diff --git a/builder/__main__.py b/builder/__main__.py
index 4f9a115..d23ad6d 100644
--- a/builder/__main__.py
+++ b/builder/__main__.py
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ def main(args: argparse.Namespace) -> None:
     with open(dcfg.root / "pyproject.toml", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         os.environ["KVERSION"] = f.read().split("version = \"")[1].split("\"")[0]
     # create a config for checking and storing arguments
-    if args.defconfig:
+    if args.command != "assets" and args.defconfig:
         args.defconfig = args.defconfig if args.defconfig.is_absolute() else Path.cwd() / args.defconfig
     arguments = vars(args)
     acfg = ArgumentConfig(**arguments)
diff --git a/builder/core/assets_collector.py b/builder/core/assets_collector.py
index 39f12fd..b8f141f 100644
--- a/builder/core/assets_collector.py
+++ b/builder/core/assets_collector.py
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ def assets(self) -> list:
             else:
                 # add DFD alongside the ROM
                 print("\n", end="")
-                msg.done("ROM-only asset collection complete!")
-                return [self.rom_collector_dto, dfd]
+                msg.done("ROM-only asset collection specified")
+                return [self.rom_collector_dto.run(), dfd]
         # process the full download
         else:
             assets = [
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ def assets(self) -> list:
                 "https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/releases/download/fenix-v117.1.0/fenix-117.1.0-arm64-v8a.apk",
                 "https://f-droid.org/F-Droid.apk",
             ]
-            # finally, add ROM (if kernel base is not universal) and DFD into assets list
+            # add ROM if kernel base is not universal
             if self.rom_collector_dto:
                 assets.append(self.rom_collector_dto.run()) # type: ignore
             return assets
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ def run(self) -> None:
         # NOTE: call "self.assets" only once!
         assets = self.assets
         if isinstance(assets, list) or isinstance(assets, tuple):
-            for e in self.assets:
+            for e in assets:
                 if isinstance(e, GithubApiClient):
                     e.run()
                 else:
diff --git a/builder/tools/messages.py b/builder/tools/messages.py
index bf809f2..d41b586 100644
--- a/builder/tools/messages.py
+++ b/builder/tools/messages.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ def done(text: str) -> None:
 
     :param str text: Text to wrap.
     """
-    print(f"[ \u2713 ] {text}")
+    print(f"[ \u2713 ] {text}".encode("utf-8"))
 
 
 def debug(text: str) -> None: