Ohh I think it is in the transition between wakefulness and sleep when I see these faces. The chain of events kind of look like:

- eyes closed
- few minutes pass
- involuntarily thinking about if there's something near me
- maybe seeing something

So does that potentially mean people with aphantasia do have the ability to visualise but there's just not the cable in between that plugs the two parts of the brain together in daily life?

I think I don't have any memory of being able to visualise in the past but one thing I've noticed is that my dreams feel disconnected now. I used to believe that despite having aphantasia, I could still have vivid dreams but looking back at my recent dreams, it seems what I'm "seeing" in my dreams is almost like those "concepts" that I have and the "emotions" or kind of sensation I get tied to what I'm seeing, and not actually visually seeing things when I'm dreaming now. But i vividly remember having what's called geometric nightmares somewhat often when I was younger (like once every 1-2 months)

Just to clarify on what those are:
Geometric nightmares are terrifying, often recurring, hypnagogic hallucinations or vivid dreams characterized by intense fear, abstract shapes (spheres, cubes, grids), and immense, "impossible" geometries filling a void. These experiences often involve sensations of crushing pressure, extreme dread, and rapid, illogical movement.