diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index de84cb402..be1c2c90a 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -190,11 +190,14 @@ endif()
 
 if(is_top_project AND NOT SIMDJSON_DEVELOPER_MODE)
   message(STATUS "Building only the library. Advanced users and contributors may want to turn SIMDJSON_DEVELOPER_MODE to ON, e.g., via -D SIMDJSON_DEVELOPER_MODE=ON.")
-  return()
 elseif(SIMDJSON_DEVELOPER_MODE AND NOT is_top_project)
   message(AUTHOR_WARNING "Developer mode in simdjson is intended for the developers of simdjson")
 endif()
 
+if(NOT SIMDJSON_DEVELOPER_MODE)
+  return()
+endif()
+
 simdjson_apply_props(simdjson-internal-flags)
 
 set(
diff --git a/doc/basics.md b/doc/basics.md
index a32ae1940..f751ea805 100644
--- a/doc/basics.md
+++ b/doc/basics.md
@@ -208,6 +208,8 @@ For best performance, a `parser` instance should be reused over several files: o
 needlessly reallocate memory, an expensive process. It is also possible to avoid entirely memory
 allocations during parsing when using simdjson. [See our performance notes for details](performance.md).
 
+If you need to have several documents active at once, you should have several parser instances.
+
 C++11 Support and string_view
 -------------
 
@@ -300,7 +302,13 @@ support for users who avoid exceptions. See [the simdjson error handling documen
   `get_uint64()`, `get_int64()`, `get_bool()`, `get_object()` and `get_array()`. After a cast or an explicit method,
   the number, string or boolean will be parsed, or the initial `[` or `{` will be verified. An exception is thrown if
   the cast is not possible. The `get_string()` returns a valid UTF-8 string, after
-  unescaping characters as needed: unmatched surrogate pairs are treated as an error. When calling `get_uint64()` and `get_int64()`, if the number does not fit in a corresponding 64-bit integer type, it is also considered an error.
+  unescaping characters as needed: unmatched surrogate pairs are treated as an error unless you
+  pass `true` (`get_string(true)`) as a parameter to get replacement characters where errors
+  occur. If you somehow need to access non-UTF-8 strings in a lossless manner
+  (e.g., if you strings contain unpaired surrogates), you may use the `get_wobbly_string()` function to get a string in the [WTF-8 format](https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8).
+  Or you may pass `true` as a parameter to the
+  When calling `get_uint64()` and `get_int64()`, if the number does not fit in a corresponding
+  64-bit integer type, it is also considered an error.
 
   > IMPORTANT NOTE: values can only be parsed once. Since documents are *iterators*, once you have
   > parsed a value (such as by casting to double), you cannot get at it again. It is an error to call
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/dom_parser_implementation.h b/include/simdjson/generic/dom_parser_implementation.h
index 4c98dbb2e..72823bac3 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/dom_parser_implementation.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/dom_parser_implementation.h
@@ -35,7 +35,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_warn_unused error_code stage1(const uint8_t *buf, size_t len, stage1_mode partial) noexcept final;
   simdjson_warn_unused error_code stage2(dom::document &doc) noexcept final;
   simdjson_warn_unused error_code stage2_next(dom::document &doc) noexcept final;
-  simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept final;
+  simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept final;
+  simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept final;
   inline simdjson_warn_unused error_code set_capacity(size_t capacity) noexcept final;
   inline simdjson_warn_unused error_code set_max_depth(size_t max_depth) noexcept final;
 private:
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document-inl.h
index 7459ca363..dd8f6a3a5 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document-inl.h
@@ -94,8 +94,11 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> document::get_double() noexcept {
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> document::get_double_in_string() noexcept {
   return get_root_value_iterator().get_root_double_in_string(true);
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get_string() noexcept {
-  return get_root_value_iterator().get_root_string(true);
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
+  return get_root_value_iterator().get_root_string(true, allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get_wobbly_string() noexcept {
+  return get_root_value_iterator().get_root_wobbly_string(true);
 }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> document::get_raw_json_string() noexcept {
   return get_root_value_iterator().get_root_raw_json_string(true);
@@ -110,7 +113,7 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> document::is_null() noexcept {
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<array> document::get() & noexcept { return get_array(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<object> document::get() & noexcept { return get_object(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> document::get() & noexcept { return get_raw_json_string(); }
-template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get() & noexcept { return get_string(); }
+template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get() & noexcept { return get_string(false); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> document::get() & noexcept { return get_double(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> document::get() & noexcept { return get_uint64(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> document::get() & noexcept { return get_int64(); }
@@ -118,7 +121,7 @@ template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> document::get() & noexcept { re
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<value> document::get() & noexcept { return get_value(); }
 
