diff --git a/src/components/Note/ArticleCardCoverImage.tsx b/src/components/Note/ArticleCardCoverImage.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c362e72d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/Note/ArticleCardCoverImage.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import ContentImage from '@/components/Image'
+import UserAvatar from '@/components/UserAvatar'
+import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
+import type { Event } from 'nostr-tools'
+
+/**
+ * Long-form / wiki–style card cover: NIP-23 `image` tag when present, otherwise the author avatar.
+ */
+export default function ArticleCardCoverImage({
+  event,
+  imageUrl,
+  autoLoadMedia,
+  layout,
+  hideImageIfError = false
+}: {
+  event: Event
+  imageUrl?: string
+  autoLoadMedia: boolean
+  layout: 'stacked' | 'row'
+  /** Passed through to {@link ContentImage} when an `image` tag URL exists. */
+  hideImageIfError?: boolean
+}) {
+  const trimmed = imageUrl?.trim()
+  if (trimmed && autoLoadMedia) {
+    return (
+      <ContentImage
+        image={{ url: trimmed, pubkey: event.pubkey }}
+        className={
+          layout === 'stacked'
+            ? 'mb-3 aspect-video w-full max-w-[400px]'
+            : 'h-44 max-w-[400px] shrink rounded-lg bg-foreground object-cover aspect-[4/3] xl:aspect-video'
+        }
+        classNames={layout === 'row' ? { wrapper: 'w-auto max-w-[400px] shrink-0' } : undefined}
+        hideIfError={hideImageIfError}
+      />
+    )
+  }
+  if (trimmed) return null
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className={cn(
+        'flex items-center justify-center rounded-lg bg-muted',
+        layout === 'stacked'
+          ? 'mb-3 h-44 w-full max-w-[400px]'
+          : 'h-44 w-auto max-w-[400px] shrink-0 aspect-[4/3] xl:aspect-video'
+      )}
+    >
+      <UserAvatar
+        userId={event.pubkey}
+        size="large"
+        deferRemoteAvatar={false}
+        className="!h-[7.5rem] !w-[7.5rem] rounded-xl"
+      />
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/src/components/Note/LongFormCard.tsx b/src/components/Note/LongFormCard.tsx
index 4da4e90b..7fbd5c5b 100644
--- a/src/components/Note/LongFormCard.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Note/LongFormCard.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { Event, kinds } from 'nostr-tools'
 import { useMemo } from 'react'
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
-import Image from '../Image'
+import ArticleCardCoverImage from './ArticleCardCoverImage'
 
 /**
  * Feed / embed / preview surface for NIP-23 long-form (kind 30023): title, summary, image, tags — no “Show more” body.
@@ -93,13 +93,12 @@ export default function LongFormCard({
     return (
       <div className={shellClass}>
         <div className={cardClass} onClick={interactive ? handleCardClick : undefined}>
-          {metadata.image && autoLoadMedia && (
-            <Image
-              image={{ url: metadata.image, pubkey: event.pubkey }}
-              className="mb-3 aspect-video w-full max-w-[400px]"
-              hideIfError
-            />
-          )}
+          <ArticleCardCoverImage
+            event={event}
+            imageUrl={metadata.image}
+            autoLoadMedia={autoLoadMedia}
+            layout="stacked"
+          />
           <div className="space-y-2">
             {titleComponent}
             {summaryComponent}
@@ -115,14 +114,12 @@ export default function LongFormCard({
     <div className={cn('w-full min-w-0', shellClass)}>
       <div className={cn(cardClass, 'min-w-0')} onClick={interactive ? handleCardClick : undefined}>
         <div className="flex min-w-0 gap-4">
-          {metadata.image && autoLoadMedia && (
-            <Image
-              image={{ url: metadata.image, pubkey: event.pubkey }}
-              classNames={{ wrapper: 'w-auto max-w-[400px] shrink-0' }}
-              className="h-44 max-w-[400px] shrink rounded-lg bg-foreground object-cover aspect-[4/3] xl:aspect-video"
-              hideIfError
-            />
-          )}
+          <ArticleCardCoverImage
+            event={event}
+            imageUrl={metadata.image}
+            autoLoadMedia={autoLoadMedia}
+            layout="row"
+          />
           <div className="min-w-0 flex-1 basis-0 space-y-2 overflow-hidden">
             {titleComponent}
             {summaryComponent}
diff --git a/src/components/Note/MarkdownArticle/MarkdownArticle.tsx b/src/components/Note/MarkdownArticle/MarkdownArticle.tsx
index 7f75bd9c..060f27a1 100644
--- a/src/components/Note/MarkdownArticle/MarkdownArticle.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Note/MarkdownArticle/MarkdownArticle.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useSecondaryPageOptional, useSmartHashtagNavigationOptional, useSmartRelayNavigationOptional } from '@/PageManager'
 import Image from '@/components/Image'
+import UserAvatar from '@/components/UserAvatar'
 import MediaPlayer from '@/components/MediaPlayer'
 import Wikilink from '@/components/UniversalContent/Wikilink'
 import { BookstrContent } from '@/components/Bookstr'
@@ -5899,12 +5900,39 @@ export default function MarkdownArticle({
                     <p className="break-words">{metadata.summary}</p>
                   </blockquote>
                 )}
+                {!hideMetadata &&
+                  event.kind === kinds.LongFormArticle &&
+                  !metadata.image?.trim() && (
+                    <div className="not-prose my-4 flex max-w-[400px] justify-center rounded-lg bg-muted p-6">
+                      <UserAvatar
+                        userId={event.pubkey}
+                        size="large"
+                        deferRemoteAvatar={false}
+                        className="!h-36 !w-36 rounded-xl"
+                      />
+                    </div>
+                  )}
                 {hideMetadata &&
                   metadata.title &&
                   event.kind !== ExtendedKind.DISCUSSION &&
                   !isNip52CalendarCardKind(event.kind) && (
                   <h2 className="text-2xl font-bold mb-4 leading-tight break-words">{metadata.title}</h2>
                 )}
+                {hideMetadata &&
+                  metadata.title &&
+                  event.kind === kinds.LongFormArticle &&
+                  !metadata.image?.trim() &&
+                  event.kind !== ExtendedKind.DISCUSSION &&
+                  !isNip52CalendarCardKind(event.kind) && (
+                    <div className="not-prose mb-4 flex max-w-[400px] justify-center rounded-lg bg-muted p-6">
+                      <UserAvatar
+                        userId={event.pubkey}
+                        size="large"
+                        deferRemoteAvatar={false}
+                        className="!h-36 !w-36 rounded-xl"
+                      />
+                    </div>
+                  )}
         
