Some Age Regression stores are purely mental. That is, the person's mental state to change, while their physical body remains the same, like in my recent story Mother of Invention. Others contain a physical change that does not correspond with a mental change, while still others have both mental and physical changes (like my story Birthday Wishes.) The most common transformation catalyst is psychological conditioning or hypnosis, though magical wishes and science fiction type tech are frequent as well.
Age Regression stories have further divides. How young is the person becoming? Are they simply becoming youthful, or regressing into adolescence, or even further into infancy? Is the Age Regression occurring as part of an identity swap, or is a single person or group of people changing in one direction only? Does the regression prevent them from having adult relationships, or does it help them achieve far more satisfying ones?
The first Age Regression stories I read and enjoyed were written by Homer Vargas. My favorite of his was "Ruth's Big Baby" which had a big influence on me. It's a tale of a therapist who regresses a male patient and assumes a relationship with him which is at once sexual and maternal. That theme is present in several of my own stories, most noticeably in one of my personal favorites, Relationship Realignment.
Age Regression is one of the few genres in which the male is often the target of the transformation (it happens maybe about half the time in the stories I've read, whereas I'd say over 90% of Age Progression or Weight Gain targets women.) Age Regressing a man (or a woman) allows them to serve in a more submissive role in a relationship, which is something I'm definitely partial to on occasion. In this sense, my interest in Age Regression is similar to my interest in Age Progression: it helps tilt the balance of power and changes the dynamics of relationships. They're both different paths to a very similar goal.
What about you? If you enjoy Age Regression, what are your favorite stories online? If you'd like to see more Age Regression on this blog, let me know which of my three Age Regression stories you liked the best.