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> document::get() && noexcept { return get_raw_json_string(); }
-template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get() && noexcept { return get_string(); }
+template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document::get() && noexcept { return get_string(false); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> document::get() && noexcept { return std::forward<document>(*this).get_double(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> document::get() && noexcept { return std::forward<document>(*this).get_uint64(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> document::get() && noexcept { return std::forward<document>(*this).get_int64(); }
@@ -138,7 +141,7 @@ simdjson_inline document::operator object() & noexcept(false) { return get_objec
 simdjson_inline document::operator uint64_t() noexcept(false) { return get_uint64(); }
 simdjson_inline document::operator int64_t() noexcept(false) { return get_int64(); }
 simdjson_inline document::operator double() noexcept(false) { return get_double(); }
-simdjson_inline document::operator std::string_view() noexcept(false) { return get_string(); }
+simdjson_inline document::operator std::string_view() noexcept(false) { return get_string(false); }
 simdjson_inline document::operator raw_json_string() noexcept(false) { return get_raw_json_string(); }
 simdjson_inline document::operator bool() noexcept(false) { return get_bool(); }
 simdjson_inline document::operator value() noexcept(false) { return get_value(); }
@@ -359,9 +362,13 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION:
   if (error()) { return error(); }
   return first.get_double_in_string();
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document>::get_string() noexcept {
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document>::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
-  return first.get_string();
+  return first.get_string(allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document>::get_wobbly_string() noexcept {
+  if (error()) { return error(); }
+  return first.get_wobbly_string();
 }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document>::get_raw_json_string() noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
@@ -538,7 +545,8 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> document_reference::get_int64() noexcep
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> document_reference::get_int64_in_string() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_int64_in_string(false); }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> document_reference::get_double() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_double(false); }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> document_reference::get_double_in_string() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_double(false); }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document_reference::get_string() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_string(false); }
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document_reference::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_string(false, allow_replacement); }
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> document_reference::get_wobbly_string() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_wobbly_string(false); }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> document_reference::get_raw_json_string() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_raw_json_string(false); }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> document_reference::get_bool() noexcept { return doc->get_root_value_iterator().get_root_bool(false); }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<value> document_reference::get_value() noexcept { return doc->get_value(); }
@@ -670,9 +678,13 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION:
   if (error()) { return error(); }
   return first.get_double_in_string();
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document_reference>::get_string() noexcept {
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document_reference>::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
-  return first.get_string();
+  return first.get_string(allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document_reference>::get_wobbly_string() noexcept {
+  if (error()) { return error(); }
+  return first.get_wobbly_string();
 }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::document_reference>::get_raw_json_string() noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document.h
index 9a770c4c7..63d33a53b 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/document.h
@@ -96,11 +96,24 @@ public:
    *
    * Important: Calling get_string() twice on the same document is an error.
    *
+   * @param Whether to allow a replacement character for unmatched surrogate pairs.
    * @returns An UTF-8 string. The string is stored in the parser and will be invalidated the next
    *          time it parses a document or when it is destroyed.
    * @returns INCORRECT_TYPE if the JSON value is not a string.
    */
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
+  /**
+   * Cast this JSON value to a string.
+   *
+   * The string is not guaranteed to be valid UTF-8. See https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8/
+   *
+   * Important: Calling get_wobbly_string() twice on the same document is an error.
+   *
+   * @returns An UTF-8 string. The string is stored in the parser and will be invalidated the next
+   *          time it parses a document or when it is destroyed.
+   * @returns INCORRECT_TYPE if the JSON value is not a string.
+   */
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   /**
    * Cast this JSON value to a raw_json_string.
    *
@@ -599,7 +612,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> get_int64_in_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double_in_string() noexcept;
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> get_raw_json_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> get_bool() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<value> get_value() noexcept;
@@ -667,7 +681,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> get_int64_in_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double_in_string() noexcept;
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> get_raw_json_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> get_bool() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value> get_value() noexcept;
@@ -737,7 +752,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> get_int64_in_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double_in_string() noexcept;
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> get_raw_json_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> get_bool() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value> get_value() noexcept;
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field-inl.h
index 9bfa5217b..6df0ecd69 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field-inl.h
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<field> field::start(const value_iterator &parent
     return field(key, parent_iter.child());
 }
 
-simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> field::unescaped_key() noexcept {
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> field::unescaped_key(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
   SIMDJSON_ASSUME(first.buf != nullptr); // We would like to call .alive() but Visual Studio won't let us.
-  simdjson_result<std::string_view> answer = first.unescape(second.iter.json_iter());
+  simdjson_result<std::string_view> answer = first.unescape(second.iter.json_iter(), allow_replacement);
   first.consume();
   return answer;
 }
@@ -66,9 +66,9 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_stri
   if (error()) { return error(); }
   return first.key();
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::field>::unescaped_key() noexcept {
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::field>::unescaped_key(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
-  return first.unescaped_key();
+  return first.unescaped_key(allow_replacement);
 }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::field>::value() noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field.h
index ab46c4f27..87922ca50 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/field.h
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ public:
    * This consumes the key: once you have called unescaped_key(), you cannot
    * call it again nor can you call key().
    */
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescaped_key() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescaped_key(bool allow_replacement) noexcept;
   /**
    * Get the key as a raw_json_string. Can be used for direct comparison with
    * an unescaped C string: e.g., key() == "test".
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ public:
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result(error_code error) noexcept; ///< @private
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result() noexcept = default;
 
