Hello Hostilefork,
I've been following Rebol since 1993-94, over 20 years, as dRebol,Inetw3, and I am still amazed. I may not be a good programmer but I do dream in Rebol.
I posted the %Rebol-dom.r script to rebol-org and it has some vague similarities to your TLS EMIT dialect. Especially the VAR LET variables that bind to functions. I've saw discussions on SO about it. I check it 2-3 times every day.
I thought I was crazy using a var function to turn set-word!s into a named variable functions bound to data. I don't know how to optimize the code but it must look like, say, javascript or lua as much as possible for my next two DSL's.
I think you given me hope to keep trying. Every new chosen path starts with a Pandora's Box.