diff --git a/include/blah/time.h b/include/blah/time.h
index e870495..937a4cd 100644
--- a/include/blah/time.h
+++ b/include/blah/time.h
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ namespace Blah
 		// ticks per second (microseconds, in this case)
 		constexpr u64 ticks_per_second = 1000000;
 
-		// uptime, in ticks
+		// uptime, in ticks, at the start of the current frame
 		extern u64 ticks;
 
-		// uptime, in seconds
+		// uptime, in seconds, at the start of the current frame
 		extern double seconds;
 
 		// delta time from last frame
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@ namespace Blah
 		// time the application should pause for
 		extern float pause_timer;
 
+		// uptime, in ticks. polls the Platform for an immediate value, unlike the cached `Time::ticks` value
+		u64 get_ticks();
+
 		// pauses the entire application for the given time
 		void pause_for(float duration);
 
diff --git a/src/time.cpp b/src/time.cpp
index 569990e..6843fc2 100644
--- a/src/time.cpp
+++ b/src/time.cpp
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ double Time::previous_seconds = 0;
 float Time::delta = 0;
 float Time::pause_timer = 0;
 
+u64 Time::get_ticks()
+{
+	return Platform::ticks();
+}
+
 void Time::pause_for(float duration)
 {
 	if (duration >= pause_timer)