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescaped_key() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescaped_key(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> key() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value> value() noexcept;
 };
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator-inl.h
index c2adc3c2b..987b56290 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator-inl.h
@@ -316,8 +316,12 @@ simdjson_inline token_position json_iterator::position() const noexcept {
   return token.position();
 }
 
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> json_iterator::unescape(raw_json_string in) noexcept {
-  return parser->unescape(in, _string_buf_loc);
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> json_iterator::unescape(raw_json_string in, bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
+  return parser->unescape(in, _string_buf_loc, allow_replacement);
+}
+
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> json_iterator::unescape_wobbly(raw_json_string in) noexcept {
+  return parser->unescape_wobbly(in, _string_buf_loc);
 }
 
 simdjson_inline void json_iterator::reenter_child(token_position position, depth_t child_depth) noexcept {
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator.h
index 82d06f8f4..5b109c175 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/json_iterator.h
@@ -246,7 +246,8 @@ public:
    * Each raw_json_string should be unescaped once, or else the string buffer might
    * overflow.
    */
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(raw_json_string in) noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(raw_json_string in, bool allow_replacement) noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape_wobbly(raw_json_string in) noexcept;
   simdjson_inline void reenter_child(token_position position, depth_t child_depth) noexcept;
 
 #if SIMDJSON_DEVELOPMENT_CHECKS
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser-inl.h
index d4c17fc14..9ed454037 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser-inl.h
@@ -116,8 +116,16 @@ simdjson_inline void parser::set_max_capacity(size_t max_capacity) noexcept {
   }
 }
 
-simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> parser::unescape(raw_json_string in, uint8_t *&dst) const noexcept {
-  uint8_t *end = implementation->parse_string(in.buf, dst);
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> parser::unescape(raw_json_string in, uint8_t *&dst, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept {
+  uint8_t *end = implementation->parse_string(in.buf, dst, allow_replacement);
+  if (!end) { return STRING_ERROR; }
+  std::string_view result(reinterpret_cast<const char *>(dst), end-dst);
+  dst = end;
+  return result;
+}
+
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> parser::unescape_wobbly(raw_json_string in, uint8_t *&dst) const noexcept {
+  uint8_t *end = implementation->parse_wobbly_string(in.buf, dst);
   if (!end) { return STRING_ERROR; }
   std::string_view result(reinterpret_cast<const char *>(dst), end-dst);
   dst = end;
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser.h
index f7793fd05..8ce043217 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/parser.h
@@ -263,6 +263,31 @@ public:
 
   /**
    * Unescape this JSON string, replacing \\ with \, \n with newline, etc. to a user-provided buffer.
+   * The result must be valid UTF-8.
+   * The provided pointer is advanced to the end of the string by reference, and a string_view instance
+   * is returned. You can ensure that your buffer is large enough by allocating a block of memory at least
+   * as large as the input JSON plus SIMDJSON_PADDING and then unescape all strings to this one buffer.
+   *
+   * This unescape function is a low-level function. If you want a more user-friendly approach, you should
+   * avoid raw_json_string instances (e.g., by calling unescaped_key() instead of key() or get_string()
+   * instead of get_raw_json_string()).
+   *
+   * ## IMPORTANT: string_view lifetime
+   *
+   * The string_view is only valid as long as the bytes in dst.
+   *
+   * @param raw_json_string input
+   * @param dst A pointer to a buffer at least large enough to write this string as well as
+   *            an additional SIMDJSON_PADDING bytes.
+   * @param allow_replacement Whether we allow a replacement if the input string contains unmatched surrogate pairs.
+   * @return A string_view pointing at the unescaped string in dst
+   * @error STRING_ERROR if escapes are incorrect.
+   */
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(raw_json_string in, uint8_t *&dst, bool allow_replacement = false) const noexcept;
+
+  /**
+   * Unescape this JSON string, replacing \\ with \, \n with newline, etc. to a user-provided buffer.
+   * The result may not be valid UTF-8. See https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8/
    * The provided pointer is advanced to the end of the string by reference, and a string_view instance
    * is returned. You can ensure that your buffer is large enough by allocating a block of memory at least
    * as large as the input JSON plus SIMDJSON_PADDING and then unescape all strings to this one buffer.
@@ -281,7 +306,8 @@ public:
    * @return A string_view pointing at the unescaped string in dst
    * @error STRING_ERROR if escapes are incorrect.
    */
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(raw_json_string in, uint8_t *&dst) const noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape_wobbly(raw_json_string in, uint8_t *&dst) const noexcept;
+
 private:
   /** @private [for benchmarking access] The implementation to use */
   std::unique_ptr<internal::dom_parser_implementation> implementation{};
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string-inl.h
index 8396024d2..f5fa610b8 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string-inl.h
@@ -143,10 +143,13 @@ simdjson_unused simdjson_inline bool operator!=(std::string_view c, const raw_js
 }
 
 
-simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> raw_json_string::unescape(json_iterator &iter) const noexcept {
-  return iter.unescape(*this);
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> raw_json_string::unescape(json_iterator &iter, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept {
+  return iter.unescape(*this, allow_replacement);
 }
 
