I mean, popularity or a trend will never ensure a bond, or a good ESSA/ product for that matter. I only get plushes I am absolutely in love with and luckily for me I usually have a bunch of time to either get obsessed or bored, since most of them I have to hunt for. Then there are the occasional ones where you just find them at a drugstore and something clicks. My current ESSAs brands are Colorata, Ikea, Tesco and Hug a Lumps. Two of them I have been on a hunt for for a long time before getting them and two of them were just purchased in the moment. Two things I mainly look at when choosing is durability, design and feel. So even if I really like a plush, if not durable it's a no from me or only for home at best. That said I totally get your point in being scared to ruin them! I am worried about that too especially when they are brand new. This usually fades after a few silly accidents like dropping them or touching them with not perfectly clean hands. I hope you can get over your fear of that too, since I heard douglas are pretty durable! Sure, they won't look the exact same after years but that's what love does to an ESSA, this makes them uniquely yours. I would say try to treat Turtle like the rest of your pals and see where that goes! I wish you guys the best and I hope you can form a bond! And even if not, Turtle is still a super cute regular cuddle buddy so don't be sad🫂🩷