  Here we resolve the real-space nature of the high-temperature, short-range
charge correlations in the kagome metal ScV$_6$Sn$_6$. Diffuse scattering
appears along a frustrated wave vector
$\textbf{q}_H=(\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{2})$ at temperatures far
exceeding the charge order transition $T_{CO}=92~\mathrm{K}$, preempting
long-range charge order with wave vectors along
$\textbf{q}_{\bar{K}}=(\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{3})$. Using a
combination of real space and reciprocal space analysis, we resolve the nature
of the interactions between the primary out-of-plane Sc-Sn chain instability
and the secondary strain-mediated distortion of the in-plane V kagome network.
A minimal model of the diffuse scattering data reveals a high-temperature,
short-ranged "zig-zag" phase of in-plane correlations that maps to a frustrated
triangular lattice Ising model with antiferromagnetic interactions and provides
a real-space understanding of the origin of frustrated charge order in this
material.
