I communicate with pictures a lot (gifs, photos/snaps, bitmojis, etc...) A friend asks "whatcha doin?" it's fun to reply with a quick snap of what I'm doing. It almost makes you feel a bit "closer" to other people when you can get a quick glimpse into their world. A quick snap of a friend cooking is greater than a simple "I'm cooking" text. But I don't necessarily need or want to save that image (or really even that text)
I don't know if I'd call sending nudes an "odd use-case", but that's what I've always understood to be Snapchat's primary use-case.
(The fact that temporary photos can be quite easily screenshotted, photographed etc. is an unfortunate limitation, and something which many users may not realize)
There are places where it's legal to record your conversations when you go out with friends, and even whether it's legal or not it's incredibly easy to do. But good luck having much of a social life or even getting served in the local bar if people know you're always wearing a wire.