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> raw_json_string::unescape_wobbly(json_iterator &iter) const noexcept {
+  return iter.unescape_wobbly(*this);
+}
 
 simdjson_unused simdjson_inline std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &out, const raw_json_string &str) noexcept {
   bool in_escape = false;
@@ -177,9 +180,12 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<const char *> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENT
   if (error()) { return error(); }
   return first.raw();
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string>::unescape(SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::json_iterator &iter) const noexcept {
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string>::unescape(SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::json_iterator &iter, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
-  return first.unescape(iter);
+  return first.unescape(iter, allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string>::unescape_wobbly(SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::json_iterator &iter) const noexcept {
+  if (error()) { return error(); }
+  return first.unescape_wobbly(iter);
 }
-
 } // namespace simdjson
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string.h
index 5a13531a3..4a8375ba7 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/raw_json_string.h
@@ -139,6 +139,20 @@ private:
 
   /**
    * Unescape this JSON string, replacing \\ with \, \n with newline, etc.
+   * The result will be a valid UTF-8.
+   *
+   * ## IMPORTANT: string_view lifetime
+   *
+   * The string_view is only valid until the next parse() call on the parser.
+   *
+   * @param iter A json_iterator, which contains a buffer where the string will be written.
+   * @param allow_replacement Whether we allow replacement of invalid surrogate pairs.
+   */
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(json_iterator &iter, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept;
+
+  /**
+   * Unescape this JSON string, replacing \\ with \, \n with newline, etc.
+   * The result may not be a valid UTF-8. https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8/
    *
    * ## IMPORTANT: string_view lifetime
    *
@@ -146,8 +160,7 @@ private:
    *
    * @param iter A json_iterator, which contains a buffer where the string will be written.
    */
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(json_iterator &iter) const noexcept;
-
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape_wobbly(json_iterator &iter) const noexcept;
   const uint8_t * buf{};
   friend class object;
   friend class field;
@@ -182,7 +195,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_inline ~simdjson_result() noexcept = default; ///< @private
 
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<const char *> raw() const noexcept;
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::json_iterator &iter) const noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape(SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::json_iterator &iter, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_result<std::string_view> unescape_wobbly(SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::json_iterator &iter) const noexcept;
 };
 
 } // namespace simdjson
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value-inl.h
index 801bbcd7f..8fed336ca 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value-inl.h
@@ -30,8 +30,11 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<object> value::start_or_resume_object() noexcept
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> value::get_raw_json_string() noexcept {
   return iter.get_raw_json_string();
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value::get_string() noexcept {
-  return iter.get_string();
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
+  return iter.get_string(allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value::get_wobbly_string() noexcept {
+  return iter.get_wobbly_string();
 }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> value::get_double() noexcept {
   return iter.get_double();
@@ -60,7 +63,7 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> value::is_null() noexcept {
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<array> value::get() noexcept { return get_array(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<object> value::get() noexcept { return get_object(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> value::get() noexcept { return get_raw_json_string(); }
-template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value::get() noexcept { return get_string(); }
+template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value::get() noexcept { return get_string(false); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<number> value::get() noexcept { return get_number(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> value::get() noexcept { return get_double(); }
 template<> simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> value::get() noexcept { return get_uint64(); }
@@ -88,7 +91,7 @@ simdjson_inline value::operator double() noexcept(false) {
   return get_double();
 }
 simdjson_inline value::operator std::string_view() noexcept(false) {
-  return get_string();
+  return get_string(false);
 }
 simdjson_inline value::operator raw_json_string() noexcept(false) {
   return get_raw_json_string();
@@ -298,9 +301,13 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION:
   if (error()) { return error(); }
   return first.get_double_in_string();
 }
-simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value>::get_string() noexcept {
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value>::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
-  return first.get_string();
+  return first.get_string(allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value>::get_wobbly_string() noexcept {
+  if (error()) { return error(); }
+  return first.get_wobbly_string();
 }
 simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::value>::get_raw_json_string() noexcept {
   if (error()) { return error(); }
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value.h
index a3d5d6638..6cadad14c 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value.h
@@ -129,8 +129,23 @@ public:
    *          time it parses a document or when it is destroyed.
    * @returns INCORRECT_TYPE if the JSON value is not a string.
    */
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
 
