Laki

"I know it won't be easy. But one day, I'm going to ride this Excess Express!"

- Laki

Laki is a teenaged Lakitu who appears by the train station in Rogueport in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. He is called a train enthusiast, but is more of a train obsessionist. All he does is watch the trains all day, and hopes to one day get to ride the Excess Express (although he lacked the money to do so all throughout Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door). He can be differed from most other Lakitus in that his hair is more curly than that of the average Lakitu and his eyes are always in an angry position, as well as the fact that his cloud wears sunglasses. (However, a separate Lakitu with this same appearance can be found actually riding the Excess Express occasionally.)

He is mentioned in one of the RDM Issues in the game, where he is said to have been taken into custody after making the Excess Express late for the first time in ten years by taking pictures of it in an area in which non-workers were not allowed to enter. The Excess Express staff apparently allowed Laki to get away with his crime with just a warning, although the story ended with a grim "...this time". This issue of RDM is also notable for stating that Laki is eighteen years old.

Trivia

 * Laki was given a reference in Super Paper Mario, where he left graffiti stating that he loves both Koopla and Buzzo in Merlee's Mansion's men's restroom. It is unknown how he managed to get to Gloam Valley (which exists in a separate dimension than that of Rogueport) to do so, and it is possible that the programmers intended for this Laki to be a different one than the one seen in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.