diff --git a/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index 830c6695..a286e60e 100644
--- a/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@
             </intent-filter>
         </activity>
         <activity
-            android:name=".MainActivity" android:configChanges="orientation|screenSize|keyboardHidden">
+            android:name=".MainActivity"
+            android:configChanges="orientation|screenSize|keyboardHidden">
         </activity>
         <activity
             android:name=".ComposeActivity"
@@ -59,8 +60,12 @@
                 <data android:mimeType="image/*" />
             </intent-filter>
         </activity>
-        <activity android:name=".ViewVideoActivity" android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|screenSize" />
-        <activity android:name=".ViewThreadActivity" />
+        <activity
+            android:name=".ViewVideoActivity"
+            android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden|screenSize" />
+        <activity
+            android:name=".ViewThreadActivity"
+            android:configChanges="orientation|screenSize" />
         <activity android:name=".ViewTagActivity" />
         <activity android:name=".AccountActivity" />
         <activity android:name=".EditProfileActivity" />
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ThreadAdapter.java b/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ThreadAdapter.java
index afa407f8..97dfc941 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ThreadAdapter.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ThreadAdapter.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 
 package com.keylesspalace.tusky;
 
-import android.support.annotation.Nullable;
 import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
 import android.view.LayoutInflater;
 import android.view.View;
@@ -94,11 +93,11 @@ class ThreadAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter implements AdapterItemRemover {
 
         // In case of refresh, remove old ancestors and descendants first. We'll remove all blindly,
         // as we have no guarantee on their order to be the same as before
-        int old_size = statuses.size();
-        if (old_size > 0) {
+        int oldSize = statuses.size();
+        if (oldSize > 0) {
             mainStatus = statuses.get(statusIndex);
             statuses.clear();
-            notifyItemRangeRemoved(0, old_size);
+            notifyItemRangeRemoved(0, oldSize);
         }
 
         // Insert newly fetched ancestors
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadActivity.java b/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadActivity.java
index 9dcd5efa..160e438f 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadActivity.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadActivity.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 package com.keylesspalace.tusky;
 
+import android.content.res.Configuration;
 import android.os.Bundle;
 import android.support.annotation.Nullable;
 import android.support.v4.app.Fragment;
@@ -74,4 +75,11 @@ public class ViewThreadActivity extends BaseActivity implements SFragment.OnUser
             listener.removePostsByUser(accountId);
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void onConfigurationChanged(Configuration newConfig) {
+        super.onConfigurationChanged(newConfig);
+        /* Provide a stub to ignore configuration changes so the thread isn't reloaded when the
+         * the activity is reoriented or resized. */
+    }
 }
diff --git a/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadFragment.java b/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadFragment.java
index 0cf47600..ef1fc0a7 100644
--- a/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadFragment.java
+++ b/app/src/main/java/com/keylesspalace/tusky/ViewThreadFragment.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import com.keylesspalace.tusky.entity.StatusContext;
 
 import retrofit2.Call;
 import retrofit2.Callback;
+import retrofit2.Response;
 
 public class ViewThreadFragment extends SFragment implements
         SwipeRefreshLayout.OnRefreshListener, StatusActionListener, StatusRemoveListener {
@@ -42,6 +43,7 @@ public class ViewThreadFragment extends SFragment implements
     private SwipeRefreshLayout swipeRefreshLayout;
     private RecyclerView recyclerView;
     private ThreadAdapter adapter;
+    private MastodonAPI mastodonApi;
     private String thisThreadsStatusId;
 
     public static ViewThreadFragment newInstance(String id) {
@@ -72,25 +74,34 @@ public class ViewThreadFragment extends SFragment implements
                 R.drawable.status_divider_dark);
         divider.setDrawable(drawable);
         recyclerView.addItemDecoration(divider);
-        recyclerView.addItemDecoration(new ConversationLineItemDecoration(context, ContextCompat.getDrawable(context, R.drawable.conversation_divider_dark)));
+        recyclerView.addItemDecoration(new ConversationLineItemDecoration(context,
+                ContextCompat.getDrawable(context, R.drawable.conversation_divider_dark)));
         adapter = new ThreadAdapter(this);
         recyclerView.setAdapter(adapter);
 
-        String id = getArguments().getString("id");
-        sendStatusRequest(id);
-        sendThreadRequest(id);
-        thisThreadsStatusId = id;
+        mastodonApi = null;
+        thisThreadsStatusId = null;
 
         return rootView;
     }
 
-    private void sendStatusRequest(final String id) {
-        MastodonAPI api = ((BaseActivity) getActivity()).mastodonAPI;
+    @Override
+    public void onActivityCreated(@Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
+        super.onActivityCreated(savedInstanceState);
+
+        /* BaseActivity's MastodonAPI object isn't guaranteed to be valid until after its onCreate
+         * is run, so all calls that need it can't be done until here. */
+        mastodonApi = ((BaseActivity) getActivity()).mastodonAPI;
+
+        thisThreadsStatusId = getArguments().getString("id");
+        onRefresh();
+    }
 
-        Call<Status> call = api.status(id);
+    private void sendStatusRequest(final String id) {
+        Call<Status> call = mastodonApi.status(id);
         call.enqueue(new Callback<Status>() {
             @Override
-            public void onResponse(Call<Status> call, retrofit2.Response<Status> response) {
+            public void onResponse(Call<Status> call, Response<Status> response) {
                 if (response.isSuccessful()) {
                     int position = adapter.setStatus(response.body());
                     recyclerView.scrollToPosition(position);
@@ -108,12 +119,10 @@ public class ViewThreadFragment extends SFragment implements
     }
 
     private void sendThreadRequest(final String id) {
-        MastodonAPI api = ((BaseActivity) getActivity()).mastodonAPI;
-
-        Call<StatusContext> call = api.statusContext(id);
+        Call<StatusContext> call = mastodonApi.statusContext(id);
         call.enqueue(new Callback<StatusContext>() {
             @Override
-            public void onResponse(Call<StatusContext> call, retrofit2.Response<StatusContext> response) {
+            public void onResponse(Call<StatusContext> call, Response<StatusContext> response) {
                 if (response.isSuccessful()) {
                     swipeRefreshLayout.setRefreshing(false);
                     StatusContext context = response.body();