+
+  /**
+   * Cast this JSON value to a "wobbly" string.
+   *
+   * The string is may not be a valid UTF-8 string.
+   * See https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8/
+   *
+   * Important: a value should be consumed once. Calling get_wobbly_string() twice on the same value
+   * is an error.
+   *
+   * @returns An UTF-8 string. The string is stored in the parser and will be invalidated the next
+   *          time it parses a document or when it is destroyed.
+   * @returns INCORRECT_TYPE if the JSON value is not a string.
+   */
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   /**
    * Cast this JSON value to a raw_json_string.
    *
@@ -585,7 +600,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<int64_t> get_int64_in_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<double> get_double_in_string() noexcept;
-  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement = false) noexcept;
+  simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<SIMDJSON_IMPLEMENTATION::ondemand::raw_json_string> get_raw_json_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> get_bool() noexcept;
   simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> is_null() noexcept;
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator-inl.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator-inl.h
index 9de9b4543..c6785994e 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator-inl.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator-inl.h
@@ -475,8 +475,11 @@ simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<bool> value_iterator::parse
   return is_null_string;
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value_iterator::get_string() noexcept {
-  return get_raw_json_string().unescape(json_iter());
+simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value_iterator::get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
+  return get_raw_json_string().unescape(json_iter(), allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value_iterator::get_wobbly_string() noexcept {
+  return get_raw_json_string().unescape_wobbly(json_iter());
 }
 simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> value_iterator::get_raw_json_string() noexcept {
   auto json = peek_scalar("string");
@@ -592,8 +595,11 @@ simdjson_inline simdjson_result<number> value_iterator::get_root_number(bool che
   advance_root_scalar("number");
   return num;
 }
-simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value_iterator::get_root_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept {
-  return get_root_raw_json_string(check_trailing).unescape(json_iter());
+simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value_iterator::get_root_string(bool check_trailing, bool allow_replacement) noexcept {
+  return get_root_raw_json_string(check_trailing).unescape(json_iter(), allow_replacement);
+}
+simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> value_iterator::get_root_wobbly_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept {
+  return get_root_raw_json_string(check_trailing).unescape_wobbly(json_iter());
 }
 simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> value_iterator::get_root_raw_json_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept {
   auto json = peek_scalar("string");
diff --git a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator.h b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator.h
index fe649675f..8a48dfbd4 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/generic/ondemand/value_iterator.h
@@ -280,7 +280,8 @@ public:
    * @{
    */
 
-  simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string() noexcept;
+  simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_string(bool allow_replacement) noexcept;
+  simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_wobbly_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> get_raw_json_string() noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> get_uint64() noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> get_uint64_in_string() noexcept;
@@ -295,7 +296,8 @@ public:
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<number_type> get_number_type() noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<number> get_number() noexcept;
 
-  simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_root_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept;
+  simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_root_string(bool check_trailing, bool allow_replacement) noexcept;
+    simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<std::string_view> get_root_wobbly_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<raw_json_string> get_root_raw_json_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> get_root_uint64(bool check_trailing) noexcept;
   simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline simdjson_result<uint64_t> get_root_uint64_in_string(bool check_trailing) noexcept;
diff --git a/include/simdjson/internal/dom_parser_implementation.h b/include/simdjson/internal/dom_parser_implementation.h
index d85c99214..7aaaeb403 100644
--- a/include/simdjson/internal/dom_parser_implementation.h
+++ b/include/simdjson/internal/dom_parser_implementation.h
@@ -114,9 +114,26 @@ public:
    *
    * @param str pointer to the beginning of a valid UTF-8 JSON string, must end with an unescaped quote.
    * @param dst pointer to a destination buffer, it must point a region in memory of sufficient size.
+   * @param allow_replacement whether we allow a replacement character when the UTF-8 contains unmatched surrogate pairs.
    * @return end of the of the written region (exclusive) or nullptr in case of error.
    */
-  simdjson_warn_unused virtual uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept = 0;
+  simdjson_warn_unused virtual uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept = 0;
+
+  /**
+   * Unescape a NON-valid UTF-8 string from src to dst, stopping at a final unescaped quote. There
+   * must be an unescaped quote terminating the string. It returns the final output
+   * position as pointer. In case of error (e.g., the string has bad escaped codes),
+   * then null_nullptrptr is returned. It is assumed that the output buffer is large
+   * enough. E.g., if src points at 'joe"', then dst needs to have four free bytes +
+   * SIMDJSON_PADDING bytes.
+   *
+   * Overridden by each implementation.
+   *
+   * @param str pointer to the beginning of a possibly invalid UTF-8 JSON string, must end with an unescaped quote.
+   * @param dst pointer to a destination buffer, it must point a region in memory of sufficient size.
+   * @return end of the of the written region (exclusive) or nullptr in case of error.
+   */
+  simdjson_warn_unused virtual uint8_t *parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept = 0;
 
   /**
    * Change the capacity of this parser.
diff --git a/src/arm64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp b/src/arm64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
index 085d0a260..dca665994 100644
--- a/src/arm64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
+++ b/src/arm64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
@@ -152,8 +152,12 @@ simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::stage2_next(dom::docu
   return stage2::tape_builder::parse_document<true>(*this, _doc);
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
-  return arm64::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst);
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool allow_replacement) const noexcept {
+  return arm64::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst, allow_replacement);
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
+  return arm64::stringparsing::parse_wobbly_string(src, dst);
 }
 
 simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::parse(const uint8_t *_buf, size_t _len, dom::document &_doc) noexcept {
diff --git a/src/fallback/dom_parser_implementation.cpp b/src/fallback/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
index 3f748f1bc..f186cda29 100644
--- a/src/fallback/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
+++ b/src/fallback/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
@@ -360,8 +360,12 @@ simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::stage2_next(dom::docu
   return stage2::tape_builder::parse_document<true>(*this, _doc);
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
-  return fallback::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst);
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool replacement_char) const noexcept {
+  return fallback::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst, replacement_char);
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
+  return fallback::stringparsing::parse_wobbly_string(src, dst);
 }
 
 simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::parse(const uint8_t *_buf, size_t _len, dom::document &_doc) noexcept {
diff --git a/src/generic/stage2/stringparsing.h b/src/generic/stage2/stringparsing.h
index 757287ed5..275985fe9 100644
--- a/src/generic/stage2/stringparsing.h
+++ b/src/generic/stage2/stringparsing.h
@@ -41,7 +41,9 @@ static const uint8_t escape_map[256] = {
 // We work in little-endian then swap at write time
 simdjson_warn_unused
 simdjson_inline bool handle_unicode_codepoint(const uint8_t **src_ptr,
-                                            uint8_t **dst_ptr) {
+                                            uint8_t **dst_ptr, bool allow_replacement) {
+  // Use the default Unicode Character 'REPLACEMENT CHARACTER' (U+FFFD)
+  constexpr uint32_t substitution_code_point = 0xfffd;
   // jsoncharutils::hex_to_u32_nocheck fills high 16 bits of the return value with 1s if the
   // conversion isn't valid; we defer the check for this to inside the
   // multilingual plane check
@@ -56,33 +58,79 @@ simdjson_inline bool handle_unicode_codepoint(const uint8_t **src_ptr,
     const uint8_t *src_data = *src_ptr;
     /* Compiler optimizations convert this to a single 16-bit load and compare on most platforms */
     if (((src_data[0] << 8) | src_data[1]) != ((static_cast<uint8_t> ('\\') << 8) | static_cast<uint8_t> ('u'))) {
-      return false;
-    }
-    uint32_t code_point_2 = jsoncharutils::hex_to_u32_nocheck(src_data + 2);
+      if(!allow_replacement) { return false; }
+      code_point = substitution_code_point;
+    } else {
+      uint32_t code_point_2 = jsoncharutils::hex_to_u32_nocheck(src_data + 2);
 
-    // We have already checked that the high surrogate is valid and
-    // (code_point - 0xd800) < 1024.
-    //
-    // Check that code_point_2 is in the range 0xdc00..0xdfff
-    // and that code_point_2 was parsed from valid hex.
-    uint32_t low_bit = code_point_2 - 0xdc00;
-    if (low_bit >> 10) {
-      return false;
-    }
+      // We have already checked that the high surrogate is valid and
+      // (code_point - 0xd800) < 1024.
+      //
+      // Check that code_point_2 is in the range 0xdc00..0xdfff
+      // and that code_point_2 was parsed from valid hex.
+      uint32_t low_bit = code_point_2 - 0xdc00;
+      if (low_bit >> 10) {
+        if(!allow_replacement) { return false; }
+        code_point = substitution_code_point;
+      } else {
+        code_point =  (((code_point - 0xd800) << 10) | low_bit) + 0x10000;
+        *src_ptr += 6;
+      }
 
-    code_point =
-        (((code_point - 0xd800) << 10) | low_bit) + 0x10000;
-    *src_ptr += 6;
+    }
   } else if (code_point >= 0xdc00 && code_point <= 0xdfff) {
       // If we encounter a low surrogate (not preceded by a high surrogate)
       // then we have an error.
-      return false;
+      if(!allow_replacement) { return false; }
+      code_point = substitution_code_point;
   }
   size_t offset = jsoncharutils::codepoint_to_utf8(code_point, *dst_ptr);
   *dst_ptr += offset;
   return offset > 0;
 }
 
