In this work we study experimentally the temporal dynamics of an all-normal dispersion all-fiber ring laser far from stable mode locking. Temporal mapping relying on segmented memory capabilities of a fast oscilloscope is used for this purpose. A regime is found where radiation fills the cavity and is characterized by peaks that successively emerge, grow in amplitude while compressing temporally, before decaying abruptly, and localized low-intensity components mediating their interactions across the cycles. The highest-amplitude peaks ephemerally dominate intracavity radiation, before being superseded by other emerging peaks. As radiation covers the whole period and no permanent pulse ever emerges, the regime can be viewed as an intermediate stage between continuous-wave and mode locking operations. The interest of using segmented memory possibilities for proper characterization of this unconventional regime is highlighted.