I don't know whether this fits into the "character" forum, but I have two lovely protags, a nice goal for them to achieve buddy-style, a motivation for them to do, an ending, but no villain. Does my story even need an antagonist, technically? It's a very fantasy-driven story, so I sorta feel obligated to make one, but have never made one before. Any tips or advice on how to cobble together a decent villain?
How to create a villain??
Not all stories have a villain in the form of a character. What your story does need, however, is some kind of conflict leading to a climax (which might then be resolved), a tension between the story going well, and the story going badly. There are plenty of stories out there without a sentient antagonist. Think of all the disaster movies about tsunamis and ice ages and bushfires - there's tension not because the axe-murderer might kill the protagonist but because the protagonist might lose his family in the crushing wall of ice bearing down upon London.
It doesn't have to be as large as a global-scale environmental crisis. Basically, what gets in the way of your buddy protags achieving their goal? What do they have to overcome? It might be the disapproval of parents or teachers. It might be their interpersonal conflict - maybe they have some traits that rub each other up the wrong way. It might be a flock of pants-stealing fwitterchirps.
Here is a good article for writing a story without a villain: https://www.standoutbooks.com/how-write-conflict-without-villain/
And here is one about creating a decent villain: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-create-a-great-villain/
Both your message and your links helped me brainstorm a bit more, and I think I have some decent ideas rolling around. Thanks so much for your help!