blarghghhggh

anyway I feel like i'm just... like kinda too western for this lol I just can't stand the cutesy bits that they make lin yu do but I know this is a super standard and common archetype for e. asian FLs in general... I tried to start with love between fairy and devil and could NOT get even halfway through the first episode bc I couldn't stand the overly cutesy shit. lgief is better in this regard but still has those moments

I mean it's still adjacent to my general interest in rofan OIs with a lot of the same tropes so it's not like I hate it, it's just that the type of acting that comes with putting these things on screen with real people (instead of me just reading them on a page) isn't really my cup of tea

If bubbly balls of sunshine heroines aren't your thing and you want to give another xianxia drama try, I suggest in no particular order:

Till the End of the Moon (first 25% was amazing, but then it becomes a trainwreck of misunderstandings. And by the 3rd story arc, FL becomes someone that relies on ML's love to forgive her when she betrays him. In the novel, even though he's the emperor, she's a cultivator, a warrior at her core even if she doesn't have full access to her powers. A mortal emperor is nothing to her, and she's outside of his sphere of authority.)

Back from the Brink (super fun to watch until ep 16 when one of the screenwriters left. Once ML gets over that lengthy patch of not talking (ep 16 to 18), it goes back to being funny, but pacing is not great as early episodes)

Fangs of Fortune (has a super attractive cast. 10/10 in eye candy. It's group of friends cracking jokes, but has a very slow-moving plot)

A Moment But Forever (read good things about the characters and the plot, but its called xianxia for the middle-aged i.e. no eye candy)

If you don't mind angst upon angst and want to see Ding Yuxi in a high ponytail again, he has a guest role in Love in Pavilion (a collection of short love stories) for a few episodes. I think you can start watching from ep 19 or 20 without being confused.

Not xianxia, but fits your requirement of non-cutesy heroine:

Go Go Princess (a playboy that transmigrates into crown princess. I love that the show doesn't take itself seriously)

Summer's Desire (2010 version) Can watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJobG0rx2eA (It's a super entertaining trashy melodrama. Huang Xiaoming's screen presence is so intense that his romantic scenes feel like an uncomfortable predator and prey situation, but Barbie Hsu can bring the same level of screen presence when the role calls for it. They feel like two wolves circling each other. So fun to watch them interact.)

During an interview, Esther Yu said, "I definitely don’t want to act in such a cute role anymore (referring to her role as Orchid). I want to take on different types… then I went for teacher Huangbo’s masterclass and he said, don’t take on a different role when you’ve only just shaped one type of role. This type of char hasn’t been solidified in the audience’s hearts and you’re wanting to change into another type of characteristic. That way the audience can’t remember you. You might as well be in the area that you’re good at and perfect it. If everyone thinks cute, quirky, and the first person they think of is you, that's also a type of success."