diff.diff

diff --git a/src/Perl6/Actions.nqp b/src/Perl6/Actions.nqp
index 8f8b8d750..4ced01e8c 100644
--- a/src/Perl6/Actions.nqp
+++ b/src/Perl6/Actions.nqp
@@ -2814,9 +2814,17 @@ class Perl6::Actions is HLL::Actions does STDActions {
             if +@name > 1 {
                 $*W.throw($/, 'X::Dynamic::Package', symbol => ~$/);
             }
+            # Try to get the var, if it's not there, look for it in a couple
+            # more places by calling &DYNAMIC. The `ifnull`/`getlexdyn`
+            # call is not part of &DYNAMIC because with such a setup, it
+            # is larger than the spesh inline limit in MoarVM and dynvars
+            # are fairly common, for us to want them to be fast
+            my $sVal-name := $*W.add_string_constant: $name;
             $past := QAST::Op.new(
-                :op('call'), :name('&DYNAMIC'),
-                $*W.add_string_constant($name));
+                :op<ifnull>,
+                  QAST::Op.new(:op<getlexdyn>, $sVal-name),
+                  QAST::Op.new: :op<call>, :name<&DYNAMIC>, $sVal-name
+            ).annotate_self: '&DYNAMIC', $name;
         }
         elsif $twigil eq '?' && $*IN_DECL eq 'variable' && !$*COMPILING_CORE_SETTING {
             $*W.throw($/, 'X::Syntax::Variable::Twigil',
@@ -6576,10 +6584,8 @@ class Perl6::Actions is HLL::Actions does STDActions {
                 # first item is a hash (%foo or %!foo)
                 $is_hash := 1;
             }
-            elsif nqp::istype($elem, QAST::Op) && $elem.name eq '&DYNAMIC' &&
-                    nqp::istype($elem[0], QAST::Want) && $elem[0][1] eq 'Ss' &&
-                    nqp::istype($elem[0][2], QAST::SVal)
-                    && nqp::eqat($elem[0][2].value, '%', 0) {
+            elsif nqp::istype($elem, QAST::Op)
+            && nqp::eqat($elem.ann('&DYNAMIC'), '%', 0) {
                 # first item is a hash (%*foo)
                 $is_hash := 1;
             }
@@ -7159,14 +7165,13 @@ class Perl6::Actions is HLL::Actions does STDActions {
                     $source
                 ));
         }
-        elsif nqp::istype($target, QAST::Op) && $target.op eq 'call'
-        && $target.name eq '&DYNAMIC' && $target[0][1] eq 'Ss' {
+        elsif nqp::istype($target, QAST::Op) && $target.has_ann('&DYNAMIC') {
             my $complain := QAST::Op.new(
                 :op('die_s'),
-                QAST::SVal.new( :value('Contextual ' ~ ~$/ ~ ' not found') )
+                QAST::SVal.new( :value('Contextual ' ~ $/ ~ ' not found') )
             );
             my $contextual := QAST::VarWithFallback.new(
-                :name($target[0][2].value), :scope('contextual'), :fallback($complain) );
+                :name($target.ann: '&DYNAMIC'), :scope('contextual'), :fallback($complain) );
             my $dynbind := QAST::Op.new( :op('bind'), $contextual, $source);
             $dynbind.nosink(1);
             make $dynbind;
diff --git a/src/Perl6/Grammar.nqp b/src/Perl6/Grammar.nqp
index c6658d46d..98aba19ad 100644
--- a/src/Perl6/Grammar.nqp
+++ b/src/Perl6/Grammar.nqp
@@ -414,11 +414,24 @@ role STD {
     }
 
     method check_variable($var) {
+        return self if $*IN_DECL;
         my $varast := $var.ast;
-        if nqp::istype($varast, QAST::Op) && $varast.op eq 'ifnull' {
-            $varast := $varast[0];
+
+        if nqp::istype($varast, QAST::Op) {
+            if $varast.has_ann('&DYNAMIC') {
+                my $lex := $*W.cur_lexpad();
+                my $au := $lex.ann('also_uses');
+                $lex.annotate('also_uses', $au := {}) unless $au;
+                $au{$varast.ann: '&DYNAMIC'} := 1;
+                return self
+            }
+
+            # do this here, because `&DYNAMIC`'s QAST we're looking at
+            # above is an `ifnull` op, but we don't want to unwrap it
+            $varast := $varast[0] if $varast.op eq 'ifnull';
         }
-        if !$*IN_DECL && nqp::istype($varast, QAST::Var) && $varast.scope eq 'lexical' {
+
+        if nqp::istype($varast, QAST::Var) && $varast.scope eq 'lexical' {
             my $name := $varast.name;
 
             if $name ne '%_' && $name ne '@_' && !$*W.is_lexical($name) {
@@ -453,14 +466,6 @@ role STD {
                 self.mark_variable_used($name);
             }
         }
-        if !$*IN_DECL && nqp::istype($varast, QAST::Op) && $varast.name eq '&DYNAMIC' {
-            my $lex := $*W.cur_lexpad();
-            if nqp::istype($varast[0], QAST::Want) && nqp::istype($varast[0][2], QAST::SVal) {
-                my $au := $lex.ann('also_uses');
-                $lex.annotate('also_uses', $au := {}) unless $au;
-                $au{$varast[0][2].value} := 1;
-            }
-        }
         self
     }
 
diff --git a/src/core/stubs.pm6 b/src/core/stubs.pm6
index 7388a84a7..e4daebcd4 100644
--- a/src/core/stubs.pm6
+++ b/src/core/stubs.pm6
@@ -31,25 +31,29 @@ my class Lock is repr('ReentrantMutex') { ... }
 my class Lock::Async { ... }
 
 sub DYNAMIC(\name) is raw {
-    nqp::ifnull(
-      nqp::getlexdyn(name),
-      nqp::stmts(
-        nqp::unless(
-          nqp::isnull(my $prom := nqp::getlexdyn('$*PROMISE')),
-          (my Mu $x := nqp::getlexreldyn(
-            nqp::getattr($prom,Promise,'$!dynamic_context'),name)
-          )
-        ),
-        nqp::ifnull(
-          $x,
-          nqp::stmts(
-            (my str $pkgname = nqp::replace(name,1,1,'')),
+    # When we gen dynvar lookup, in Actions, we first do this:
+    #   nqp::ifnull(
+    #     nqp::getlexdyn(name),
+    # And the call to this sub is in the "else" branch of that `ifnull`.
+    # The reason that stuff lives outside this sub is because all together
+    # the code is above the spesh inline limit (in MoarVM) and dynvar lookup
+    # is fairly common for us to want it very fast
+    nqp::stmts(
+      nqp::unless(
+        nqp::isnull(my $prom := nqp::getlexdyn('$*PROMISE')),
+        (my Mu $x := nqp::getlexreldyn(
+          nqp::getattr($prom,Promise,'$!dynamic_context'),name)
+        )
+      ),
+      nqp::ifnull(
+        $x,
+        nqp::stmts(
+          (my str $pkgname = nqp::replace(name,1,1,'')),
+          nqp::ifnull(
+            nqp::atkey(GLOBAL.WHO,$pkgname),
             nqp::ifnull(
-              nqp::atkey(GLOBAL.WHO,$pkgname),
-              nqp::ifnull(
-                nqp::atkey(PROCESS.WHO,$pkgname),
-                Rakudo::Internals.INITIALIZE-DYNAMIC(name)
-              )
+              nqp::atkey(PROCESS.WHO,$pkgname),
+              Rakudo::Internals.INITIALIZE-DYNAMIC(name)
             )
           )
         )