Rub the 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts with extra virgin olive oil and smoked paprika and garlic powder and kosher salt and ground black pepper. The surface changes from pale and plain to lightly stained red and speckled with seasoning while the coating sits unevenly in natural patches and edges. Scatter the finely diced yellow onion around the chicken so the pieces sit loose rather than perfectly lined up. Everything should look raw yet more intentional with visible contrast between the smooth chicken and the rough onion pieces.

Cook the chicken until fully done and then pull it into rough shreds while still warm. The meat changes from smooth whole pieces to irregular strands with some thicker chunks and some finer bits while the onion softens and turns glossy and slightly translucent. Fold in the hickory smoked barbecue sauce so the chicken goes from dry shreds to a sticky coated mixture. Some pieces should hold more sauce than others and a few edges should look darker and slightly caramelized.

Split the 12 sweet Hawaiian slider buns and layer the bottom halves with the warm barbecue chicken mixture. The structure changes here because the loose filling settles into the bread and some sauce peeks into the corners while the chicken sits in casual mounds instead of a flat blanket. Scatter the shredded sharp cheddar cheese over the top and place the bun tops on loosely. The cheese adds a pale rough layer and the sliders start to look like a real tray of dinner rather than separate parts.

Brush the tops with melted unsalted butter and bake until the sharp cheddar cheese melts into the chicken and the buns darken in uneven spots. The tray changes from soft stacked buns to a joined pan of sliders with glossy tops and patchy golden colour and little pockets where the cheese bubbles out. The sauce thickens slightly as it heats and the edges look stickier and deeper in colour. This is the point where everything looks warm and cohesive and just messy enough to promise a good bite.

Lift one slider away from the rest and place it on the plate so the inside shows juicy shredded chicken and melted cheese stretching in soft uneven strands. The final change is from a shared tray to a single serving and the filling looks more detailed and textured once the side is visible. Finish with chopped fresh parsley over the top and a few loose flecks around the plate. The slider should look warm and slightly messy with browned bread and glossy sauce and non uniform layers.