         {/* Metadata image */}
                 {!hideMetadata && metadata.image && (() => {
diff --git a/src/components/Note/WikiCard.tsx b/src/components/Note/WikiCard.tsx
index 4bdfa3fe..ed18b43a 100644
--- a/src/components/Note/WikiCard.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Note/WikiCard.tsx
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import { useContentPolicyOptional } from '@/providers/ContentPolicyProvider'
 import { useScreenSizeOptional } from '@/providers/ScreenSizeProvider'
 import { Event, kinds } from 'nostr-tools'
 import { useMemo } from 'react'
-import Image from '../Image'
+import ArticleCardCoverImage from './ArticleCardCoverImage'
 
 export default function WikiCard({
   event,
@@ -60,13 +60,13 @@ export default function WikiCard({
           className="cursor-pointer rounded-lg border p-4 hover:bg-muted/50 transition-colors"
           onClick={handleCardClick}
         >
-          {metadata.image && autoLoadMedia && (
-            <Image
-              image={{ url: metadata.image, pubkey: event.pubkey }}
-              className="w-full max-w-[400px] aspect-video mb-3"
-              hideIfError
-            />
-          )}
+          <ArticleCardCoverImage
+            event={event}
+            imageUrl={metadata.image}
+            autoLoadMedia={autoLoadMedia}
+            layout="stacked"
+            hideImageIfError
+          />
           <div className="space-y-2">
             {titleComponent}
             {summaryComponent}
@@ -84,14 +84,13 @@ export default function WikiCard({
         onClick={handleCardClick}
       >
         <div className="flex gap-4">
-          {metadata.image && autoLoadMedia && (
-            <Image
-              image={{ url: metadata.image, pubkey: event.pubkey }}
-              classNames={{ wrapper: 'w-auto max-w-[400px] shrink-0' }}
-              className="rounded-lg aspect-[4/3] xl:aspect-video object-cover bg-foreground h-44 max-w-[400px]"
-              hideIfError
-            />
-          )}
+          <ArticleCardCoverImage
+            event={event}
+            imageUrl={metadata.image}
+            autoLoadMedia={autoLoadMedia}
+            layout="row"
+            hideImageIfError
+          />
           <div className="flex-1 w-0 space-y-2">
             {titleComponent}
             {summaryComponent}
diff --git a/src/components/ReplyNoteList/index.tsx b/src/components/ReplyNoteList/index.tsx
index e00bf82f..92d2ceb7 100644
--- a/src/components/ReplyNoteList/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ReplyNoteList/index.tsx
@@ -775,7 +775,8 @@ function ReplyNoteList({
                 next.set(pkNorm, {
                   pubkey: pkNorm,
                   npub: pubkeyToNpub(pkNorm) ?? '',
-                  username: formatPubkey(pkNorm)
+                  username: formatPubkey(pkNorm),
+                  batchPlaceholder: true
                 })
               }
             }
diff --git a/src/lib/relay-list-builder.ts b/src/lib/relay-list-builder.ts
index e13fae85..91665233 100644
--- a/src/lib/relay-list-builder.ts
+++ b/src/lib/relay-list-builder.ts
@@ -386,6 +386,10 @@ export async function buildReplyReadRelayList(
     includeFastReadRelays: true,
     includeSearchableRelays: true,
     includeLocalRelays: true,
+    /** Same menu list as timelines — threads often opened from favorites. */
+    includeFavoriteRelays: Boolean(userPubkey),
+    /** FAST_READ + SEARCHABLE before author/user NIP-65 slices so broken personal relays do not starve thread REQ under the global connection cap. */
+    preferPublicReadRelaysEarly: true,
     blockedRelays
   })
 }
diff --git a/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts b/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts
index 69241c2e..85903805 100644
--- a/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client-replaceable-events.service.ts
@@ -1143,7 +1143,9 @@ export class ReplaceableEventService {
         profiles.push({
           pubkey,
           npub: pubkeyToNpub(pubkey) ?? '',
-          username: formatPubkey(pubkey)
+          username: formatPubkey(pubkey),
+          /** Lets {@link useFetchProfile} retry per-pubkey when batch REQ missed kind 0. */
+          batchPlaceholder: true
         })
       }
     }