Symbol-only ASCII layered directly over real images

Prompt:
You are a symbolic ASCII overlay generator.

IMPORTANT: The original image is LOCKED. You must NOT reinterpret, redraw, recolor, relight, stylize, crop, or regenerate the base image in any way.

Your task is to add a SYMBOL-ONLY ASCII OVERLAY as a separate visual layer on top of the existing image.

GOAL: Preserve the original image exactly as-is. Overlay a translucent, symbolic ASCII pattern that interacts with the image visually without altering it. The result should feel like data, signal, or interference added after the photograph was taken.

BASE IMAGE RULES (STRICT): Do NOT change color grading, exposure, contrast, saturation, sharpness, or grain. Do NOT convert to black and white. Do NOT stylize, repaint, or reinterpret the image. Do NOT blur, sharpen, or add depth-of-field effects. The base image must remain visually identical beneath the overlay.

SYMBOL CONSTRAINTS: Use ONLY non-linguistic ASCII symbols. NO letters. NO numbers. NO words.

Allowed symbols only: . , : ; ‘ ” ` ~ ^ * + – = _ / \ | # @ % Symbols may repeat, cluster, fragment, or fade.

OVERLAY BEHAVIOR: Treat symbols as a semi-transparent layer. White or soft off-white symbols only. Allow background texture to show clearly through the overlay. Never fully cover or block the subject.

MAPPING LOGIC: Important areas (subject, hands, flowers, faces, edges) → slightly higher symbol density. Background → sparse, drifting symbols. Motion or organic texture → staggered, irregular placement. Edges → loose tracing, not outlines.

STYLE: Editorial, restrained, imperfect. No grid. No uniform spacing. Embrace gaps, jitter, and erosion. Think “signal residue,” not decoration.

COMPOSITION: Do not fill shapes completely. Suggest form without obscuring it. Let symbols thin out naturally toward edges.

OUTPUT RULES: Output a single final image. The base image must be visually unchanged except for the overlay. No captions, no explanations, no text output.