lua
+++ b/data/core/common.lua
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ end
 
 
 function common.utf8_chars(text)
-  return text:gmatch("[\0-\x7f\xc2-\xf4][\x80-\xbf]*")
+  return text:gmatch("[\x01-\x7f\xc2-\xf4][\x80-\xbf]*")
 end
 
 
diff --git a/data/core/compat.lua b/data/core/compat.lua
index d66af313..3fd66e30 100644
--- a/data/core/compat.lua
+++ b/data/core/compat.lua
@@ -1,2 +1,6 @@
+function table.pack(...)
+  return {n=select('#',...), ...}
+end
+
 table.unpack = unpack
 
diff --git a/meson_options.txt b/meson_options.txt
index 2714cdf4..f54f1979 100644
--- a/meson_options.txt
+++ b/meson_options.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 option('portable', type : 'boolean', value : false, description: 'Portable install')
+option('luajit', type : 'boolean', value : true, description: 'Use luajit')