+
+// handle a unicode codepoint using the wobbly convention
+// https://simonsapin.github.io/wtf-8/
+// write appropriate values into dest
+// src will advance 6 bytes or 12 bytes
+// dest will advance a variable amount (return via pointer)
+// return true if the unicode codepoint was valid
+// We work in little-endian then swap at write time
+simdjson_warn_unused
+simdjson_inline bool handle_unicode_codepoint_wobbly(const uint8_t **src_ptr,
+                                            uint8_t **dst_ptr) {
+  // It is not ideal that this function is nearly identical to handle_unicode_codepoint.
+  //
+  // jsoncharutils::hex_to_u32_nocheck fills high 16 bits of the return value with 1s if the
+  // conversion isn't valid; we defer the check for this to inside the
+  // multilingual plane check
+  uint32_t code_point = jsoncharutils::hex_to_u32_nocheck(*src_ptr + 2);
+  *src_ptr += 6;
+  // If we found a high surrogate, we must
+  // check for low surrogate for characters
+  // outside the Basic
+  // Multilingual Plane.
+  if (code_point >= 0xd800 && code_point < 0xdc00) {
+    const uint8_t *src_data = *src_ptr;
+    /* Compiler optimizations convert this to a single 16-bit load and compare on most platforms */
+    if (((src_data[0] << 8) | src_data[1]) == ((static_cast<uint8_t> ('\\') << 8) | static_cast<uint8_t> ('u'))) {
+      uint32_t code_point_2 = jsoncharutils::hex_to_u32_nocheck(src_data + 2);
+      uint32_t low_bit = code_point_2 - 0xdc00;
+      if ((low_bit >> 10) ==  0) {
+        code_point =
+          (((code_point - 0xd800) << 10) | low_bit) + 0x10000;
+        *src_ptr += 6;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  size_t offset = jsoncharutils::codepoint_to_utf8(code_point, *dst_ptr);
+  *dst_ptr += offset;
+  return offset > 0;
+}
+
+
 /**
  * Unescape a valid UTF-8 string from src to dst, stopping at a final unescaped quote. There
  * must be an unescaped quote terminating the string. It returns the final output
@@ -91,7 +139,7 @@ simdjson_inline bool handle_unicode_codepoint(const uint8_t **src_ptr,
  * enough. E.g., if src points at 'joe"', then dst needs to have four free bytes +
  * SIMDJSON_PADDING bytes.
  */
-simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) {
+simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool allow_replacement) {
   while (1) {
     // Copy the next n bytes, and find the backslash and quote in them.
     auto bs_quote = backslash_and_quote::copy_and_find(src, dst);
@@ -110,7 +158,54 @@ simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline uint8_t *parse_string(const uint8_t *src, u
            within the unicode codepoint handling code. */
         src += bs_dist;
         dst += bs_dist;
-        if (!handle_unicode_codepoint(&src, &dst)) {
+        if (!handle_unicode_codepoint(&src, &dst, allow_replacement)) {
+          return nullptr;
+        }
+      } else {
+        /* simple 1:1 conversion. Will eat bs_dist+2 characters in input and
+         * write bs_dist+1 characters to output
+         * note this may reach beyond the part of the buffer we've actually
+         * seen. I think this is ok */
+        uint8_t escape_result = escape_map[escape_char];
+        if (escape_result == 0u) {
+          return nullptr; /* bogus escape value is an error */
+        }
+        dst[bs_dist] = escape_result;
+        src += bs_dist + 2;
+        dst += bs_dist + 1;
+      }
+    } else {
+      /* they are the same. Since they can't co-occur, it means we
+       * encountered neither. */
+      src += backslash_and_quote::BYTES_PROCESSED;
+      dst += backslash_and_quote::BYTES_PROCESSED;
+    }
+  }
+  /* can't be reached */
+  return nullptr;
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline uint8_t *parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) {
+  // It is not ideal that this function is nearly identical to parse_string.
+  while (1) {
+    // Copy the next n bytes, and find the backslash and quote in them.
+    auto bs_quote = backslash_and_quote::copy_and_find(src, dst);
+    // If the next thing is the end quote, copy and return
+    if (bs_quote.has_quote_first()) {
+      // we encountered quotes first. Move dst to point to quotes and exit
+      return dst + bs_quote.quote_index();
+    }
+    if (bs_quote.has_backslash()) {
+      /* find out where the backspace is */
+      auto bs_dist = bs_quote.backslash_index();
+      uint8_t escape_char = src[bs_dist + 1];
+      /* we encountered backslash first. Handle backslash */
+      if (escape_char == 'u') {
+        /* move src/dst up to the start; they will be further adjusted
+           within the unicode codepoint handling code. */
+        src += bs_dist;
+        dst += bs_dist;
+        if (!handle_unicode_codepoint_wobbly(&src, &dst)) {
           return nullptr;
         }
       } else {
diff --git a/src/generic/stage2/tape_builder.h b/src/generic/stage2/tape_builder.h
index 04943676d..8a1039e19 100644
--- a/src/generic/stage2/tape_builder.h
+++ b/src/generic/stage2/tape_builder.h
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ simdjson_inline tape_builder::tape_builder(dom::document &doc) noexcept : tape{d
 simdjson_warn_unused simdjson_inline error_code tape_builder::visit_string(json_iterator &iter, const uint8_t *value, bool key) noexcept {
   iter.log_value(key ? "key" : "string");
   uint8_t *dst = on_start_string(iter);
-  dst = stringparsing::parse_string(value+1, dst);
+  dst = stringparsing::parse_string(value+1, dst, false); // We do not allow replacement when the escape characters are invalid.
   if (dst == nullptr) {
     iter.log_error("Invalid escape in string");
     return STRING_ERROR;
diff --git a/src/haswell/dom_parser_implementation.cpp b/src/haswell/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
index 5ce0eaef0..413699a7d 100644
--- a/src/haswell/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
+++ b/src/haswell/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
@@ -153,8 +153,12 @@ simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::stage2_next(dom::docu
   return stage2::tape_builder::parse_document<true>(*this, _doc);
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
-  return haswell::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst);
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool replacement_char) const noexcept {
+  return haswell::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst, replacement_char);
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
+  return haswell::stringparsing::parse_wobbly_string(src, dst);
 }
 
 simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::parse(const uint8_t *_buf, size_t _len, dom::document &_doc) noexcept {
diff --git a/src/icelake/dom_parser_implementation.cpp b/src/icelake/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
index a1eeb3ee1..dd6923f14 100644
--- a/src/icelake/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
+++ b/src/icelake/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
@@ -199,8 +199,12 @@ simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::stage2_next(dom::docu
   return stage2::tape_builder::parse_document<true>(*this, _doc);
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
-  return icelake::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst);
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool replacement_char) const noexcept {
+  return icelake::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst, replacement_char);
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
+  return icelake::stringparsing::parse_wobbly_string(src, dst);
 }
 
 simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::parse(const uint8_t *_buf, size_t _len, dom::document &_doc) noexcept {
diff --git a/src/ppc64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp b/src/ppc64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
index a196f5d1c..c592354c4 100644
--- a/src/ppc64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
+++ b/src/ppc64/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
@@ -122,8 +122,12 @@ simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::stage2_next(dom::docu
   return stage2::tape_builder::parse_document<true>(*this, _doc);
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
-  return ppc64::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst);
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool replacement_char) const noexcept {
+  return ppc64::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst, replacement_char);
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
+  return ppc64::stringparsing::parse_wobbly_string(src, dst);
 }
 
 simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::parse(const uint8_t *_buf, size_t _len, dom::document &_doc) noexcept {
diff --git a/src/westmere/dom_parser_implementation.cpp b/src/westmere/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
index 664108c7a..c7a85e48e 100644
--- a/src/westmere/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
+++ b/src/westmere/dom_parser_implementation.cpp
@@ -152,8 +152,12 @@ simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::stage2_next(dom::docu
   return stage2::tape_builder::parse_document<true>(*this, _doc);
 }
 
-simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
-  return westmere::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst);
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst, bool replacement_char) const noexcept {
+  return westmere::stringparsing::parse_string(src, dst, replacement_char);
+}
+
+simdjson_warn_unused uint8_t *dom_parser_implementation::parse_wobbly_string(const uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst) const noexcept {
+  return westmere::stringparsing::parse_wobbly_string(src, dst);
 }
 
 simdjson_warn_unused error_code dom_parser_implementation::parse(const uint8_t *_buf, size_t _len, dom::document &_doc) noexcept {
diff --git a/tests/ondemand/ondemand_misc_tests.cpp b/tests/ondemand/ondemand_misc_tests.cpp
index 265f4e99a..dfce3f194 100644
--- a/tests/ondemand/ondemand_misc_tests.cpp
+++ b/tests/ondemand/ondemand_misc_tests.cpp
@@ -5,6 +5,56 @@ using namespace simdjson;
 
 namespace misc_tests {
   using namespace std;
+  bool replacement_char() {
+    auto fun_phrase = R"( ["I \u2665 Unicode. Even broken \ud800 Unicode." ])"_padded;
+    std::string_view expected_fun = "I \xe2\x99\xa5 Unicode. Even broken \xef\xbf\xbd Unicode.";
+
+    TEST_START();
+    ondemand::parser parser;
+    ondemand::document doc;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS(parser.iterate(fun_phrase).get(doc));
+    ondemand::array arr;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( doc.get_array().get(arr));
+    std::string_view view;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( arr.at(0).get_string(true).get(view));
+    ASSERT_EQUAL(view, expected_fun);
+    TEST_SUCCEED();
+  }
+
+  bool wobbly_tests() {
+    auto lone_surrogate = R"( "\ud800" )"_padded;
+    std::string_view expected_lone = "\xed\xa0\x80";
+
+
+    auto fun_phrase = R"( ["I \u2665 Unicode. Even broken \ud800 Unicode." ])"_padded;
+    std::string_view expected_fun = "I \xe2\x99\xa5 Unicode. Even broken \xed\xa0\x80 Unicode.";
+
+    auto insane_url = R"({"input": "http://example.com/\uDC00\uD834\uDF06\uDC00"} )"_padded;
+    std::string_view expected_insane = "http://example.com/\xED\xB0\x80\xF0\x9D\x8C\x86\xED\xB0\x80";
+
+    TEST_START();
+    ondemand::parser parser;
+    ondemand::document doc;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS(parser.iterate(lone_surrogate).get(doc));
+    std::string_view view;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( doc.get_wobbly_string().get(view));
+    ASSERT_EQUAL(view, expected_lone);
+
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS(parser.iterate(fun_phrase).get(doc));
+    ondemand::array arr;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( doc.get_array().get(arr));
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( arr.at(0).get_wobbly_string().get(view));
+    ASSERT_EQUAL(view, expected_fun);
+
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS(parser.iterate(insane_url).get(doc));
+    ondemand::object obj;
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( doc.get_object().get(obj));
+    ASSERT_SUCCESS( obj["input"].get_wobbly_string().get(view));
+
+    ASSERT_EQUAL(view, expected_insane);
+    TEST_SUCCEED();
+  }
+
   bool test_get_value() {
     TEST_START();
     ondemand::parser parser;
@@ -520,6 +570,8 @@ namespace misc_tests {
 
   bool run() {
     return
+           replacement_char() &&
+           wobbly_tests() &&
            issue_uffff() &&
            issue_backslash() &&
            issue1870() &&